Strong Knees Mean Good Health

Out of around 100 joints in the human body, the knees do the most work and are affected by our weight the most. Most of the pressure exerted when walking also affects the knee joints. The knees support four to seven times our body weight when we walk on flat ground. When we stand up from a chair, our knees sustain 3.5 times our body weight.

The knee is where the thighbone and shinbone meet. Cartilage surrounds the ends of these bones. It cushions the knee, preventing direct pressure from being spread to the bones.

Walking with a stoop can damage the knees. Lee Dae-ho, a baseball player for the Lotte Giants weighing more than 100kg, had to undergo a surgery on his damaged knee cartilage in 2002 caused from running and toeing in and out, after he was ordered to lose weight from his coach.

Having knee problems makes people inactive, which can lead to obesity and cardiovascular diseases, to name a few. In short, knee problems can cause other problems with the health in general.

The sedentary lifestyle of Asians does harm to their knees. Cartilage wears off due to postures using joints too often, and this results in degenerative arthritis, or inflammation of a joint. Patients suffering from this condition in Korea, China, and Japan are more numerous compared to those in the West, where the number of people with knee and hip problems are similar in number.

Many Korean women suffer from arthritis because they put pressure on their joints when weeding, washing clothes, and working in the kitchen. As a result, more than 30,000 artificial cartilage implants were carried out last year.

As people age, knee cartilage wears out because of the high frequency of use. Many elderly degenerative arthritis patients take their condition for granted, thinking it is one of the ailments that comes with aging. Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful knee disease. However, due to the development of medicine and treatments, patients do not need to suffer any more. Early treatment is the best treatment.

Cartilage shots that provide nutrients, mitigate pain, and delay the development of disease, implant cartilage after removing and cultivating healthy cartilage. Straightening out tilted bones is another treatment.

New artificial cartilage lasts 15 years, an improvement from less than 10 years. Ceramic artificial cartilage has been introduced, which is more durable. Medicine with almost no side effects and better treatment results has also come out to ease the pain of patients.

The best way to have healthy knees is to keep an optimum weight. Once body weight increases, more pressure will be applied to the knees. The pressure ratio of body weight to knees is 1:3. This means, 1kg of body weight increase will apply 3kg of pressure to the knees.

Good shoes can make the knees healthier, too. Shoes with good cushions instead of high heels and hard soles are needed to protect the knee joints. Shoes that are too big for the feet can be harmful to the joints. A finger space behind each foot is good for the joints.

Squatting, sitting on the floor, and sitting cross-legged should be avoided even if you have healthy knee joints.

buddy@donga.com