“I am an old man of 75 and want to remain independent though I have osteoarthritis of the knees.”

Thanks for the question. Osteoarthritis in the knees is a very common complaint among older people. As we age our articular cartilage becomes dehydrated and looses its ability to dissipate forces on the joint.

The older we get the more susceptible to problems in the knees.

More than 60% of older people have some degree of osteoarthritis in their joints. For this reason it is especially important for elders to protect their joints.

For our knees we do this by avoiding high impact movement like jumping, running and twisting.

Also using ice to calm down inflamed joints after exercise works well. If there is pain and stiffness in the morning, heat can be very helpful.

Taking an anti-inflammatory like Advil can reduce the soreness and pain when your knees are aggravated after exercise.

Using a cane or walker to take weight off the injured joint can also help reduce the pain and increase you ability to shop, walk around the house and do chores.

A cane will take off some weight from you leg, a walker will take even more weight off.

Hope that helps.