Dr Ortho Blog

How to combat knee joint pain?

Walking for minimum 30 mins is beneficial to increase cardiovascular ability, strengthening bones, shedding extra kilos, boosting muscle fitness. It helps in reducing the risk of heart diseases, osteoporosis, cancer, kidney diseases, and etc. Walking is not mean for everyone; especially people who need to burn larger amount of calories, people with knee pain, etc.

Walking sometimes causes knee injury or strenuous on knees and might cause pain. The pain in the knee joint might be from over use of the joint, wear and tear of the cushion, infection or damaged cartilage.

When you know you have joint pain, when your knee hurt while walking. It may be the chance you have paint due to osteoarthritis. You want to have a stroll and you cannot do it because of the pain. Only exercise is going to help and make it feel better.

What should be done about the knee pain? Stop walking? No! No walking will increase the risk of very dreadful diseases.

So walk backwards. What? Walking backwards?

Change the way you walk to ease the knee pain. Stop making your daily fitness routine boring. Challenge yourself with something new. Let that “something new” which is probably older than a century. Walking backward might sound weird and funny. If you observe, it increases physical and mental wellness. It reduces the stress and strain on the knee joint. Traditional belief says 1000 steps forward is equal to 100 steps backwards. Walking backward is not just for young and energetic people, it is also recommended for aged people as well.

Benefits of walking backwards:

Walking involves functioning musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and nervous systems and increases synchronization. Apart from increasing balance it also helps in increasing hearing and vision ability.

It enhances mental and physical background.

Benefits on mental aspect:

Increased functions of sensory organs
Increased body synchronization and balance
Breaks monotony
Enhances healthy sleep
Keeps mind working actively and sharpens thinking and creative power.

Benefits on physical aspect:

Strengthens leg muscles
Improves post surgery knee
Burns calories faster
Maintains healthy weight
Lesser knee stress
Lesser knee injury

The backward walking does not involve bending of knee and keeps legs stretched and straight which makes knee life longer. It is highly recommended to people who lack balance, recovering from knee surgery, muscle strain in hip; groin; low back; and hamstring, sprained ankle, Achilles’ tendon, shin splits.

Gladly, it consumes more calories and less time, because short distance. This requires more efforts than running forward burning more calories. Adding on, it puts lesser impact than running forward and hence lesser knee injuries. For that reason, running backwards is safe for knee strengthening.

Caution: The only thing is to make sure that you don’t trip or fall. Don’t look back constantly while running or walking backward. It make wear out or torn shoes rapidly so wear shoes that doesn’t cost you must.

No excuses for not going for walk in knee pain. Walk backwards and keep your knee strain and stress free. Please like and share your experience of walking backwards.

Dr Ortho