We work with you to confirm a diagnosis and develop an appropriate conservative treatment plan. If you are experiencing worrisome symptoms or persistent pain, the renowned arthritis specialists at Summit Orthopedics can help. When to seek treatment for your arthritisĪrthritis doesn’t have to spell the end of an active life. You may also want to talk with your doctor to explore additional treatment options. If you decide to try this option, exercise care and descend steps that are familiar to you. However, if other options are not helping your knees, a slow-motion study shows that the forces generated by descending stairs backwards migrate to the hip rather than the knee. Admittedly, it is not ideal to back down the stairs. This makes it even more difficult to tackle the stairs. When you spend hours at your chair in front of a computer, your knees can become stiff. Your physician or physical therapist can suggest other exercises to target and strengthen your leg muscles. Repeat several times, then do the same exercise with your other leg. Lift your straight leg about six inches off the ground, tighten your thigh muscle, and hold the lifted leg for a few seconds before lowering it back to the floor. Lie on your back with one leg comfortably bent at the knee. Leg raises are a simple way to make your muscles stronger.
If you suffer from arthritis or other joint problems that make stairs a challenge, there are some steps you can take to improve your mobility on the stairs and decrease your pain. The entire impact falls on the knee joint. This force is intensified for people who have weak quadriceps or thigh muscles, because there’s no muscle to absorb the force of each step.
This is because going down the stairs puts significant force on the knee and the patello-femoral joint located beneath the kneecap. Most people with knee problems find descending stairs far more painful than climbing them. Even when people have mild arthritis, it can be discouragingly painful to navigate stairs. Without protective cushioning, the act of climbing stairs becomes uncomfortable. Climbing and descending stairs is particularly difficult for people with knee arthritis.Īrthritis causes degeneration of the cartilage that cushions the knee joint. As we age, however, our knee joints feel less invincible and more vulnerable and stairs may no longer be an effortless prospect. Most teens and young adults don’t think twice about dashing up and down steps.