BY DR. ARNAN SISSON PT // July 10th, 2023

A lot of folks may get some knee pain that pops up, and after some exercise or some hands-on work it goes away. But frustratingly enough it comes back again and again. This is a something that many of my personal clients speak about before they come to see us. The key though, to make sure this scenario doesn’t happen to you is to make some simple but effective life style modifications that sets the stage for a healthy pain free joint.

So just like any other problem in the body, knee pain can be taken care long term with some lifestyle hacks. One of the biggest things that has helped past clients of mine are just simple adjustments to their diet.

There’s lots of research out there that shows having some extra weight can make knee pain worse, and this is just due to the extra stress on the joint structures over time. So, cutting down your weight can definitely have a huge impact on recurrent knee pain.

It may feel daunting to improve your over all diet, but here are a few simple tips that can get the ball rolling in the right direction.

First off, when you’re eating try to eat 25% less of your normal portions or stop when your around 75% full. This is an important tool I’ve learned from dieticians in the past that helps with weight loss. It works well because even though your eating less, at about 20 minutes the food in your stomach begins to expand and this begins to make you feel fuller. So, if you can wait it out it can significantly drop your caloric intake.

Another tool my clients use is to eat slower. Reading the paper, talking with a friend, etc. are great ways to make this more manageable. But it works on the same principal, by 20 minutes the food in your stomach begins to expand and you’ll feel more satisfied/filled.

This last dietary tweak is one that’s often overlooked. What you need to do is avoid shopping when your hungry. Research shows that if your hungry your more likely to shop towards the center of the store where more sugars/flours are located. By filling up before grabbing your shopping cart it’ll be much easier to stick around the edges of the store and buy more healthy meats/vegetables.

Feel free to try just one or two of these strategies, and you should be surprised at the progress you can get.

If you're still having trouble with your diet, please free to check out our nurtritionist services! We offer a FREE 20 minute 'Discovery Session' so you can see if our services are right for you.