Arthritis in the knees? Here are three exercises to avoid

People dealing with knee arthritis might be happy to know that they’re not alone. Medical studies report that 10% of men and 13% of women who are 60 years old or older have knee osteoarthritis. 

One issue that many knee arthritis patients face is the pull to move less because of their symptoms. After all, people could experience more pain and stiffness with certain movements. An example is that walking for a long time can lead to increases in these symptoms. Physical therapists can help you find ways to get moving again. However, these specialists also know there are certain exercises you should avoid if you have knee arthritis. 

Three exercises knee arthritis patients should avoid

Therapeutic exercises are a commonly prescribed physical therapy method for arthritis; these exercises are designed to improve your symptoms. In fact, a medical study shows that therapeutic exercise combined with other therapy methods led to a 69% improvement in knee arthritis pain. It’s clear that physical therapists can help you find exercise to help your symptoms, but they can also help you avoid ones that could worsen them. Here are three exercises your therapist may encourage you to avoid when you have knee arthritis: 

1. Deep squats — Deep squats involve bending the knee to a 90-degree angle. In many cases, people also do this exercise with added weight. The added weight can increase the stress on arthritic knees, which could increase your pain. Additionally, deep squats depend on knee stability and good form. People with knee arthritis might find it difficult to maintain good form during this exercise. In turn, this can increase your risk of worsening your arthritis symptoms. 

2. Deep lunges — This exercise can cause problems for knee arthritis patients as well, as it also requires bending your knees to 90 degrees repeatedly. Unstable joints in arthritis patients might cause issues when trying to do deep lunges. Like deep squats, knee arthritis patients should consider avoiding this exercise. 

3. High-impact sports — Sports are used by many people to get some exercise. Unfortunately, certain high-impact sports can lead to increases in your arthritis symptoms. Some can even increase your risk of developing knee arthritis. One study reports that soccer is a sport that can increase the risk of knee arthritis. This study shows that up to 49% of former soccer players had arthritis in their knees. 

Peak Performance can help you learn which exercises to do and which to avoid with knee arthritis

Are you unsure which exercises are safe and which should be avoided with your knee arthritis? Our team at Peak Performance is primed to help you. We’ll start off your therapy process by having you come in for a free screening. This will give us the chance to see what symptoms your knee arthritis is causing. Then, our team will build you an individualized therapy plan designed to treat your symptoms. 

Take the next step to start getting our help with your knee arthritis. Contact us today for more information or to schedule your free screening.