How to Keep Your Hips and Knees Healthy?

Human physiology is intricate and exquisite. It is composed of so many parts and processes. The most crucial one is the skeletal system. It counts for 206 bones with 360 joints.

The skeleton supports our entire body internally and externally. Without it, life cannot exist. So, you must do everything required to keep your bones and joints healthy. 

This post discusses everything medically recommended for a rough, tough, and strong network of bones inside the body.  

What makes your joints unhealthy?

Your joints are complicated parts of your body. They keep many meeting ends of your bones together. A joint comprises various parts like

●      ligaments,

●      cartilage,

●      tendons,

●      veins,

●      nerves,

●      synovial membranes, etc.

When any such part gets traumatised (road accidents or sports injuries) and thus inflamed, it causes pain, stiffness, and swelling. And the affected joint becomes unhealthy.          

Anatomy of a healthy knee

The knee is the biggest joint in your skeleton system. It is the point where your bones like the femur and the tibia meet. This joint comprises the following:

●      Femur

●      Quadriceps tendon

●      Patella (Kneecap)

●      Patellar Ligament

●      Tibia

●      Medial meniscus

●      Posterior cruciate ligament

●      Lateral meniscus

●      Anterior cruciate ligament

●      Articular cartilage

●      Synovial membrane

These constituents form your knee joints. When all these parts have no sign of wear and tear or damage, it is medically held that your knees are healthy because there will be no condition of inflammation.

Anatomy of a healthy hip

Let’s now talk about hip joints. Each hip joint looks like a socket and a ball: the lower part of the Pelvis forms a cavity (a socket) where the Femoral Head (a ball-like structure) fits.

A hip joint has the following components:

●      Pelvis

●      Acetabulum

●      Femoral Head

●      Articular Cartilage

●      Greater trochanter

●      Femoral neck

●      Femur 

When any of such parts wears down or gets injured because of external trauma, it causes inflammation within the joint. It will give rise to pain, swelling and tenderness in the hip. In the most severe cases, you might not even be able to move your legs comfortably. 

As long as these components work well, your hips are perfectly healthy.

If your joints have already worn out completely, ensure to consult the most experienced hip replacement doctor in Delhi first.   

Things that can make your joints unhealthy

Because of the interplay of various factors, your knee and hip joints can get damaged and thus become painful and unhealthy. Consider the following for a better understanding of such causes.

Poor lifestyle: Modern life is a hectic life with long working hours, extended late-night waking time, blaring at screens most of the time, etc. This also includes the element of junk food, which is not so rich in the nutrients your body needs.

A poor lifestyle impacts your life negatively as a whole and it affects your joints like hips and knees as well. Further constituents of a poor lifestyle are discussed below.

Prolonged inactivity: As much as possible, try to be active. When you lead a physically inactive or sedentary lifestyle, it makes your bones, joints and muscles around the joint weaker than when you exercise regularly.

It happens because your body gains strength and resilience when you put a healthy strain on it via exercise. 

External traumas: You can also meet some unexpected injuries in life because of unfortunate external traumas like road accidents, fighting, sports injuries, etc. which can cause joint injuries.   

High-stress level: A great deal of research shows that there is a well-established link between mental and physical health. So, too much stress harms mental health which in turn might cause bone and joint problems in certain cases. 

Undetected underlying medical conditions: Sometimes, you have some undiagnosed medical conditions that can give you inflammation of joints like Osteoarthritis, Arthritis, Partial Bone Fracture, Congenital Hip, etc. 

Deficiency of essential nutrients: Not taking calcium and vitamin D in the recommended quantity for long will lead to osteoporosis. It is enough to speed up the process of natural wear and tear of your joint components—refer to the succeeding point.  

Natural wear and tear: Joints like knees and hips come with a natural tolerance limit. Thus, after an age, parts like articular cartilage and meniscus start wearing down because of daily damage caused by normal functioning. This causes the condition of Osteoarthritis in old age.  

Rheumatoid Arthritis: It is an auto-immune disease that can affect the healthy tissues around any joints of the body including hip and knee joints.

Considerations for better knee and hip joint health

If you want to keep your body bones and joints healthy and strong, be mindful of the following points. Introduce them to your lifestyle and keep your overall health in order. 

Pay attention to your diet

Our body is entirely what we eat. So, if you want to make your bones healthy and strong, ensure you take enough calcium and vitamin D, along with all the essential nutrients. 

You can include the following food items for better calcium intake:

●      Milk, cheese and other dairy products

●      Tofu

●      Green leafy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and okra

●      Soya beans

●      Food made with fortified flour

●      Soya drinks

●      Nuts

●      Fishes where you can eat bones

Besides, the food below helps ensure the recommended amount of vitamin D in your diet.

●      Oily fish

●      Salmon

●      Sardines

●      Mackerel

●      Egg yolks

●      Fortified foods

●      Supplements (take them during winter or autumn days when the Sun is mostly off)

●      Sunlight exposure

Avoid junk food as much as possible. Try to have a balanced diet full of essential nutrients and liquid intake like fruit and vegetable juice.

Stay away from harmful activities

Well, adventurous activities or sports might offer an exciting escape from the monotony of life, but such outdoor activities are highly dangerous.

Although, with safety measures, risks subside to a low, you might end up causing injuries to your knee or hip joints. The following are a few examples of such risky activities.

●      Bungee jumping

●      Paragliding

●      Biking

●      Bridge climbing

●      Rafting

●      Trekking

●      Skiing

●      Surfing, etc.    

Sometimes, even a thing like rushing up and down the stairs carelessly can also cause serious injury to your hips and knees. It happens when you fall hard and knock yourself down to the ground.   

Furthermore, while riding a motorbike, ensure all the safety precautions so that if anything traumatising occurs, your joints will be safe and sound.  

Maintain a healthy weight

When you have excessive fat, it causes unhealthy pressure or strain on your knee and hip joints while standing, running and walking. In that case, your cartilage within the joints will wear down soon.

Thus, the case of obesity can deteriorate your joint health only because it will cause protective tissues, cushioning the ends of bones, to get more wear and tear than otherwise. Hence, to keep joints in good condition, a healthy weight is a must.

Here are some of the tips for keeping your body in shape.

●      Don’t do over-eating.

●      Exercise regularly.

●      Reduce your carb intake and increase protein.

●      Stick to a good and healthy dieting plan.

●      Avoid junk food after full meals.

●      Say no to too much of a particular hot beverage like coffee and tea.

●      Cut back on soft drinks as much as possible.

●      Take adequate sleep.

●      Avoid waking till late at night. Sleep deficiency has been linked to putting on weight over time because of high-stress levels and mood swings.

●      Cut back on white sugar as much as possible. Take it to a minimum low.  

Follow a proper exercise schedule

Regular exercise in the recommended pattern is crucial for healthy hips and knees. Both these joints are surrounded by muscles. When you exercise, these muscles get strengthened creating a protective shield around the joints.

So, this way your joints become less likely to get easily injured because of external traumas. The following are the best physical exercises where you will get to keep a good muscle mass around your joints.

Always do your postures, movements and exercises under the supervision of a certified trainer or physiotherapist. Otherwise, you might overdo it causing spraining or straining.

●      Straight leg raise

●      Leg swings

●      Leg lifts

●      Hip flex or stretch

●      Lunges

●      Ankle stretch

●      Hip abduction

●      Banded walk

●      Bridging

●      Hip circles

●      Chair stand

●      Knee lift

●      Lying knee bend

●      Double knee to chest

●      Squats

●      Quadriceps stretch

●      Butterfly pose

●      Hamstring curls

Let’s Conclude

The best way to keep your health is as follows in general: have a balanced diet, do regular exercise, and sleep adequately. This will help keep your overall health in place, including your joints.  

However, if you have pain in your knees and hips even after a healthy lifestyle, don’t ignore this. See an orthopedic doctor right away. It could be because of some serious underlying conditions.

In case you are recommended replacement surgeries, ensure to visit the best knee replacement doctor in Delhi NCR or anywhere nearby you.