- Healthy Weight: Extra weight exerts extra pressure on the joints which often leads to knee pain. Losing as little as 5% of your body weight can help to take stress off the knees. Eating healthy and staying active will help you to maintain a healthy body weight. Talk to your doctors to develop a plan.
- Low-Impact exercise: Good choices of exercise for people suffering from knee pain include walking and swimming. Its important to warm up before and exercise and to cool down afterwards. Avoid high-impact exercise such as jumping and running and make sure to talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
- Rest and Relaxation: While exercise is very important, having adequate rest and maintaining your stress levels are also important. Proper rest and maintaining stress levels help to promote good health and decrease pain levels.
- Ice and/or heat: Ice can help to relieve pain as well as swelling. Heat works by easing stiffness. Talk to your doctor of how to safely and adequately use these techniques. A hot shower in the morning and a warm bath before bed may also help to relieve pain.
- Injections: Persistent pain may be treated with certain injections such as corticosteroids. Corticosteroids can be used up to 2-3 times a year to relieve pain. Viscosupplementation injections helps to replenish the lubricating substances in the knee. Cortisone only reduces inflammation.. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of these injections.