Exercise Alone May Not Help You Knees: Try These Foods to Beat Knee Pain

A new study, presented at the 103rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, suggests that you should focus on a combination of a good diet, weight loss and regular exercise to slow down the degeneration of knee cartilage. Exercise alone may not confer such benefits. 

​The knee joint is a common site of osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that affects more than a third of adults over the age of 60 and in many people, the condition progresses until total knee replacement becomes necessary. "Once the cartilage is lost in osteoarthritis, the disease cannot be reversed," said lead author Alexandra Gersing, from the University of California-San Francisco.

Weight loss has been shown to slow down cartilage degeneration in overweight and obese individuals, but it was unclear if the method used to lose weight made a difference.

For the study, the team investigated cartilage degeneration and joint abnormalities over the course of 96 months in 380 overweight men and women. The participants either had mild to moderate osteoarthritis or risk factors for the disease and were divided into a group of 380 patients who lost weight through diet and exercise, diet alone and exercise alone. The results showed that cartilage degeneration was significantly lower among people who lost weight through diet and exercise or diet alone. Weight loss through exercise alone showed no significant difference in cartilage degeneration, the researchers said.

Not just this, a lot of natural ingredients from your kitchen can also help you deal with symptoms such as knee pain and stiffness. Try these remedies and herbs.

1. Consuming seeds, rich in calcium can help. These will include flaxseeds,walnuts, and sesame seeds.

2. You can also consume giloy. Giloy stems can be chewed as is or powdered and mixed with lukewarm water.

3. Turmeric is antiseptic and has healing properties. When teamed with warm milk, it acts on treating joint pains as well as facilities the healing process.

4. Many people experience knee pain during winters, for them,methi(fenugreek seeds) can be soaked overnight and consumed to relieve pain.

5. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties; hence topical application of ginger oil as well as drinking ginger tea regularly can also help. You can also have ginger along with milk for effective results.

Try these natural ways to keep your knees and joints healthy and strong.