Knee osteoarthritis (OA)
Osteoarthritis affects the whole joint, not just the cartilage, which may seem intimidating. However, it is a far more positive viewpoint than it seems since you can truly affect many of the aspects in the whole joint.
Osteoarthritis of the knee affects 1 in 11 Australians. It's one of the most common reasons why people in Australia go to their doctor. It's very common, even in younger people.
Don't assume that you can't be physically active if you have knee osteoarthritis. In fact, the knee needs a moderate amount of stress from physical activity to heal itself from the many things that cause pain and disability. Pain is much more reliant on muscle strength than on changes seen on Xray. Factors such as muscular weakness, doing too little or too much, stress, fear of harm, and lack of faith in the joint are involved in the pain and disability that an OA knee experiences.
You want to start your exercise slowly and gradually build up your activity levels. Exercise actually has the most evidence available of any treatment for OA especially neuromuscular exercise. (Neuromuscular exercise -NEMEX focuses on performing exercises that train the nerves and muscles to react and communicate to great good quality movement and joint stability).
The right Exercise dosage for OA knee is highly important and the effective dosage for shown in the research is to do neuromuscular exercise three to four times each week for 12 weeks.
Start utilising the VAS scale to rate your pain during exercise, which is a range of zero to ten. Zero means no pain, five means considerable discomfort, and ten means the greatest agony imaginable. Maintain your pain score while exercising at acceptable levels, which is usually 2 to 4 out of 10, and be aware of that both while you're exercising and for the next 24 hours. We want your pain scale to return to normal or baseline levels within 24 hours.
So, some discomfort while exercising is fine, but it must be within the acceptable range of your perceived pain level, which is two to four out of ten. This is how we can determine the dose for your Knee program. Remember that ice can also help ease the pain in your knees after you work out. So, if it feels good, you can put an ice pack on for 10 to 20 minutes a few times in the next 24 hours to compliment your recovery.
The reformer is a great environment to start strengthening your knee with neuromuscular exercise as you are in a slightly deloaded position, laying down, across gravity to start the strengthening.
As you do the exercises, especially footwork on the reformer, think about smooth, gliding movement that keeps the knee cartilage hydrated like a sponge. When you move, fluid moves into and out of the cartilage, keeping it in good shape to support, distribute weight and nourish the cartilages recovery.
Research in Neurolinguistics shows that using words (like saying to yourself “fluid, smooth, gliding”) and imagery assists our brain in removing pain and fear of movement. Motion is lotion!
Don't worry about the crunching and clicking sounds you hear or feel in your knee when you work out. It's just a noisy(raucous) knee. The reformer is a safe and controlled place to strengthen. It takes a load of force to damage the knee.
Your knees will need rest and recovery time in between workouts, hence why 3-4 times a week focusing on your knee program is beneficial. It includes the rest days.
The appropriate quantity of load, load meaning how many springs you use n the reformer and repetitions of exercise, is quite unique for each person. Using the Vas pain scale is the way to determine the appropriate load for you. This load may be increased as you accomplish more. Remember, you’re working your way up to discover the proper dose for your knee, just as a doctor would with your meds.
When you strengthen and gain confidence in your knee this can lead to wanting to be more physically active. You may want to introduce 10 minutes of walking today as you feel stronger. This also aids in weight management by lowering inflammatory indicators in your body as you become more physically active, which in turn protects the knee joint's health.
Do you want help finding the right dosage and neuromuscular exercises for your knee arthritis? We can help either in the clinic or via zoom consults right from the comfort of your own lounge room.
