Not everyone is suitable for wearing knee pads!
The knee joint consists of the lower end of the femur, the upper end of the tibia and the patella. It is the largest and most complex joint in the human body and belongs to the trochlear joint. The knee joint is a relatively fragile and easily injured part, and once injured, it is more difficult to recover. Knee osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disease and the main cause of disability in middle-aged and elderly people. 85% of total knee replacements are due to knee osteoarthritis.
Many people choose to wear knee pads to protect their knee joints, so is it suitable for everyone to wear knee pads?
Not everyone is suitable for wearing knee pads!
First, let’s talk about the pros and cons of wearing knee pads:
The benefits of knee pads:
1. Knee pads can support the stability of the joint and limit the movement of the joint, thereby preventing injury.
2. Comfortable. The knees of the elderly degenerate and bear several times the pressure of their own body weight. Wearing knee pads can reduce the pressure on the knees.
3. Health care, knee pads for the elderly have obvious curative effects on joint diseases such as knee rheumatism, arthritis, joint inflexibility, sprain and contusion, and can play an auxiliary role.
4. Wearing knee pads can have a good thermal insulation effect and prevent the knee joint from getting cold.
Disadvantages of knee pads:
1. If the knee pads are too tight and thick for patients with osteoarthritis, it is not conducive to the blood circulation around the knee joint, making it more difficult to move the knee.
2. Ordinary knee pads usually have the function of keeping warm. After wearing, it will form a certain pressure on the patella in front of the knee, which will affect the effect of sports.
3. Long-term wear is likely to cause a decrease in our muscle strength, so that there is no strong muscle to provide protection for our knees.
If the knee itself is ill, it is beneficial to wear knee pads, which play a cushioning and protective role. But under normal circumstances, it is recommended not to wear it. Because there is a vacuum joint cavity between the knee joint and the ilium (the bone that can be touched in front of the knee), there is synovial fluid in the cavity, and these structures play a role in cushioning and protecting the joint as well as nutrition. If you wear knee pads from time to time, it will more or less limit the range of motion of the joint. Over time, the range of motion of the knee joint itself will be reduced. Everything is natural.
If you wear it for a long time, it will affect the effect of muscle training, and it will make the local blood circulation not good, and there will be problems such as insufficient blood supply in the local area. Therefore, it is recommended that you wear knee pads when you feel discomfort in your knees, and when the condition is good Take off the knee pads.
Related Articles: How to Choose Knee Pads Scientifically
So who recommends wearing knee pads?
elderly
What are the benefits of wearing knee pads for the elderly:
1. Protect the knee joint
Studies have shown that just walking on level ground can put 3-5 times more stress on your knees than your body weight, and for overweight and obese older people, their knees will be overwhelmed.
Wearing knee pads is a simple and effective measure for the elderly to protect their knee joints, especially for elderly people with a body mass index higher than 24 (ie weight (kg) divided by height squared (m2)). For example, an old man who is 1.55 meters tall and weighs 65 kg has a body mass index of 27, which is obviously overweight. Such an old man should wear knee pads.
2. Keep warm
In addition to protecting the knee joints, the knee pads also have a very good warming effect. For the elderly whose physique is getting worse, it can not only prevent cold, but also prevent the deterioration of old and cold legs. The knee joints are relatively fragile in winter. Knee pads can be used to keep the knees warm. Cotton and soft knee pads can ensure normal blood circulation in the knees. If it is warm, it is best to choose wool knee pads, which can resist rheumatism, arthritis, and fall injuries. Fine and soft. Good heating performance. The elderly wear it out in winter to protect the knees and prevent arthritis, and long-term wear can prevent and treat rheumatic knee diseases.
Notice:
Knee pads for the elderly are very important, but knee pads cannot be used for a long time.
If a patient with osteoarthritis uses a knee pad that is too tight and thick, it will not be conducive to blood circulation around the knee joint, making it more difficult to move the knee. Therefore, the choice of knee pads is not to say that the thicker the better, but to choose materials that are light, breathable and comfortable.
In addition, some people with osteoarthritis pay great attention to exercise, but they also have to pay attention to the method. In order to move the joints, some people deliberately climb the stairs, practice squats, or do a large swing of the knee joints in a half-squat position. These are not desirable. Because when people climb stairs, the joint load is 4 to 5 times that of normal, which will increase the wear and tear of the joints. Therefore, patients with osteoarthritis should consciously reduce the joint weight in order to delay the progression of the disease.
If patients with osteoarthritis want to use knee pads, they can choose under the guidance and advice of doctors. They should also control high-fat meals every day, and eat lighter ones in winter.
Dance
Needless to say about dancing, we all know that many dances require the knees to touch the bottom and kneel on the ground. Wearing knee pads can not only play a protective role, but also prevent sprains caused by strenuous dance movements.
Running + Ball
The causes of the above knee injuries from running can be grouped into the following categories:
1. The muscle strength is weak, and the knee ligaments are overburdened during exercise, and repeated friction causes inflammatory factors to infiltrate the tendons;
2. Insufficient preparations, excessive muscle viscosity, excessive resistance during forced exercise, and poor muscle contraction;
3. Failure to master the correct running posture, deformation of movements, and compensatory use of other muscle groups;
4. The exercise intensity and amount of exercise are arranged too much, and the body cannot bear the excessive exercise load, especially the novice who has just started running;
5. Fatigue accumulates, the body has not recovered from the joint friction caused by the previous exercise, and immediately starts exercising, which is easy to cause subtle damage, accumulation of inflammatory factors, and protracted and difficult to heal;
6. The choice of climate venue is uncomfortable. For example, exercising in an environment that is too humid and cold for a long time is prone to arthritis; in addition, the venue is bumpy, which will also have a huge impact on the knee joint during running.
In many professional games, such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, etc., we can often see a band about a finger-wide band on the lower edge of the athlete's patella, called the patella band. Its main function is to help the patellar tendon bear the impact force during exercise, limit the friction of the patella with the patellar tendon during strenuous exercise, and protect the knee joint.
Notice:
It is not recommended for novice runners or people with running knee pain, because the main function of the patella belt is to relieve the discomfort or even pain of the knee joint after running. The root cause of this discomfort and pain is the lack of muscle strength around the runner's knee joint, which causes the ligaments to bear excessive load. The principle of action of the patellar band is to help the patellar ligament share the force during exercise, and at the same time stabilize the patella within a certain range to avoid excessive friction. Therefore, the use of the patellar band not only cures the symptoms but not the root cause, but also easily causes the body to over-rely on the auxiliary function of the patella band. Makes already weak muscle groups weaker. After using it for a long time, you will find that as long as you take off the patella strap, your knee joint will hurt when you run.
mountaineering
First of all, the damage to the knee joint in mountain climbing is very huge, especially when going down the mountain, the wear and tear of the knee joint is the most serious, and wearing sports knee pads can reduce the effect of this wear and tear to a large extent. During mountain climbing, you can choose to equip sports knee pads to reduce the impact force of the knee joint, reduce the wear of the meniscus, and protect the knee joint.
For friends who have already injured their knee joints, it is undoubtedly a very good choice to wear spring sports knee pads during mountain climbing! Of course, we still recommend that you wear sports knee pads gradually. You can't wear sports knee pads often. At least you don't wear sports knee pads in your daily life. You can choose to wear sports knee pads to protect your knee joints during high-intensity exercise or knee injuries. Only works!
Notice:
Notes for climbing:
1. The most important one: Do not run or jump when going down the mountain, the speed should be slow, and rushing down the mountain is the most deadly to the knee;
2. A good way to go down the mountain: the center of gravity is behind and slightly lowered, stand on the front foot, and then move the center of gravity over (not the center of gravity on the front foot and slam down), as long as one foot supports on the ground, your safety will be improved. Assure;
3. Reduce the weight as much as possible and don't carry too many things. Be sure to do what you can before you set off. In general, the weight should not exceed 1/4 of your body weight. When going down the mountain, you should pay special attention to protecting the angle of your knees and control the rhythm. In special cases, try not to exceed 1/3 of your body weight.
4. Make preparations before climbing, including stretching, so that joints, muscles, ligaments, etc. can be well warmed up;
5. Use knee pads and trekking poles. It is best to have two trekking poles, and the upper arms should share the load of the legs as much as possible;
6. Keep a good attitude in the process of mountain climbing, do not pursue speed to show off, otherwise it will cause uneven distribution of physical strength throughout the day, affecting the rhythm control of mountaineering throughout the day;
7. Choose your climbing goals according to your physical fitness. It is recommended that you correctly evaluate your physical strength and outdoor ability before climbing. This is a problem that must be paid attention to when conducting outdoor activities;
8. Choose the right hiking shoes, according to the experience shared by experts: generally soft soil, grass, gravel slopes, and snow are relatively friendly to the knees, but for places with rivers and damp, pay attention to hiking shoes. Anti-slip effect;
9. Don't "lock the joints". In this case, when the thighs are overworked, the joints will be locked unconsciously when walking: stretching the legs straight can reduce the burden on the thigh muscles and temporarily relax the muscles, but it is more likely to cause knee strain and knee impact Injuries, ankle strains and ankle sprains;
10. Strengthen the strength of the leg muscles. The developed muscles can relieve the pressure on the knee under certain circumstances and minimize the damage to the knee.
