Many seniors undergo osteoarthritis (OA), which causes daily chronic pain in their knees and hips. Such pain creates many difficulties for them to complete various tasks, move around the house and even sit in and get up of a chair. In most cases, an elective surgery—knee or hip replacement—becomes the only option to completely alleviate their pain.
However, prior to scheduling surgery, families can encourage their senior loved ones to take some preventive measures to help them keep in check the chronic knee and hip pain they are enduring every day.
Treatments For Knee And Hip Pain
Research from the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) found some recommendations for seniors who experience OD in the knee or hip;
1. Maintaining a healthy weight is most important because carrying too much body weight can put extra pressure on the joints and lower parts of the body like hips and legs. Seniors who endure knee pain especially, reducing 5 percent of total weight can effectively result in alleviating some of the OA pain.
2. Engaging in vigorous physical activities also help to alleviate OA pain. Another OARSI study also found that a variety of low impact exercises, such as yoga, strength training, core exercises, and stretching help with pain and improve the physical functions of the joints as well. In fact, other studies suggest that workout and physical therapies are simply as effective as surgery to relieve chronic knee and hip pain from OA.
Exercises That Relieve Knee and Hip Pain
Families must support their aging loved ones to learn stretching and to strengthen the key muscles, as well as methods to protect and care for their joints to help protract they're well being. Engaging in an exercise or a physical therapy program can help stave off the need for replacing a knee or hip, in particular with the mild to the moderate condition of OA. However, make certain that they are avoiding such activities which can further worsen their joint pain.
Here are some of the best workouts for seniors that
Home Care Boca Raton experts believe to be helpful to relieve knee and hip pain.
Non-weight Bearing Exercises
High impact exercises, like running, can be great for seniors’ health but hard on their joints. Instead, they should try water aerobics, swimming, or use a bicycling or elliptical machine to get their heart rate up without putting pressure on their joints.
Core Exercises
Core exercises are ideal to strengthen the core to keep back in a neutral posture with knees and hips in the correct position to allow seniors to move their joints without added pressure. In addition, core exercises boost body strength, on the whole, maintain balance, and are essential for pain management. Yoga, Pilates, or working abdominal muscles with a fitness ball can improve their core strength.
Strength Training
Strength training and endurance workouts can help seniors relieve chronic pain because a slight change in muscle mass can make clear diversity in their abilities. Those exercises also increase bone density to reduce the risk of fractures.
Hip Extensions
Hip extensions are effective for hip as well as knee pain. These supportive exercises strengthen glutes to alleviate the unnecessary pressure on knees, hips, and ankles.
These methods of relieving Osteoarthritis related pain have shown amazing results and many seniors have found relief from chronic knee and hip pain. Families can help their loved ones by encouraging them to exercise as a routine or consider consulting senior home care professionals to help them maintain overall well being in golden years.
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