Tips for treating cold and painful knees

The older people get, the more likely they are to develop various unexpected health problems. For example, the knees often get cold, and once they get cold, the pain will continue. It is also easy to cause other diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. There are some ways to treat cold knees, but what is needed is that you should pay attention to prevent this from happening in your daily life. What are some tips for relieving cold and painful knees?

1. Keep warm

When the knee joint is exposed to cold, blood vessels constrict and blood circulation deteriorates, which often aggravates the pain. Therefore, you should pay attention to keeping warm in cold weather and wear knee pads if necessary to prevent the knee joint from getting cold. During the day, you can wear thicker clothes and wear a knee pad with appropriate tightness. If the knee pad is too tight, it will hinder local blood circulation and aggravate the condition. At night, you can use cotton and cotton cloth to make a pair of thick trouser legs and wear them at the knee joints. The trouser legs should not be too tight, but comfortable. Lightly tighten the two ends with cotton bands to make sure they are not loose.

2. When the knees are cold, massage the Futu point

Futu point belongs to the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming. It is good at dispelling wind and dampness, dredge meridians, and dispel cold and relieve pain. It is mainly used to treat low back pain, cold knees and paralysis of lower limbs. When your knees are cold and painful, you can use your thumb to massage the Futu point to make the local soreness and swelling obvious. It is best if you feel fever. Moxibustion can also be used to enhance the therapeutic effect. (The Futu point is located on the outer side of the thigh, on the line connecting the anterior superior iliac spine and the outer edge of the patella, 6 inches above the outer upper edge of the patella.)

3. Avoid contact with cold water

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis should always pay attention to weather forecasts, strengthen cold protection and keep warm when cold waves hit or the weather changes, and avoid contact with cold water as much as possible. Experts especially remind some beauty-loving ladies not to wear skirts in cold weather. Some rheumatic knee arthritis is actually a kind of "skirt disease" caused by cold. When the temperature is below 16℃, you should add clothes in time, and even wear knee pads to protect the knee joints.

4. Eat a healthy diet

Supplementing more vitamin E and eating more foods containing niacin and B vitamins can dilate peripheral blood vessels. Eat more warm foods such as nuts and carrots, and avoid eating raw or cold foods, ice cream or cold drinks. Eating spicy foods such as chili, pepper, mustard, etc. in moderation can promote blood circulation. Insist on eating on time, avoid picky eating and excessive weight loss, and allow your body to store a proper amount of fat to help maintain body temperature.

5. Heat your knees

Hot compress can dilate blood vessels, improve local blood circulation, and promote local metabolism. It can also relieve muscle spasms, relax nerves, and improve tendon flexibility. Hot compress is divided into dry hot compress and wet hot compress. Dry heat compress is to apply a hot water bag to the knees for 20-30 minutes each time, 1-3 times a day. Wet hot compress is to soak a towel or gauze in a basin of hot water, take it out and wring it until half dry, apply it on the knees, and then cover it with a cotton pad to prevent heat loss. Change it every 5 minutes, apply it for 20-30 minutes, and apply 1-3 times a day.

6. Soak your feet in hot water

As the saying goes, "Soaking your feet in hot water is better than taking tonic medicine." Soaking your feet in hot water is beneficial for the prevention of osteoarthritis. Zou Yonggen said that in cold and humid seasons, it is best to soak your feet in hot water after going out and coming home. This can not only improve the body's immunity, but also prevent rheumatic diseases caused by the humid environment and climate. When soaking your feet, the hot water should reach above the ankle joint and the time should be about 20 minutes, which can promote blood circulation in the lower limbs.

7. Get more sun

Get more sun exposure to keep your knees warm and avoid getting cold. The sunlight exposure time is reduced in winter, so when the weather is good, you should get more sun exposure to increase the formation of vitamin D in the body and increase the absorption and utilization of calcium in the body to maintain bones.

8. Heels that are too high or too low are not good

People with knee arthritis should choose comfortable shoes. High heels and thin flat shoes are not suitable. Because when walking in flat shoes, too much weight will be placed on the heels. After walking for a long time, the upward impact may cause discomfort in the heels, ankles, knees, hips, waist and other parts of the body. If this continues for a long time, the adverse effects on the joints can lead to knee arthritis. Therefore, it is recommended to wear soft shoes with elastic soles to reduce the impact of gravity on the joints and reduce wear and tear. Women should try not to wear high heels when standing or walking for a long time to reduce pressure and wear on the knee joints.

9. Rub some olive oil on your knees

There are also some folk remedies, such as rubbing some olive oil on your knees and then rubbing them with your hands. You don't need to use too much force, but make sure you do it long enough. Wait until your legs become warm and feel a little hot, then wrap them in a towel to keep them warm. This method is very suitable for people with cold legs.

10. Choose the right exercise

Be sure to do sufficient warm-up exercises before exercising, especially when participating in outdoor sports in winter, warm-up exercises must be sufficient. In daily life, many sports can cause damage to the knees. Do not keep the joints in the same posture for a long time, do not blindly do repeated flexion and extension exercises, try to avoid strenuous exercises that may damage the joints, such as squatting, standing, kneeling, climbing and long-distance walking for a long time. Especially people who practice Tai Chi for a long time are more likely to develop arthritis. It is best to choose exercises that put less weight on the joints, such as cycling and gymnastics, to better protect the knee joints.

Finally, a reminder: you can wear knee pads to keep warm during exercise, but knee pads are elastic and wearing them for a long time will affect blood circulation. Therefore, you should take them off in time after exercise and replace them with a "knee guard" made of cloth and cotton to keep warm. When middle-aged and elderly people go out for exercise, they should wear belts and knee pads to reduce and prevent joint injuries. They should follow the principle of "moderation" and pay attention to avoid sitting or standing for long periods of time, which will overstrain the joints.