Tips to prevent knee injuries – and the signs to look out for

There are lifestyle changes you can make to maintain knee health and help prevent
knee injuries. A Mediclinic expert provides guidance.

Stay active

“The best way to prevent knee injuries is to stay active, especially doing weight-bearing exercises to strengthen your bone quality and reduce the chance of fractures,” says Dr André Olivier, an orthopaedic surgeon at Mediclinic Vergelegen. “By keeping active, you also keep the range of motion of your joints. When you’re sedentary, your muscles contract and you become stiff.”

Weight-bearing exercises are physical activities performed while standing that require your bones and muscles to work against gravity, helping to keep you upright. These exercises strengthen your bones by supporting your weight. Effective weight-bearing activities include walking, cycling, and jogging. Even gentle versions of these exercises can help strengthen your bones.

Getting outside is also beneficial for your knees (and your overall health!) because sunlight exposure provides bone-boosting vitamin D. Exercising outdoors is particularly good for you. Vitamin D is crucial for the proper functioning of your muscles and immune system. It also helps your body absorb calcium, which strengthens and hardens your bones.

“What we aim to prevent through exercise and sufficient vitamin D and calcium intake is osteopenia, or bone loss,” says Dr Olivier.

Maintain a healthy weight

Keeping your body weight within a healthy range can also help to prevent knee injuries.

“Patients don’t want to hear that they have to lose weight but it’s so important,” says Dr Olivier. “The cartilage in your knees won’t last if it’s overloaded over the years. The knee cartilage is very small and every kilogram you pick up is three to four times the weight on that surface. In other words, if you pick up 10kg, it’s the equivalent of an extra 30-40kg on the small knee surface area.”

When should I seek treatment?

Dr Olivier says he usually sees younger patients with trauma-related knee injuries and older patients who are experiencing issues related to wear and tear and degeneration.

Younger patients tend to be more prone to injuries, he explains, and often present with symptoms such as pain, swelling, instability, locking and clicking. These symptoms are normally related to soft tissue injuries – either to the ligaments or the meniscus – or are a sign of early cartilage damage from injury.

Patients will normally have X-rays and possibly an MRI scan and may be treated with arthroscopy. MRI scans are used to show soft-tissue structures that are not visible on an X-ray, such as the:

• meniscus – cushions the bones of the knee joint from grinding against one another
• cruciate ligaments – prevent your shin bone from moving forward on the thigh bone
• collateral ligaments – help keep your knee stable.

Patients over age 65 usually present with swelling, pain and decreased function. They are normally X-rayed at first, as this is a more affordable option than an MRI scan.

“Older patients are more likely to have knee problems because of cartilage damage, wear-and-tear, and degeneration, and they may be candidates for a knee replacement,” says Dr Olivier. “They may find it difficult to walk the distances they once could, struggle to play with their grandchildren, or have trouble getting up from a seated position on the floor.”

Patients with knee problems may also present with other issues like rheumatoid arthritis, gout, previous infection in the knee, or previous ligament repair.

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