How to Prevent Knee Injury

A knee injury may be an acute injury (in the ligament, cartilage, or tendon) or chronic muscles (tendonitis, bursitis, or arthritis). The cause can be various: not warm up before exercise, injury while exercising, and other accidents. [1] Although not all injuries can be prevented (especially acute injuries from impact), you can reduce the risk of knee injury by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising properly, avoiding exercise and high-risk activities, and wearing the right shoes. Here are some tips for you to refer.
Take care of your weight.
Each kilogram of overweight will increase the load on the knee when up and down stairs. Thus, being overweight is very important to protect your knee. Research shows people who suffer from arthritis on the knee lose pain as much as 20% each weight drops 4.5 kg.
Warm up before exercising.
Warming up will prepare the body to deal with physical activity so that the risk of injury decreases and performance increases. The general rule, the less you exercise, the longer you need to warm up. [4] Try some of the following warming ways:
• Start slowly. If you are doing aerobic activity such as walking, swimming, or biking, start slowly for 5-10 minutes, then move up gradually to full speed.
• Step up. Practice with up and down stairs or small stools. Way, lift your body with one foot when climbing stairs, then back down with the same leg. Perform 10-15 step-ups per foot.
• Hamstring curl. Stim on a mat and bend one leg so your heels move toward your butt. Repeat 10-15 times per foot.
• Straight-leg lift. Lie down on your back with one leg bent so that the floor / mat. While keeping the other legs straight, lift your bent legs until they are perpendicular to your body. Repeat 10-15 times for each leg.
Cool down after exercise.
Cooling is done by reducing your aerobic intensity gradually. Keep movement until your breath and heart rate return to normal. Cooling helps restore the body and reduce the risk of injury and cramps.
• Light cardio. Walk for 5-10 minutes until the heartbeat slows, or pedal a bicycle on a light resistance for 5-10 minutes.
• Walking lunge. Perform two sets of 10 walking lunge reps. When stepping forward, move the weight to the front leg and bend the legs up to the knee on the back foot only about 2.5 cm from the floor. Push the body with both feet to move forward to the other foot and repeat this process.
• Stretching. Do a light cardio or walking lunge for 5-10 minutes for stretching.
Stretch to increase flexibility.
Increase the flexibility of the calf muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps and pelvis to reduce the likelihood of knee injury as your movements will be smoother with better posture. Stretching should be done before warm up and after exercise. To keep your heart rate up after heating, do stretching. Stretch sitting after cooling. [11] Stretch the body slowly, holds for 30 seconds, and do not bounce while stretching because of the risk of injury. Types of good stretching are:
• Quadricep (Standing) Muscles. Hold on to something to keep your balance. Take the tip of your left foot with your right hand, and pull slowly toward your buttocks. Repeat with the other leg.
• Calf Muscles (Standing). Stand on one leg. Lean forward as you cling to something (to maintain balance). Put weight on your front leg and keep your back legs straight and your heels stuck to the floor. Repeat with the other leg.
• Hamstring Muscles (Standing). Stand with both legs opened slightly wider than the shoulders. Lean forward and go one foot while keeping both legs and back straight. Repeat with the other leg.
• Standing hip flexor (Standing). Stand on one foot slightly in front of the other, and keep your back straight. Lean forward with your front leg to feel the strain, but not to hurt the front of the pelvis on your hind legs. Repeat with the other leg.
• Stretching butterflies (Sitting). Sit down and keep your back straight and your feet press against each other. Hold your legs while leaning forward. Lean until your body feels a stretch, but do not hurt you.
• Hamstring Muscles (Sitting). Sit down and stretch one leg, while bending the other leg so that it rests on the other one. Lean to the stretched leg while keeping your legs straight. Repeat with the other leg.
Remember:
See a doctor if within 72 hours you feel you have injured your knee. Immediately switch the weight and pressure from the knee until you get an examination from a professional.