5 Ways to Relieve Knee Pain

5 Ways to Relieve Knee Pain (1:36)

Knee pain is common with age, especially for people with osteoarthritis. In this Health Smarts video, orthopedic surgeon Vonda Wright, MD, shares 5 ways to prevent and ease knee pain, from strength-training moves to foods that fight inflammation.

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H, I'm Dr. Vonda Wright. Knee pain is common especially as you age, and I've got some simple tips for pain-free knees. First firm up your thighs. Strong front and back thigh muscles also known as your quads and hamstrings act as shock absorbers for your knees. They help protect your knee joints from injury.

Strong quads can also cut your risk of knee osteoarthritis by up to 30%. Walk backward, it gives your quads a slightly different workout while going easy on your ACL, that's the joint connector that can be vulnerable to injury, especially in women. Go low impact. Exercise improves your range of motion and builds the muscles that support your knees.

But heavy impact pounding exercises like running, can do the opposite and cause injury. Go easy with walking, swimming, yoga, or biking. Feed your knees, load up your diet with inflammation fighting nutrients found in berries, ginger, avocados and omega-3 rich fish like trout or salmon. Shed some pounds, every extra pound you carry adds up to three pounds of pressure on your knee joints when you walk and 10 pound when you run.

For more ways to stay pain-free, watch all of our smart tips right here.