Do You Get Knee Pain When Sitting For Long Periods?
Knee pain when sitting for long periods of time is very common. For example, you may be knee pain when watching a movie, going on a long car ride, or even going to lunch with friends.
Watch the video to learn simple tips on how to prevent knee pain when sitting...
What Causes Knee Pain When Sitting For Long Periods?
Having knee pain when sitting for long periods is a common problem, especially if you're sitting with your knees bent.
Knee pain when sitting for long periods is common in people with knee arthritis, as well as with other conditions like patellofemoral pain syndrome or chondromalacia patella.
Sometimes people with these conditions will complain of outright knee pain, but more commonly they'll complain of knee stiffness when sitting.
Some examples of when you might get knee pain when sitting for long periods are: sitting in a long car ride, sitting at a desk, or going to lunch or dinner with friends, or sitting in a movie theater with your knee bent.
In fact, having knee pain when sitting for long periods is so common that there is actually a medical coin termed "movie-goer's knee". This isn't so much a diagnosis as it is a symptom, meaning you have knee pain when sitting for long periods.
So at this point you probably want to know...
How Can I Stop My Knees From Getting Stiff When I Sit?
Use These Tip To Prevent Knee Pain and Stiffness When Sitting For Long Periods
- Get Up To Move More Often
The best solution to have less knee pain when sitting is to get up and move around more often. When you move, your joints you release a lubricating fluid (synovial fluid) so that your joints don't get so stiff.Additionally, when you sit for long periods, the same part of the kneecap (patella) is pressing on the same part of the thigh bone (femur). This can cause your knee to hurt if you've been sitting for awhile.Contrarily, getting up to move more often varies the position of your kneecap - Don't Sit Lady Like
If you have to sit for long periods, it's best to sit with your feet flat on the floor with your knees hips width apart. Avoid crossing knee over knee (cross-legged).Women are often trained to sit "lady-like" for modesty reasons, but if you're not sitting in public while wearing a skirt, there's really no reason to do this.Crossing your knees when sitting can make your inner thigh muscles stiff and over stretches the muscle on the outside of your knee and thigh. Over time, these muscle imbalances can cause: - Cross At The Ankles Instead
If you have to cross your legs when sitting, cross one ankle over the other knee, or cross your ankles and keep your knees apart. - Motion Is Lotion
Another tip to prevent knee pain when sitting for a long time is to move your knee back and forth.Again, when you move your knee, your joint releases a lubricating fluid that helps prevent friction and grinding inside the joint.Moving also increases blood flow to your knee and keeps your muscles from getting too stiff when sitting for a long time. That way, your knee doesn't feel so stiff and sore when you're ready to stand up from sitting.
I hope you find the tips to be useful! If you try these things and still have knee pain when sitting for long periods, call us or text us, at 314-941-3970 and we can further discuss your specific problem.
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What Supplements Can Help Relieve Knee Pain When Sitting?
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are the two most heavily studied supplements that deal with joint health. They're most widely studied in people with knee arthritis.
A recent meta-analysis (the highest level of research that combines the results of multiple studies), shows that both glucosamine and chondroitin are beneficial in terms of pain for knee arthritis. However, the two together don't offer any additional benefit to taking either alone.
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is another widely used supplement for knee arthritis. Some studies show that MSM may provide additional benefit to the glucosamine-chondroitin combination, but the jury's still out.
Therefore, I cannot guarantee that using these products (or any product for that matter) will help your knee pain.
Here's one thing that I can guarantee though...
If you've been suffering with knee pain for a long time for a long time, and you'd like to get some help for it, click here to request a Free Knee Pain Discovery Visit at our office.
The visit is no cost to you, and if you're not 100% certain that we can help you with your knee pain, then there's no obligation to continue forward with treatment.
Like this post? Check out other great posts about Knee Pain
Do You Get Knee Pain At Night While Sleeping? Read our post on "How To Relieve Back Pain, Hip Pain, & Knee Pain At Night While Sleeping"!
Have Hip Pain When Sitting Too? Learn To Relieve Hip Pain When Sitting
Plus, Relieve Knee Pain When Standing Up From Sitting Position