Knee pain: training and enzymes help

In particular, young people who are active in sports often complain of knee problems. Typical triggers are climbing stairs (the knee joint has to bear eight times the weight when climbing stairs), running downhill or sports activities that involve straining in a deep squat but also sitting for long periods.

Cycling can cause knee pain.

When cycling, the knee joint is particularly stressed by the high exertion of force when riding uphill or excessive pedalling. With the so-called “runner’s knee”, the pain is not due to a defective knee but to shortened pelvic and ischium muscles.

Physiotherapy instead of frog jumps.

In most cases, no knee surgery is required; it is often sufficient to limit the pain-triggering loads to a large extent. These include, for example, outdated training methods in the squat, such as the duck walk, frog jumps, and squats with weights, because they put a lot of pressure on the kneecap.

Physiotherapy exercises that strengthen the thigh muscles are helpful. Fitness equipment or the Theraband, a wide exercise band made of rubber, are suitable for this. It is also essential to ensure good stretchability of the squat muscles. A 5-10 minute warm-up with gentle stretching is essential.

Swimming strengthening and stretching exercises before and after jogging are recommended as therapy for a runner’s knee. Special shoe inserts can also help. Joint bandages for the knees are a support in case of overload.

Enzymes relieve knee inflammation.

Overloaded muscles lead to the most minor inflammation and trauma that causes the pain. Of course, arthrosis can also be a reason for knee joint problems – inflammatory processes also cause the pain here.

One possibility is, therefore, to alleviate the inflammation, for example, with enzymes: They help to break down proteins more quickly at the site of inflammation and thus accelerate the natural process of fighting inflammation. Even after knee surgery, enzymes support the healing process.

Natural sources of enzymes are, for example, pineapple, papaya, mango or kiwi. However, several kilos would have to be consumed for this. In addition, the enzymes in the fruit are not resistant to the stomach and hardly ever get into the bloodstream. More effective are enteric-coated enzyme tablets; the depot form ensures that the enzymes are released with a time delay.

Six tips for the knee:

• Climbing stairs, running downhill, avoid exercises in the crouch
• Cyclists should pay attention to the correct frame height and seat height as well as saddle inclination
• Strengthen thigh and back muscles, for example, in the gym
• Warm-up and stretching exercises
• To swim
• Enzymes support the healing process of inflammation caused by stress, arthritis, knee surgery