ost-exercise stretching
    * Pre-exerci

se warmup to loosen the muscles
    * Weight lifting, with a focus on strengthening leg muscles (especially the quadriceps)
    * Regular yoga sessions to increase muscle flexibility and strength
    * Keep exercise intensity steady and balanced
    * Wear kneepads if you play volleyball (or do anything that requires a lot of bent-knee time)
    * Look into exercises that promote good knee health (O Magazine lists a few)
    * Cross-train to give the entire body a workout and keep muscles equally strong

Runners in particular run into a host of painful knee conditions. According to Runner’s World magazine, they should gradually increase mileage and hill running, focus on stretching muscles, and avoid hard surfaces like concrete.

Those with existing knee problems shouldn’t eschew exercise, either. Try swimming and other water-based exercises to keep pressure off the knees while improving aerobic endurance.

Maintain foot health.

It’s also important to wear suitable shoes for whatever activity you’re doing. Replace them regularly so that you’re not working out in harmful shoes. Beyond exercise, issues like flat feet can also add to knee problems; shoe inserts should help.

Lose weight.

Carrying too much excess weight can lead to arthritis, which makes movement in general very difficult—plus it increases the risk of many other debilitating conditions and diseases.

These small changes in our daily lives will have a hugely positive impact on our bodies in the long run. It’s hard to realize just how integral good knee health is until we lose it and realize the frustration and pain of limited mobility from faulty knees. But with these handy tips at our disposal, hopefully we can prevent, or at least put off, experiencing that.

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