The alarm is not shutting up in spite of snoozing it like a million times, your 5 more minutes ultimately ends up into half an hour, by the time you jolt awake you’re late for work, you skip exercise, shower, breakfast and rush for work, after long hours of mental stress at work you come back home, eat and fall into the bed. Period. Sounds familiar? Because it is what most of our daily routine looks like.

The morning is what that makes our entire day and if you’re not a morning person, you have no idea how much you are losing. As per an interesting research by My Morning Routine, only 7% of participants stuck with their morning routine while for others it was just a day or two, after that, again the same snoozing morning. But, don’t worry we have got a plan for you which can give you a good morning motivation to kick-start your day.

Remember, it’s not only the body you have to wake up for a healthy start but your mind and soul too. So, let’s check out how to wake up early in the morning and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Body

➔ Plan your next day and sleep. The personal and professional goals will motivate you to become an early bird.
➔ Set up a soothing alarm. Avoid frightening noises and vibrates.
➔ Wake up with a glass of water as it will circulate the nutrients in the body, plus its good for weight loss and glowing skin.
➔ Practice deep breathing because breathing detoxifies and releases 70% of our body’s toxins through the lungs.
➔ Hit the floor and practice some home workout or opt for a gym workout and carry out cardio and weight loss exercises. If nothing, just take a simple walk in the fresh air and have some Vitamin D, because physical fitness is only what will keep you going.
➔ Get under that shower and visualise that you are scrubbing your stress and washing away your worries that are stuck to your body.
➔ Never skip the morning breakfast. The best time to have it is 7 am. Google some simple healthy breakfast ideas that can save time. Try keeping it an as low-calorie breakfast as possible.
➔ Some healthy food tips, a fresh fruit or vegetable juice is good to start with followed by protein-rich items like egg or sprouts and to breakfast like a king, consume regular breakfast items consisting of complex or healthy carbs like moong dal chilla/ idly/ vegetable upma/ vegetable dosa/ red poha etc.

Mind

➔ Don’t check your phone as soon as you wake up. Avoid feeding your fresh mind with junks.
➔ Listen to some mantras, roll your mat and meditate.
➔ Visualise your success and plan your day
➔ Prioritize your work, divide chores into small chunks
➔ Read articles about health
➔ Take breaks in between and relax

Soul

➔ Again yoga and meditation can keep you motivated and your inner core happy
➔ Find inspiration and try to learn and implement healthy habits into your daily routine
➔ Practice gratitude. Do what you love
➔ Learn something new about anything every day.
➔ Ask yourself, evaluate and try to enhance the next day.

The fear of not sticking to the morning routine is the main reason many of us don’t even start with it. Dump that fear first and give it a start anyways. Slowly and steadily you will get there. Stay positive, keep yourself motivated, practice healthy habits, keep consuming healthy snack and hydrating throughout the day, move in between, stretch and relax, spend time with your loved ones as well as yourself, write what you’re thankful for and get some good night’s sleep for like minimum 7 hours, then nothing can stop you from leading a healthy lifestyle.

Named after Sir Charles Bell, a famous Scottish surgeon, who discovered the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in the spinal cord, Bell’s Palsy also known by the name Facial paralysis or Facial Palsy, is a sudden temporary weakness/paralysis of the nerve that controls the facial muscles, causing the one side of face to droop. The smile becomes one-sided and the eye on that side resists closing.

As per the current status of Bell’s Palsy in India, 20 people per lakh of the population have this condition. In some cases, cerebral palsy which is a neurological disorder that affects the muscle movement and coordination can also result in facial palsy. There is no specific reason or age for its occurrence. It most cases it’s temporary but if not taken care of, can lead to permanent damage. So let’s understand its causes, symptoms and treatments in detail.

Causes

Though no one till today is able to map out the exact cause of Bell’s palsy, some of the likely ones are below;
● A viral syndrome
● Swelling and inflammation due to some kind of trauma on 7th cranial or facial nerve that goes through a narrow gap of bone from the brain to the face.
● Diabetes
● Stroke
● Birth defect
● Skull fracture or face injury
● Stress
● Tooth Extractions
● Head or neck tumour
● Middle ear infection or other ear damage
● Lyme disease, a bacterial disease transmitted to humans by a tick bite
● Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, a viral reactivation that affects the facial nerve
● Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Guillain-Barré syndrome

Symptoms

Bell’s palsy symptoms are sudden and usually appears in the morning.
1. Sudden paralysis/weakness in one side of the face ( rarely on both sides)
2. Saliva drooling and crocodile tears
3. Impaired sensation of taste or hearing
4. Drooping of the mouth to the affected side
5. Difficulty making facial expressions, such as closing your eye, smiling, chewing or drinking
6. Pain around the jaw or in or behind the ear
7. Headache
8. Slurred speech
9. Hypersensitivity to sound on the affected side
10. Slight swelling or stiffness

There is a thin line of difference between Bell’s palsy and facial palsy, the first one is a lower motor neuron paralysis while the later is an upper motor neuron paralysis. The root cause of facial paralysis can be determined while Bell’s palsy is completely sudden and unknown.

Treatment

Its symptoms usually start to improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery of Bell’s palsy in about six months. Only in rare cases does it reoccur or stays for life. Bell’s palsy treatment includes a variety of methods like;
● Slight massage on face
● Facial exercises to stimulate facial nerve
● Wearing an eyepatch
● Eye drops to prevent dryness in eyes due to continuous tears
● Treating the hormone called prednisolone within 72 hours of onset to reduce the symptoms and to speed up recovery.
● Physical therapy to massage and exercise the paralyzed muscles that can cause permanent contractures.
● Electrotherapy – The electrical impulses emitted by facial nerve when gets damaged, the muscles lose their tone and shape, with electrotherapy devices, those electrical impulses can be mimicked to restore the lost tone shape of the face.

Walking and standing are so common that it never pops into your mind the way you walk or stand, however, it should. You might be surprised to know that proper walking and standing techniques not only make you look beautiful and confident but also do wonders for your health. The technological advancement and the use of gadgets like smartphones and laptops have made our posture suffer. A few checks of how to walk properly and you’re good to go….

Spine check

When walking or standing, your spine (commonly known as the backbone), a strong multipurpose structure should always be straight. Your entire body should be intact and in sync, with ears forming a straight line with shoulders, shoulders over hips and hips should align over knees. Alignment is very important as this will restrict you from slouching and limping. Check that you don’t arch your back as it might lead to back pain.

Arm motion

The movement of your arms is another important attribute to be taken care of. Correct arm motion gives power to your walking, thus balancing your leg movement. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and swing from your shoulder in the back and forth movement. The swing will make your legs move in sync. Faster the swing, faster you’ll walk. Don’t flap your elbows out but keep them close to your body.

Mind your Feet

Land your heel first with every step you take. You should then roll from heel to toe. Ensure to roll smoothly, your walking or landing shall never be noisy. When taking off the leg, push off with your toe. Push off with the rear foot is essential to walk with speed and power. This will be a great help for ladies looking for how to walk better in heels.

The pace shall vary from an individual to individual, hence decide your pace of walking with the right technique and posture. Now, let’s find out how to stand correctly.

Proper alignment is the key to standing right and standing straight. Establishing a proper posture for standing starts with the right alignment. You may start with standing against the wall to understand the positioning. Place your feet as shoulder-width apart and flat on the floor. Your body and the wall shall ideally have three contact point; your hips, shoulder blades and the back of your head. Once aligned, you may then try walking away while maintaining the upper body posture that you set standing against the wall. Pull your chin up while pulling the back of your head.

Most importantly, allow naturally for the things to fall in place while practicing the right posture. Never force or rush the process. Feel your stature and the comfort of your supported body aiming upward. Walking in the right way will only enhance the other benefits of walking like burning calories, weight loss, especially if its a morning walk. Moreover, correct posture will ensure you take full breaths, adapt to a natural walking stride as well as engage your core muscles and helps reduce stress on your joints; whereas bad posture contributes to aches after walking and standing. Now you’ll never have to listen again from anyone screaming at you to “stand up straight” or “walk properly!” You’ve overcome the challenge, hence, bid goodbye to bad posture.

Never let your posture suffer!

Overweight or obesity is not good for overall health we all know, but did you know, excessive weight gain is one of the reasons behind your aching joints? A study of Weight Loss Counseling of Arthritis Patients found that severe joint pain among adults with arthritis in 2014 was reported by 23.5% of adults with overweight and 31.7% of with obesity, you can imagine the count of today then.

The occasional twinge of joint pain that you might be experiencing while walking or climbing stairs is mainly due to the body weight and if you already have arthritis, the pressure doubles up. Obesity ultimately results in Osteoarthritis (OA) because, with the years of carrying around excess weight, the cartilage “cushion” within the joints degenerates with time and the bones then rub against each other, causing irritation, pain, and swelling. The more weight on the joint, the more wear and tear on the cartilage.

Research has shown that, while walking, the weight-bearing joints like hips, knees, and ankles bear 3 to 5 times a person’s total body weight. So for every extra pound, 3 to 5 pounds of extra weight is added to them. Now let’s see how weight loss will improve your joint pain.

1. A relief from pain

Dropping just one pound of weight can lessen the burden of four pounds of pressure from your joints. The more you shed the more you will free your joints from the stress. While your body can’t reverse arthritis or regrow cartilage, losing weight will prevent a lot of damage.

2. An ease from inflammation

Arthritis causes the inflammation of joints which becomes unbearable. Your body fat itself is an active tissue that creates and releases pro-inflammatory chemicals. Hence, your excess fat will only worsen your condition. Weight loss can help manage and lessen the pain, improve function and initiate faster recovery of arthritis.

3. Improves joint function

Obesity and arthritis can make anyone lazy. Extreme physical inactivity will further cause stiffness of the joints. Exercise and diet, when practiced together, has shown proven changes in the arthritis condition. The mechanical pressures that occur inside the joint can be improved with weight loss. Moderate physical activity on most or all days of the week will strengthen joints and bones and even burn up a good amount of calories.

4. Overall health improvement

Weight loss not only will relieve you from joint aches but will also benefit your health overall. It cuts down the risk of developing chronic diseases like heart conditions, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer etc. It helps you breathe easily and have a good night’s sleep. When you feel healthy, your mood stays happy and positive which impacts a lot when living with arthritis.

Weight Loss Tips For Arthritis

Don’t go starving as quick weight loss diets will only gain your weight back within a year. Decrease your unhealthy food and sugar intake. Eat regular balanced meals. Have foods that are rich in calcium, zinc, potassium, fiber, vitamins D, B12, and E. Avoid fried foods. Use spices/herbs to flavor food rather than butter and heavy dressings. Eat non-fat cheeses and yogurt; frozen yogurt instead of ice cream; drink skim or 1% milk. Stay hydrated. Refer our previous blog ‘Manage Arthritis Pain With These Simple Lifestyle Changes‘ for further help.

Get moving. Walk, exercise, play a sport, stay active. Remember nothing can be achieved in a day, slowly and steadily burn your calories and joint pain along with it. Also, go through ‘Joint pain relief measures and how to pick up the right one’ to get some relief from the aching joints.

Have a healthy, pain and disease free life!

A human body comprises of different types of tissues and organs. Any type of discomfort is very much possible due to tear of a ligament (tissue) which eventually causes pain. Your feet and the ankle is a very important part of your body. They help you move to places and you pay attention to them only when they hurt you.

An ankle joint is where the foot and bones of the leg meet and thus it is responsible for the movement of the foot. There can be many reasons contributing towards the pain in the ankle. It can be an injury, age, weight, and even sex because females are 40% more likely to report foot pain than males says the survey of foot pain.

Symptoms of Foot/Ankle Pain

● Local extremities and systemic conditions may result in the swelling of the feet.
● Ankle stiffness normally occurs during the night time or when resting for a prolonged period of time. The stiffness of the joints is very common when one suffers from any medical condition like arthritis, gout, lupus or bursitis. Toe joints are at greater risk of being affected than any other joints of feet.
● The joints affected by arthritis may be warmer and a little redder than the surrounding area. If it persists over a longer period of time than it definitely is the symptom and cause of worry.

Causes of Foot/Ankle Pain

Any injury causes deformity around the joint. Ankle pain refers to injury in ligaments of the ankle. Any acute traumatic injury like sprain or fracture can also be the cause of ankle pain. The thickness of connective tissues around a joint can weaken the muscles causing uneasiness.

Inability leads to uneasiness on the affected part of the foot. When the ligament doesn’t heal completely and properly, it further leads to reduced stability in the entire joint. Inflammation of joints is another reason for ankle instability.

Any medical condition such as arthritis/gout/tendinitis could be the reason for pain and discomfort in the ankle as well. Both ankles are likely to hurt when diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Pain and stiffness are also caused when the cartilage wears off.

Swelling may put pressure leading to nerve compression. The nerve endings when pressurized, lead to pain.

Treatments of Foot/Ankle Pain

URICE

Ultracare, Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. Ultrasound is the best natural treatment now a days to provide permanent relief from the pain. Providing rest to your ankle is the best initial treatment. Rest at regular intervals help relieve the pain and inflammation and provide comfort to ankle. Next, apply ice and heating pads depending upon the type of pain. You may consider applying ice to the affected area for about 20 minutes at a time. However, it is important to know when the ice application is needed and when to use the heating pads. Wrap a compression and keep your ankle in an elevated position above your heart to soothe the pain.

Immobilization

Regular strengthening exercises and a healthy diet can help lessen the pain and the condition to a great extent. Supportive shoes, splints, and arch support also help. The key is to ensure you don’t put pressure on your heels and give them time to heal.

Electrotherapy

The best healing is to heal naturally. The Ultrasound-TENS treatment modalities of electrotherapy have proven to be effective, free of side-effects, easy-to-operate and cost-effective which is suitable and capable to treat any kind of foot as well as other discomforts remarkably.

We think our hands do a lot in a day like, eating, throwing, shaking, waving etc., while hardly give credit to our shoulders who are actually making our hands do all these jobs. Imagine with this much of mobility, pains and discomforts are ought to happen which is why it has been estimated that up to 67% of people will experience shoulder pain at some point in their life.

The shoulder, one of the largest and most complex joints in the body is a composition of numerous bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles altogether which provides our arm a range of motion such as adduction, abduction, flexion, extension, internal rotation, external rotation, 360° circumduction, scapular protraction, retraction, elevation, and depression no wonder why it is called the most unstable joint of the human body.

Anatomy of shoulder

The 3 bones clavicle (collarbone), scapula (shoulder blade), and humerus (long bone of the arm) make up a shoulder which has 2 joints namely acromioclavicular joint (AC) and the glenohumeral joint which is the ball and socket joint, together which allow the arm to move. The AC joint is the gliding joint formed between the clavicle and the acromion, which is the projection of the scapula that forms the point of the shoulder and gives us the ability to raise the arm above the head. While the ball (humeral head) and the socket (the glenoid) allows the arm to move in a circular rotation as well as towards and away from the body.

Then there is a rotator cuff that connects the humerus to the scapula and is made up of the tendons of four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and the subscapularis. The job of tendons is to attach muscle to the bone while the muscles, in turn, move bones by pulling on the tendons. Next, there is a piece of cartilage called labrum that cushions the humerus head and the glenoid and keeps the joint stabilized. Further, it has two sac-like structures called bursae that are made up of ligaments and they secrete a lubricating fluid, which helps reduce friction between the moving parts of the joint. Together, all of these make the most flexible shoulder joint.

Shoulder pain may start minimally but the discomfort can worsen with use and time even causing permanent damage to your shoulders if not treated. Not necessarily all shoulder pains occur due to any trauma or injuries like a broken bone, a pulled muscle or strained or torn ligament, it can even simply be due to overuse of your shoulders in lifting heavy weights, irritated nerves, poor posture or some serious ones like carpal tunnel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, tendonitis, bursitis or frozen shoulder or something completely non-relatable like heart attack, pain in the teeth or jaw or gallbladder disease. Whatever the reason may, prevention and a little bit of care can avoid all this.

Tips for a healthy shoulder

1. Watch your sleeping position, lay either on your back or side.
2. Sit with your head over your shoulders and keep your shoulders back.
3. Don’t carry a heavy weight on just one shoulder
4. Take regular breaks from any activity you are required to repeat
5. Exercise to strengthen and stretch the muscles and tendons of your shoulder joint
6. Consume flaxseed powder, ginger, green tea, garlic, and fresh pineapple are the foods for shoulder injuries that may help speed up the recovery process.
7. Keep electrotherapy device handy with you.

When we talk about ‘Yoga,’ the pictures that generally rush to our mind are the hardcore poses of it. The impossible stretches associated with it make us quit even before starting with it. Well, there are some yoga poses that can be performed while sitting and which can work wonders on your health. They are called ‘Chair Yoga Poses.’

Busy schedule? Always seated on a chair and have no time to workout? DIfficulty in standing? Suffering from conditions like arthritis or chronic pain? Old age? If any of these reasons is preventing you from staying healthy, then you must start with chair yoga today which is one of the best methods to continue having a healthy lifestyle.

Before heading to the top 5 chair yoga poses, here are some of the chair yoga benefits that will inspire you to get started now.

• It improves flexibility. ‘
• Enhances concentration.
• Increases strength.
• Reduces joint strain.

1. Chair Cat-Cow Stretch

Sit on a chair with your spine straight and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands on your knees or the tops of your thighs. Inhale deep while arching the back and rolling your shoulders down and back, bringing your shoulder blades onto your back. This is the cow position. Now exhale slowly turning the spine. Drop your chin to your chest and let the shoulder and head come forward. This is the cat position. Continue moving between cow on the inhalations and cat on the exhalations for five breaths.

2. Chair Raised Hands Pose – Urdhva Hastasana

Sit with your spine straight, inhale and raise your arms toward the ceiling. Slide down your shoulder blades to your back as you reach upwards with your fingertips. Anchor your sit bones in your chair seat and reach up from there. You can also extend this pose by adding forward bend (Uttanasana) to it. Exhale and come into a forward bend position over the legs. Allow your hands rest on the floor if they reach it. Let the head hang heavy. Inhale again and raise the arms back up over the head. Repeat this movement between a raised arms position and a forward fold several times, moving with the breath.

3. Chair Pigeon – Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

While sitting, place your right ankle on top of on your left thigh, keeping the knee in line with your ankle as much as possible. Relax and inhale, sit up tall and as you exhale, enjoy the stretch. To intensify the stretch, place your right hand on the right knee and apply gentle pressure and add a forward bend to it. Hold this position for three-to-five breaths and repeat on the other side.

4. Chair Eagle – Garudasana

Sit upright, bring your arms to the front, and cross your right arm over the left arm in a way that your palms touch each other. Cross your right thigh over your left thigh for eagle pose. Better if you can, wrap your right foot all the way around the left calf too. Lift your elbows while dropping the shoulders away from the ears. Hold three to five breaths release and repeat switching the positions.

5. Final Relaxation: Chair Savasana

It is said that end your yoga with Savasana for the maximum and complete benefits. Same you can practice here. Take a few minutes to sit with your eyes closed and hands in your lap at the end of your practice. This seated yoga pose, chair savasana will help your body absorb all the good effects of the poses you have done and make you fit to survive the rest of your day.

What is Arthritis? A very common disease however often misunderstood. To put simply, joint pain and inflammation of joints is Arthritis. Although, inflammation generated internally helps prevent disease and keep infection away, however, when the immune system goes awry attacking the joints; things get worse and this may lead to uncontrolled inflammation of joints.

Arthritis affects 15% of people i.e. over 180 million people in India. There are more than 100 types of arthritis and the disease is so dreadful that it may even cause a permanent change in joints and people affected by arthritis can be of any age, race, and gender.

The symptoms may be very severe, moderate or mild or can even be the same for years. Any part of the body could be affected and the early symptoms of arthritis include:

1. Chronic joint inflammation
2. Swelling, pain, tenderness or redness of joint
3. Deformity and restricted movement of joints
4. An early symptom can also be a viral fever
5. Morning stiffness or stiffness after a prolonged period of physical inactivity
6. Fatigue, limping or depression as well

The treatment of arthritis aims at controlling pain, minimizing the damage of joints, preserving mobility, and improving the functioning and quality of life. A treatment involves any or combination of medications, physical or occupational therapies, joint assistive aids, joint replacement, awareness of disease and support to a patient. An arthritic patient not only needs physical help at times but also mental and emotional support as well. Living with arthritis itself is a challenge after all.

Arthritis treatments depend upon the course and the type of arthritis and avoiding or skipping them is really a bad idea as they help in modulating the pain, thus lessening it. There is indeed a list of common treatment mistakes of Arthritis that should be avoided for better health and the list includes:
1. Not getting timely treatment thinking there is no cure to it. Active lifestyle and some therapies do reduce the effect of arthritis to a great extent.

2. Not taking proper rest. We understand you have a busy schedule but it is important to take breaks in between to relax your joints.

3. A sedentary lifestyle is another big mistake that should be taken care of. Being sedentary will only add to stiffness, pain and fatigue. Get into action, exercise, do some light physical activity, but at the same time, rest at regular intervals is also necessary along with exercising.

4. Smoking and consumption of alcohol will only slow down the chances of you responding to any treatment. Avoid it even you not under any treatment.

5. Discontinuing usage of electrotherapy device after some sessions. It is advisable to keep using it to avoid the return of pain and discomfort associated with arthritis.

6. Last but not least; ignore negative emotions by all means. That’s right because arthritis and depression go hand-in-hand, living with a chronic disease leads to depression which is very common.

All in all, lead a healthy lifestyle and make sure to go for regular appointments. Living with arthritis is definitely difficult; however, a combination of drugs, positivity, regular exercise and electrotherapy, will help and lessen the effects.

Stay pain-free, stay happy!

Quality of life is in your hands. More and more people have become health-oriented nowadays; this includes old age as well. And why not? As the study of physical activity and health among older adults show that, ‘older adults can obtain significant health benefits with a moderate amount of physical activity, preferably daily.’

Exercising regularly not only makes you look beautiful but also improves flexibility, strength, and endurance. Regular physical activity for older adults is a must to keep their body functioning and in good condition. So what you are above 60, it’s never too late to start. Remember, “Slow and steady wins the race”? Start with something light like a 5-minute cardio, brisk walk, swimming and gradually increase the time you spent exercising.

So now, let’s have a look at some of the best exercises for seniors:
1. Strength Training

If you think that strength training is only for young blood than you’re wrong here. Strength training indeed has incredible benefits for seniors. Target all muscle groups and lift weights, accordingly. Initially, start with light weights or no weights. Once your body is conditioned with the exercises, you may start with lifting dumbbells, resistance bands, and machines. Perform 1 set of 10-12 repetitions and gradually progress either by increasing weights or adding more sets.

2. Cardio Exercise

Aging causes loss in aerobic fitness and thus reduces mobility in day-to-day life. Engaging in a 30-minute cardio exercise will shoot up your endurance level. Before starting and exercise see your doctor as well as your fitness expert. Walking, cycling, swimming, tennis, etc are all aerobic exercises, one may do. Ensure you stretch after every workout.

3. Exercises for Balance and Flexibility

Each year, hundreds of older patients visit the hospital for broken hips or knees due to falling. Incorporating balance exercises in your regime shall help you avoid such injuries. Staying inactive or leading a sedentary lifestyle when aging can lead to stiffness of joints. This, in turn, may only lead to more injuries. Hence, indulge in exercises which improve your balance and flexibility.

Seniors may face challenges with regards to mobility, however, that is fine. Chronic health conditions and age-related factors do contribute to the reduction in mobility. This can be improved with time and a few fitness tips for seniors like;
1. Don’t rush in too quickly but start slow.
2. Stay committed to regular exercise and you’ll be able to see incredible benefits.
3. Stretching is as much important as exercising.
4. Listen to what your body says. Any discomfort shall not be ignored and taken care of.
5. Walk around more. It is the best low-stress exercise with great benefits.
6. Avoid sitting for long hours and stand up occasionally.
7. Schedule annual health checkups and be aware of the latest wellness information.
8. Sleep enough. Proper and sound sleep is very crucial.
9. Keep your electrotherapy device handy to treat pain/sprain/strains anytime

Being creative and having fun when exercising shall also improve your mind as well as emotional health. It will keep you regular in your workouts too. Join a yoga class or a walking group or a swimming class, the choice is yours, just remember that, quality over quantity matters when senior fitness is concerned. Make yourself a priority above everything and get fit and independent.

Stay mobile and age gracefully!

Does your knee appear different and larger than usual? Is the sensation of pain, killing you? Then it’s no regular knee pain, you have got swelling in your knees. About 40% of swollen knee sufferers are the youngsters compared to the ones above the age of 55 years reveals Dr Narendra Reddy, MD of Sai Bhaskar Hospitals Group.

A swollen knee or knee effusion also termed as ‘water on the knee’ condition, is the accumulation of excess fluid in or around your knee joint and can strike anyone but is more common in those who are active in sports, overweight, or the elderly. Though usually swollen knee resolves on its own with proper time and rest, if not taken care of can weaken your thigh muscles and cause permanent joint damage.

Signs and symptoms of swollen knees

• A visible swelling of the skin around your kneecap, a noticeable puff.
• Difficulty bending/straightening your knee
• Unbearable pain when putting weight on the affected leg

Causes of swollen knees

Injuries: A trauma to the knee joint can prove fatal when the knee structure gets damaged and starts to bleed. The knees swell up and fluid builds up in around the affected area accompanied by soreness and bruising. Following injuries can cause fluid accumulation: torn ligament, particularly the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), cartilage (meniscus) tear, broken bones

Diseases and conditions that can trigger the swelling in knees are; Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Infection, Gout, Pseudogout, Bursitis, Cysts, Tumors

Overuse: Walking/running more than usual can lead to inflammation and discomfort.

Risk factors
Age

Though swollen knee can develop no matter what gender or age you are, it is found more often in people having arthritis and increases as you age.

Sports

Athletes are prone to developing swollen knees due to continuous use of knees and injuries they encounter more often.

Obesity
Since knees are our weight bearers, excess weight can put stress and pressure on the knee joints contributing to the tissue and joint overload and knee degeneration.

Treatments
U.R.I.C.E

The age-old and first treatment for any such painful conditions is Ultracare, Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. Avoid weight-bearing activities and Rest as much as possible. Ice your knee for 15-20 mins several times a day. Compress the affected joint to limit swelling and keep your knees Elevated higher than the level of your heart, using pillows for comfort.

Fluid Removal:

If there is no reduction in the swelling of your knees, a doctor may suggest fluid removal procedure in order to alleviate the pressure from the swollen area.

Electrotherapy:

One of the best and proven non-invasive, drug-free and natural treatment for swollen knees is to opt for electrotherapy. The easy to operate and handy therapeutic ultrasound devices can stimulate the blood flow and the accumulated fluid on your knees without any side effects within a few sessions of it.

Conclusion
Maintain a healthy weight, exercise and keep your muscles strong, don’t lift excess weight or strain your knees to prevent your knees from puffing up.