Tips for Taking Care of Your Knees While Walking

Many of us suffer from problems with our knees, we often take them for granted and at any moment they can stiffen up and cause us problems. If you hear a popping sound coming from your knees as you lift yourself off a chair, the first thing you might want to do is sit back down and relax. But walking and many other forms of exercise are good for your knees, as long as you take the necessary precautions.

Select Good Quality Insoles

A good pair of orthotic insoles offer support and protection to your feet, they also help to improve your posture and evenly distribute force throughout your body. Insoles can be used for a wide variety of conditions, including:

• Flat Feet
• Heel Spurs
• Stress Fractures
• Overpronation & Supination
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Foot Corns

If you suffer from any type of foot condition, which most of us do, you need to take advantage of orthotic insoles when you go out walking. You can purchase all kinds of products, from plantar fasciitis heel support to orthotic insoles made for metatarsalgia. Your foot is the part of your body that absorbs impact as you walk, if you have problems with your foot, it can cause severe heel pain and other conditions.

Orthotic insoles are designed to meet the needs of each specific wearer, many people enjoy the support provided by bespoke insoles. If walking is one of your favourite hobbies and we wish to avoid any knee injuries, you should invest in a quality pair of custom orthotic insoles. They work to evenly distribute force around your body so certain areas such as your knees don’t take a pounding as you walk.

Watch Your Weight

If you don’t maintain a healthy weight, you put excess force on your knees as you walk or run. You may not have known that by carrying an extra pound of weight over your normal range, you put four extra pounds of stress on your knee joints when you walk. That force increases if you decide to run, this puts a lot of pressure of ligaments, tendons, joints and cartilage.

If you are carrying a lot of extra weight, you can easily injure your knee and suffer from problems such as a torn meniscus. To avoid any issues, monitor your weight to ensure you keep a healthy BMI.

Avoid Stairs

If you’ve bad knees but you enjoy walking, it is sensible to avoid tackling stairs. You shouldn’t run up and down steps at your local university stadium if you want to avoid any injuries. Even if you’ve no problems with your knees, running upstairs can put a huge amount of pressure on your knees.

Walking Surfaces

Taking care of your knees while walking is vitally important, to ensure you don’t run into any issues, you should choose your surface wisely. The type of surface you select to walk on will have a massive impact on the health of your knees.

Although walking is considered a low-impact aerobic exercise in comparison to running, you still experience jarring and force impact as you work out. Try to exercise on natural surfaces because they are easier on the joints. If you can’t find a nature trail, opt for a running track instead of a concrete surface.

The reason you shouldn’t stop exercising even when you feel your knees are a bit stiff is that that aerobic training helps joint fluid to circulate in your knees. This fluid provides your knees with essential nutrients, ensuring they stay healthy and properly nourished. Choosing your walking surface, having high-quality orthotic insoles and maintaining your weight are all important factors when taking care of your knees while walking.