Hit the weight room to avoid KNEE REPLACEMENT?

You fight through the pain…

And tell yourself you can handle getting up that flight of stairs…

But even the strongest willed folks eventually have no choice but to get knee replacement surgery to eradicate the pain and discomfort of aging knees.

But even if you think your knees are just a short step from the operating table…

There’s something you can do in the weight room that can save your aging knees AND possibly keep you from going under the knife!

Research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) says that strengthening your QUADRICEPS (your big ‘ol thigh muscles) can reduce the chances of future knee replacement surgery.

The bulk of knee replacement surgeries are due to knee osteoarthritis (wear-and-tear arthritis). In fact, of the estimated 14 million Americans that have knee osteoarthritis, over HALF will eventually need their knee replaced.

But even with a knee osteoarthritis diagnosis, a focus on strengthening your quads can help keep surgery out of your future.

Your quads are your body’s strongest muscle. And, the stronger this muscle group is— the more your risk of having struggling knees can dwindle.

The researchers who led the recent study looked at over 130 people—half previously had a total knee replacement. They compared their thigh muscle volume to the other half of the group who never underwent knee replacement.

The researchers also looked at the MRI images of the quads of the folks who had surgery—including images two and four years before surgery.

The the folks who DIDN’T require surgery had one thing in common…

BIGGER, STRONGER QUADS.

Building strong legs takes time and dedication. Exercises like squats, lunges, and leg extensions are all great for zeroing in on your quads.

However, if you’ve never done strength training before, don’t jump into it without consulting with your doctor.

You can also strengthen your quads at home with low resistance exercises that can be done with a chair (just Google “chair exercises”).

Again, talk to your doctor about the best, personalized approach for strengthening your quads. It could keep you off the operating table!

To strong knees,

Cory Templeman
Senior Editor, eAlert

Sources:

Solis-Moreira, Jocelyn. “Building stronger thigh muscles could save you money on expensive knee surgery.” https://studyfinds.org/stronger-thigh-knee-surgery/