Health Tips

Knee Pain

Knee pain has a number of different causes.

Osteoarthritis (OA) — a degenerative joint disease — is one of the five leading causes of disability among older women and men and is the most common type of arthritis. OA is characterized by a breakdown of cartilage in any joint in the body, although it’s most frequently seen in weight-bearing joints such as the spine, hips, and knees. Symptoms of this “wear and tear” condition include sore joints, pain after increased activity or extended periods of inactivity, joint deformity, and fluid accumulation.

Whatever the cause, exercise and keeping to a healthy weight can reduce symptoms.

Try these exercises to help ease pain and prevent future symptoms.( Courtesy Singapore General Hospital)

Shoulder Pain

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that attach to the bones of the shoulder joint, allowing the shoulder to move and keeping it stable.

The tendons of the rotator cuff pass underneath a bony area on their way to attaching to the top of the arm bone. These tendons join together to form a cuff that surrounds the shoulder joint. This helps keep the joint stable and allows the arm bone to move on the shoulder bone.

Injury to these tendons may result in:

+ Rotator cuff tendinitis, which is irritation and swelling of these tendons
+ A rotator cuff tear, which occurs when one of the tendons is torn due to overuse or injury

These injuries often lead to pain, weakness, and stiffness when you use your shoulder. A key part in your recovery is doing exercises to make the muscles and tendons in your joint stronger and more flexible.

For Rotator Cuff tears , please click the below link to know the exercises of rotators muscles

Low Back Pain

Lower back pain can be caused by a variety of problems with any parts of the complex, interconnected network of spinal muscles, nerves, bones, discs or tendons in the lumbar spine. Typical sources of low back pain include:

The large nerve roots in the low back that go to the legs may be irritated
The smaller nerves that supply the low back may be irritated
The large paired lower back muscles (erector spinae) may be strained
The bones, ligaments or joints may be damaged
An intervertebral disc may be degenerating

Maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight makes men five times more likely (and women four times more likely) to develop knee osteoarthritis. New research shows that a 10% decrease in weight will result in a 28% increase in knee function (such as for climbing stairs and walking ).

To start burning those extra calories required for weight loss without adding additional impact to the knees, try water aerobics , an elliptical trainer or cycling (making sure you have proper seat height)