Your knees have a big job to do. With every step, they are there to help absorb the impact of your feet hitting the ground. But just like the shock absorbers in your car, knee joints don’t always last forever.
Continued wear and tear can break down important structures in the joints. And muscles that surround and support the knee can also start to weaken. That can leave you with pain, stiffness and arthritis.
The good news is that knee pain does not need to be an inevitable part of aging. Start taking better care of your knees now, and they’ll continue to take care of you.
How the knees work
The knee is a complex joint that plays a crucial role in many of your everyday movements. The knee joint connects your thigh bone to your shin bone. It bends and straightens with nearly every movement of your legs. It also helps you keep your balance and absorbs some of the impact your body experiences as you move.
In addition to the bones that attach at the joint, the knee also contains cartilage, ligaments and muscles.
- Cartilage is the knee’s shock absorbing pad. It’s a flexible type of connective tissue that acts like a cushion between the bones in the joint.
- Ligaments in the knee connect the thigh and shin bones. These strong bands of tissue crisscross the joint and run up either side of your knee. Together, they help keep the knee strong and stable.
- Muscles surround the knee and help support its every move.
Why knees need to keep moving
While knee pain doesn’t have to come with age, there are reasons why it does become more common. All those years of absorbing shock can take a toll on the joint. Daily wear and tear can diminish the cartilage that cushions the joint. Weaker muscles can mean more strain on the knee and on the ligaments that are there to stabilize it.
But whether you have some age-related pain already or are trying to prevent it, exercise is usually the right move. “When it comes to knees, movement is medicine,” says Luis Morales, a strength and conditioning coach and head coach with UCLA Health Sports Performance, Powered by Exos. “Your joints need to keep moving regularly in order to keep moving well.”
That’s not to say you should just ignore knee pain and push past it. If certain activities increase knee pain, you should try switching it up. Find a way that lets you keep moving, without further aggravating your knees. “If you rest too much, the joint gets stiff,” says Morales. “That’s why continuing to move and exercise is so important.”
Best types of exercises for healthy knees
Exercise is essential for healthy knees — especially as you get older. But not all exercise is equally good for building and maintaining strong knees. One of the best things you can do for your knees is to start a regular strength training regimen. “When you make the muscles and other structures around the joint really strong, they endure the stress of shock absorbing instead of the joint itself,” says Morales.
You want to choose exercises that build all the important muscles that support and strengthen the knee joint. These include the quads, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles, glutes and calves. “What’s happening at the hip and the ankle affects the knee,” says Morales. “So you want to strengthen the leg from top to bottom.”
A strength training routine can be done just using body weight and no special equipment. If you’re new to exercise, you might start with just a few repetitions of each move. People who are stronger may do several sets of each move or add weight. Progress slowly and listen to your body. Muscle strengthening moves that Morales recommends include:
- Bridges: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Raise your hips up, hold for a few seconds and slowly lower them back down.
- Calf raises: Hold on to a counter or wall for balance. Slowly rise up onto your toes and then lower back down.
- Lateral lunges: Step your right foot out to your right, bending your right knee while you lower your hips (your weight is mostly on your right foot). Stand back up and repeat the lunge to the left side.
- Lunges: Step forward with your right foot, bending your right knee so that your shin is perpendicular to the floor. Stand back up and repeat the lunge on your left leg.
- Squats: Doing a squat involves the same motion you do when you start sitting down in a chair. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Slowly lower your hips, keeping your weight on your heels and knees over your ankles. Then stand back up.
For aerobic exercise, it’s great to focus on activities that get the knees moving without stressing them too much. “Things that still strengthen the surrounding muscles but take away the impact are ideal,” says Morales. Low-impact activities include:
- Biking (indoors or out)
- Rowing machine
- Swimming
- Walking
- Water aerobics
That’s not to say you need to avoid all impact — just that you should listen to your body and limit it when you are having knee pain. “Pain is your body’s way of saying something’s wrong,” says Morales. “You want to keep moving, but steer clear of activities that cause you pain.”
And, as always, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen.
