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How You Think about Knee Pain Does Matter
Change your thinking, and you’ll improve your life, so be guided by the fundamental idea of truth. How can we act correctly and effectively if we don’t know what is happening and what we are and what does it mean? Here are some famous quotes from people whose opinion I respect:
Einstein: Everything has changed but our way of thinking
The Buddha: All we are is a result of what we have thought
Wayne Dyer: If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change
Ralph Waldo Emerson: You become what you think about all day long
What’s this Got to Do with Your Knee Pain?
People often have some situation, in this case, knee pain, and often don’t notice why they have it. All they want to do is make the pain go away. But without knowing how it came about, it may be difficult to make it go away.
Someone said to me, ” I have knee pain.” Since being overweight is very common nowadays, I asked him, “How much do you weigh.” He replied, “350 pounds”.
And I am thinking, ‘how could someone reach that weight…could it be diet?” So, I asked him about that. He said, “Oh, I eat a very healthy diet; I eat a nice big bowl of pasta with tomato sauce.” The THOUGHT that eating way too many carbohydrates–pasta–probably is the cause of his being overweight, and his being overweight puts four times the stress on the knee joint per pound (kilo) as the weight itself –this THOUGHT did not occur to him!
If you are 10 pounds overweight, your knee, a relatively small area of your body, experiences it as 40 pounds. So, this guy was carrying around perhaps 200 extra pounds (350-150 pounds) of excess weight, which translates into 800 pounds on his knees!
He had not put 2 and 2 together, that the cause of his knee pain was his being overweight, which he seemed to think is a healthy weight. And he also believed that eating huge portions of pasta, far more than needed to supply his body with energy, is also standard. And that pasta sauce is a good substitute for eating lots of fresh vegetables. To be clear, pasta sauce is delicious, but it should not take the place of salads, fresh fruits, and vegetables.
In other words, guided by his own thoughts without having done any study of his situation, resulted in his thought process being stuck. I wonder what would happen if he simply put into his search engine, “What is normal weight. “
One Question Leads to Another…and Eventually a Solution
If he had gone through the simple exercise of checking his BMI, he’d have realized that his morbidly obese. He could then have asked the question, “Why am I so fat?”
The reason was that she was told things and didn’t think critically about whether what she was told was consistent or even factual. In this day and age of clickbait advertising and infotainment, there is a lot of useless or even wrong information.
We should not take anything for granted, but rather consider the source, whether it is credible or not? Has it been reliable or not? Who sponsors it? Who pays them to produce what you read or see or hear?
Many Causes of Knee Pain…So What to Do?
This is just one example of a cause of knee pain. In my own case, it is because of two factors, partly my fault and partly not. First, I did exercise without warming up first, so I injured my knee. That happened twice.
The second reason was that someone hit me on the same knee in a motorcycle accident. To the extent that I was crossing an intersection, and someone made a turn and headed straight for my knee is my fault. Had I not been there, …no accident.
The point here is not to assign blame for our pain, but simply investigate to the extent possible why we have it. And second, to do some research, and ask others for advice.
There are many sources of information, some useful, some not. Some biased, some not. Ultimately, how we proceed to take care of ourselves will depend on our thought processes.
What lifestyle changes do we need to make to improve the situation? Better diet, exercise, physical activity? Habits that need changing? What about treatments?
There are at least 26 different
ways to deal with knee pain. Have you checked all of them to see which ones might help you?
Change Your Thinking….but HOW?
If you’ve gotten this far reading this, You may be asking…sounds good, but how do I DO THAT?
The first step is to recognize that you are controlled by your own thought patterns. One of my all-time favorite movies was The Matrix. In this pivotal scene, Mr. Anderson, a young computer executive, learns the truth about himself.
The reason I show this clip is because we are told all sorts of things about our situation and what to do about it. If you take some time to really evaluate your situation, from different points of view, a solution may appear that you weren’t aware of.
For example, an orthopedic physician may diagnose your knee pain, and advise taking a prescription, which costs money, maybe quite a bit of money, and may also have side effects.
But what if, instead of assuming that is the only solution, you visited a physical therapist, who recommended a series of exercises? Or you simply followed the preliminary regimen of Rest, Ice, and Elevation? Or you tried using some supplement that helps your knee joint heal? Or made some bone broth and, over time, got the nutrients needed to heal the knee joint?
Do you see, by acting within the framework of one person, you limit your possibilities? That is also why, if you contemplate surgery, you get a second opinion from at least one other professional. Are you aware of alternatives to surgery for long term knee problems, such as stem cell therapy, or hyaluronic acid injections? You have options, which you may not have THOUGHT of.
Take Good Care of Your Knees
Your knee pain is conditioned both on your own history and condition. And you have a lot more control than you might think about improving the situation. It depends on keeping your mind open to new ideas, and also the willingness to change your mind, change your thinking, to change the health of your knees over time.
Further, if you do need professional help, learn to stay objective, and keep both an open mind and yet a questioning mind. That way, you will learn to follow the advice that makes sense to you, rather than rely unquestioningly on others. It’s YOUR KNEE, not theirs. So, think carefully! Then take the right action.
Common Causes of Knee Pain
Knee pain is common and affects a variety of people of all ages. The knee pain can be the result of an injury like a ruptured ligament or torn cartilage, but it can also be due to some kind of medical condition like arthritis, gout, or some other infection.
Many people turn to different self-care measures when it comes to dealing with their knee pain. From physical therapy to knee braces and topical pain-relieving applications, there are several ways people try to limit their knee pain. But do they take the time to really consider the source?
Symptoms of Knee Pain
These are generalized symptoms of knee pain. The location of the pain, as well as the severity of the knee pain, may be different depending on a number of factors.
- Swelling and stiffness
- Redness
- Knee feels warm to the touch
- Unusual noises like popping
- You can no longer fully straighten the knee
It is time to call a doctor when you can’t place any weight on the knee or if the swelling does not reduce or get better. You should also call for an appointment if you have a fever in addition to pain and redness and if the pain is severe and is the result of an injury.
Common Knee Injuries
A knee injury can affect your ligaments and tendons, as well as the bones, joints, and cartilage.
ACL Injuries
This is when there is a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. It is just one of four ligaments that connect the shinbone to the thighbone. If you are an athlete, this is a common injury, especially when it is a sport that involves a sudden change in movement like in basketball or soccer.
Fractures
This affects the bones of the knee along with the patella. This can happen during a fall. If the bones have already been weakened by a condition like knee osteoporosis, then it can happen by just stepping wrong.
Meniscus Tear
The meniscus is rubbery cartilage and is the shock absorber between the shinbone and the thighbone. You can tear your meniscus if you twist suddenly while putting weight on that leg. Meniscal tears can prove to be very painful and may require surgery depending on the severity of the tear.
Common Types of Arthritis
Arthritis is another common cause of knee pain. Osteoarthritis is often referred to as degenerative arthritis and is more of a wear and tear condition. It is the result of the cartilage in your knee deteriorating with both usage and age.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that can affect practically every joint in your body – not just the knees. It is a chronic disease with varying levels of severity.
Dealing with Chronic Knee Pain
RICE – (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) is always the recipe for alleviating chronic knee pain, and this is good for knee pain that has been caused by an injury as well as an arthritis pain flare-up. You also need to take good care of the rest of your body as well and stop thinking that your knee pain is never going to go away.
Lifestyle changes, even for chronic knee pain, can significantly help. For example, reduce your alcohol intake, quit smoking, and work on maintaining a healthy weight.
Changing the Thought Process
So, instead of focusing on the pain. You can figure out the source and find ways to help with pain relief as well as helping to reduce any inflammation you may be experiencing. Some of the things you are doing in your everyday life may be causing the knee pain to worsen.
- Running and Jogging. If you are used to clocking in a fair number of miles during daily runs or jogs, you may want to reconsider. Depending on the level of the pain you are experiencing and the damage that has been inflicted, you might want to try to replace this form of exercise with something that is less impact, or find a better surface to do it on. Softer trails, for example, are more forgiving to your knees than hard pavement.
- Periods of Rest. If you are recovering from recent knee surgery or even total knee replacement, there is such a thing as too much rest. Once your doctor has cleared you for exercise, it is important to start participating in low impact exercises that won’t be too hard on the knees. It helps you maintain your overall fitness level while helping to improve the range of motion in your knees.
- Physical Therapy. Many people don’t understand the benefits there can be seeing a physical therapist following a knee replacement surgery or injury. A physical therapist can help you come up with a program to help you strengthen and support your knees.
- Lose Weight. When you are carrying around too much weight, this can also cause stress to your knees. Being overweight is also a risk factor for developing knee osteoarthritis. If you choose to lose weight, you can slow the progression of arthritis and put less stress on your joints.
Anti-inflammatory medications and even natural supplements can offer some pain relief as well for many aches and pains. Pain management is as much as a mental process as well as a physical one.
As you can see, with a little education and a different mindset, it is entirely possible to change the way you and people with arthritis think about knee pain. So, instead of sitting around like a couch potato hoping the pain will subside, get up and speak with your doctor and physical therapist. See if there are any other changes to your lifestyle and mindset you can adopt for a healthier outlook and faster recovery time.
