Your knees are powerhouses. They’re the biggest, strongest, joints in your body, and most people use them throughout the day to sit, stand, walk, jump, and bend. They bear 80% of your lessens the inflammation that sometimes causes joint pain. In particular, fatty fish like , tuna, mackerel, and herring are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and are good for this, along with nuts, tomatoes, olive oil, and green leafy vegetables.
It isn’t always easy to put this into a daily diet that works for both weight and general good health. Your doctor or dietitian can work with you to build a plan with the right mix of and diet changes. Or you could try the National Institute of Health’s Body Weight Planner tool, which gives you a meal plan based on your activity level and weight loss goals.
In general, aim for a healthy, balanced diet that you can stick with even after you lose weight. Nuts, beans, eggs, skinless chicken, lean meat trimmed of visible fat, and are good proteins. Cover at least half your plate with fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains like , brown rice, or whole-grain bread.
What Helps: Exercise
Exercise that leads to weight loss will help take pressure off your knees. But it, too, has other benefits.
It might lessen chronic and can strengthen and stretch the complex collection of muscles, ligaments, and tendons that move the knee joint.
Movement keeps your cartilage healthy, too. In fact, people unable to move because of surgery, injury, or illness actually start to lose cartilage in their knees from lack of use.
It’s a good idea to try to mix up your exercise types:
- Aerobic exercise, like walking, swimming, or rowing, could lessen inflammation and increase your stamina. That allows you to remain active for longer periods.
- Resistance exercise, like weightlifting or lunges, strengthens and stabilizes muscles around the knee joint, like your hamstrings, muscles, and quadriceps.
- Stretching muscles and connective tissue around your knee helps increase your range of motion, or the distance you can move a joint.
Just make sure you start slow, warm up, and learn the correct technique for any exercise that you do. Talk to your doctor if you already have knee pain so you don’t choose an activity that makes it worse. It may be better to avoid exercise that involves kneeling, bending deeply, or running downhill, which could be especially hard on your knees.