Knees hurt after exercise: what to do and why pain appears * Health

The situation when knees hurt after training is unpleasant, and in some cases, even dangerous. Of course, pain can be the result of excessive exertion or insufficient rest, but no possibility can be ignored. In this article, we will list all the causes of aching knee pain after exercise, and also tell you how to get rid of it.

Exercise should be beneficial to the body, and in no way harm. If after class something hurts - somewhere the process is not going as it should. Knee complaints are one of the most common complaints. Why is this so? Because they work in all types of loads - athletics, strength sports, fitness, martial arts, etc. The knee joint, unfortunately, is one of the most vulnerable. So why knees can hurt after exercise and fitness, let's voice the reasons.

Why do knees hurt?

First of all, let's refute the common belief that it's normal to have a knee pain after a workout. Well done, they say, he trained well. This is an absolutely wrong opinion, and even dangerous. Ignoring a symptom, and pain is a signal from the body that something is going wrong, can lead to serious consequences, due to which sports can be completely forgotten.

So, if your knees hurt after exercising in the gym, the reason may be the following:

Excessive load. The knee joint is an amazing construction that can support body weight and pressure during movement. However, its possibilities are not endless. If a person exercises too often and intensely, and does not give himself enough time to recover, the internal muscle and connective tissue of the joint can become inflamed. The most deplorable result of ignoring such a problem is the complete destruction of cartilage and deformation of bone tissue.
Age-related changes. A child's knee hurts much less often after a workout than an adult after 35 years. Unfortunately, this is a proven fact - with age, a person's production of collagen decreases. Meanwhile, the latter is the main component of the joint fluid, which prevents the abrasion of the cartilage.
Mechanical damage caused by trauma. Everything is trite - you could injure your knee, which is why it hurts. If you really stretched, dislocated, hit a joint, immediately show yourself to an orthopedic surgeon. Do not self-medicate.

Inflammation caused by specific diseases. We are talking about running processes, about injuries, sprains and pains that have been ignored for a long time. These inflammations are called bursitis. They also develop due to infections, weak immunity, overload, stress, vitamin deficiency, hypothermia, and abuse of bad habits. Manifested by acute pain in the knee joint and complete atrophy of the muscle tissue around. In addition to bursitis, other diagnoses are common - synovitis (accumulation of abnormal fluid in the joint), tendinitis (inflammation of the tendons), arthrosis (chronic disease of the articular cup).
Excessive weight. Unfortunately, obese people tend to hurt more knees after exercising in the gym than fit people. Each extra gram creates additional stress on the joints, and in combination with physical activity, the effect is destructive
Failure to comply with the exercise technique. If your knee hurts when bending after training, you are probably not using the technique correctly. Ask a trainer or experienced athlete to supervise you during all phases of the squat.
If your knee hurts after walking your legs, you may have chosen the wrong shoes. Sneakers should be sized, with orthopedic soles, soft, not heavy. At the same time, winter sneakers differ from their summer counterpart.
Skeletal diseases caused by genetics. The banal flat feet makes the kneecap tuck inward when bent, which, with heavy loads, eventually leads to acute pain.

Solutions

Above, we voiced the reasons why people have knee pain after training. As you can see, the athlete himself is often to blame, who is careless about his own health and does not follow the technique. Let's figure out what to do if knees hurt after a workout for each of the above reasons:

Under excessive load, of course, it must be reduced. Review your schedule, make sure there is rest between all training days. The curriculum might also need to be tweaked. Let your knees not be actively involved in every workout. For severe pain, apply cold to the joint 2-3 times a day for a quarter of an hour. To relieve swelling, lie on the couch with your legs up. You can use a special ointment for knee pain after exercise. Remember, only a doctor can correctly determine how to treat knees.
Fighting with time is pointless, more than one classic wrote about this. After 35 years, all athletes are advised to periodically drink gelatin and collagen-containing supplements, which well strengthen ligaments, tendons, bones and prevent the destruction of cartilage tissue. Under the supervision of a doctor, you can take courses of electrophoresis, massage, etc. a couple of times a year.

In case of injury, it is necessary to immobilize the joint to the maximum. If you can't step on your feet, call an ambulance straight to the gym. To avoid grasses, never omit warm-up and cool-downs, and carefully follow the technique of all exercises. This is especially true for working with weights. By the way, after power exercises, a bandage made of elastic bandages perfectly saves the knees.

In order to prevent the transition of acute inflammation (bursitis, synovitis, tendonitis) to the chronic stage, treat in a timely manner. Do not overuse warming and pain relieving ointments, as they only treat the symptom, not the root cause. The latter will be correctly determined only by a qualified doctor.
Watch your diet, eat a balanced diet. If you are overweight, do not overuse simple carbohydrates and fatty foods. With very high weight, many exercises in the gym are contraindicated. Make sure you are not addicted to one of them.
If you do not know what to do, since your knees hurt constantly after fitness, even with the correct technique, it may be worth making their task a little easier. Temporarily exclude jumping, running, and other exercises that lift both feet off the floor from the program. Stick to the scheme - less weight, but more sets. If no result is observed, see a doctor.
Purchase quality sports equipment;
Drink plenty of water. Remember that you can and should drink water during exercise, but in a reasonable amount;
If you have had knee problems in the past, avoid shock loading and excessive weight training. Do not forget about good rest and watch your diet. Eat jellied meat and gelatin, gnaw cartilage from beef bones.

If the knee is swollen, what to do?

So, we have analyzed all possible situations in which after training it hurts under the knee. It is also important to discuss another topic - swelling. It is she, who does not subside and with increasing pain, most often indicates a formidable problem.

When does the knee joint swell?

In case of injury. In this case, the kneecap after training hurts so much that it is impossible to endure;
Pathological inflammation of the joints. In this situation, the knees will hurt very much even a month after training, especially if left untreated;
Development of arthritis or arthrosis. In the first, the cartilage is destroyed, which forces the knee to absorb when walking. As a result, the joint loses its mobility and deforms. In the second, a strange crunch is observed in the morning, the knee becomes numb, becomes inactive. Subsequently, the leg may bend.

In addition to swelling, most often there is a strong redness of the area, pain when pressed, an increase in body temperature. The nature of the pain varies. Someone after a workout has a pain in the back under the knee, while another has a sharp pain in the calyx itself during a jerk.

Any such symptomatology is an unconditional reason for visiting an orthopedic surgeon.

Safety in the hall

Compliance with simple rules significantly increases the likelihood of keeping your joints intact and safe. Even with regular intense strength training.

During any squats, the knees should not go beyond the line of the toes;
In the upper phase, after lifting, never fully extend the knee joint. Let it remain bent;
During squats, always keep your back straight, but you can bend a little in the lower back;
Do not swing your knees to the sides while pressing. Always move along the same axis.

Remember, if your knee hurts, even after a simple exercise on a stationary bike, never ignore the symptom. The cartilage tissue is not restored, so the destroyed joint will have to be replaced with an artificial one. And this is a very expensive operation. Fitness and strength sports should be practiced competently and without fanaticism. Avoid doing exercises that place unnatural stress on the joint. Work with adequate weights and use knee wraps. Be healthy!