How to Strengthen Your Knees
It’s important to keep your knees
strong and healthy so that your mobility doesn’t deteriorate as you grow
older. We often take the health of our knees for granted, not noticing
there’s a problem until everyday activities like lifting boxes or
walking downhill become painful. Take the following measures to
strengthen your knees and ensure you’ll stay active for as long as
possible.
Part 3 of 3: Changing Your Lifestyle to Strengthen Your Knees
- Add anti-inflammatory foods to your diet. Joints
become weakened and painful when they are inflamed, so adding foods that
are known to be anti-inflammatory to your diet may help keep your knees
strong. [3]
- Fish, flax seeds, olive oil, avocados, and whole fruits and vegetables are said to have anti-inflammatory properties.
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Make sure you get enough vitamin E. Vitamin E is
believed to hinder enzymes that break down the cartilage in the joints.
Spinach, broccoli, peanuts, mango and kiwi are excellent sources of
vitamin E. [4]
-
Eat more calcium. Bone health is also important for
knee strength, so take measures to prevent osteoporosis. Cow milk,
yogurt, cheese and goat milk are good sources are calcium. Almonds and
leafy greens are also excellent sources.
- Stop doing activities that hurt. If you experience a
lot of knee pain doing certain activities, chances are you aren’t
strengthening your knees by continuing. Try lower impact exercises for
awhile to give your knees a rest. After a few months of focusing on leg
muscle strength and flexibility, you may find you’re able to do your
favorite activities without pain.
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