9 home remedies for knee pain

Rubbing the knee

Close your hand and place it on the knee cap and circle 20-30 times clockwise and 20-30 times counterclockwise for 2 minutes total until you generate a slight warmth.

Move the knee

Finally, while sitting, extend and bend your knee to a comfortable distance. Ideally do this with your feet hanging off the floor, but if your feet touch the floor, slide your foot into the floor to extend the knee to a comfortable range. Then slowly bend the knee down until the foot touches the floor. Try 20-30 repetitions, as long as is comfortable, for a total of 2 minutes. The sequence should last no more than 10 minutes.

Be sure to check with your doctor or physical therapist before trying any new exercise or therapy.

6. Try a plant-based, anti-inflammatory diet

Here's another reason to try the Mediterranean diet. A study of an anti-inflammatory diet for osteoarthritis of the knee published in 2022 found that there was enough evidence to support further research.

"There is growing evidence to support an anti-inflammatory diet and even some data to say that a plant-based diet can help reduce arthritis pain and restore function," Meininger says, adding that he can suggests to patients,"¿,€œTry it for 30 days and see if you notice less knee pain.â€

Be sure to check with your doctor or physical therapist before trying any new exercise or therapy.

7. Take some trekking poles

Unlike clinical-looking walking aids such as canes and walkers, walking poles do not carry a stigma. That is why many people use them for walking on flat surfaces and not just for fitness walking.

Meininger calls walking poles a more convenient option for patients. "Even for flat ground and regular walking, they don't seem so negative ... and I think walking poles can be adopted more easily," he says.

And, according to Betz, they're especially good for the knees. “I like the idea of ​​stilt walking,†she says. "Because often you're going uphill for the first part of the hike, and then you have to go back down. And that's the worst part for the knee. Hiking poles minimize the stress on your knee as you're going down," she says.

"Walking sticks give you an extra leg," says Amy S. Beacom, MD, a sports medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "If you have a painful limb, why not?"

7. Try home exercise machines

Recumbent or stationary bikes or stationary vending machines can be helpful. Both Beacom and Meininger note that stationary vendors are very popular with some patients. Don't dismiss anything without trying it, says Beacom: "It's trial and error. You never know what's going to work for someone. Whatever gets someone moving can be really helpful."

Before investing in a stationary bike, try one out at a community center, YMCA, gym, or physical therapy office to see how it feels.

8. Find the right R&R routine

Rest when you have pain and use cold or heat therapy to help soothe the knee joint. "Ice or heat ... will usually help, and there's no right or wrong," says Beacom. Some people like compression sleeves or ace bandages for stability, she says. But you don't need to spend a lot of money on a tool to help cool or warm your knee.

If you have pain after an activity, pay attention. Callahan cites the 2-Hour Pain Rule of Easy Walking: Your pain shouldn't be worse two hours after your workout than it was before you started. If it is, shorten it.