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Interesting Facts about our Knees

On bended knees, knee jerk reaction, knee deep in, weak at the knees…there are many sayings that refer to the knees, though we don’t really give our knees much thought until there is knee pain. 

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Did you know - we were born without kneecaps?

Babies do not have the hard kneecaps that adults do – instead their knees are made up of soft cartilage to help the birthing process. Bony kneecaps only develop between the ages of two and six years old. By the age of ten to twelve years old, the kneecap is fully fused into a bone. 

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Everyone’s knees are different

Our fingerprints are unique and used for identification. What is less known is that everyone’s kneecaps are also unique. Don’t be surprised if your knees are used to identify you in the future.

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Our knees have incredible strength

When walking, our knees carry 1.5 times our body weight. So, for a 60kg person, the knees would be bearing 90kg of weight. When we walk up the hill or stairs, the stress is even greater - about 2 to 3 times our body weight. Keeping ourselves in a healthy body weight can help to protect our knees. 

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Right-fitting shoes are important for our knees

Wearing high heels everyday can put our feet in an unnatural position - affecting the angle of the feet and forcing our weight forward. This misalignment keeps our knees tensed and puts continuous pressure on the kneecap, often resulting in knee problems.

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The most complicated joint in the body

Our knee is the largest and most complicated joint in our body. The knee comprises of four major bones: the femur, tibia, fibula and patella, and held together by tendons, ligaments and cartilage. All of these parts work together to help give us movement - allowing us to walk, jump, kick, dance, twist and turn.

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Our knee joint relies on 10 muscles to function

Knees rely on muscles within the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves to work together to stabilize the knee joint. Strengthening these muscles can help alleviate the daily weight-bearing stresses experienced by our knees.

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Being overweight increases the risk of knee problems

A person who is overweight has a higher chance of getting knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the wear and tear of the cartilage that cushions joints and it is the most common form of arthritis. Being overweight increases the stress in the knee joints causing them to wear out more quickly, accelerating knee osteoarthritis. 

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Losing weight can help your knees

Did you know that losing a pound of weight is equal to four pounds of weight lost for the knees? So, losing just 5 pounds can reduce the stress on the knees by 20 pounds.

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Inactivity isn’t good for the knees

Being sedentary for extended periods either due to a leg injury or knee surgery can cause soft tissue to atrophy and weaken. Sitting for hours at a desk job and then more hours sitting on the sofa at home every day can “hurt” our knees. We start losing muscle when our body adapts to the lack of muscle use in sedentary living. Muscles need movement and exercise to stay strong. 

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Keep your knees working well

The right exercise can help strengthen our knees. Swimming, or any low-impact exercise such as stationary cycling or walking (instead of jogging) can help strengthen the knee, without adding further stress to the knees.

The fact is when we have knee pain, we may not feel like moving our knees but this actually worsens our knee health.

If you have very limited movement, a drug-free medical device which uses Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) to contract and relax the muscles may be useful. The study by Durmus, et al suggests that EMS provides an alternative intervention in people who find exercise difficult.

Talk to your doctor about exercises you can do that do not stress the knees. Discuss whether using Revitive Circulation Booster with EMS via electrode pads on the thigh muscles can work the quadriceps to strengthen them and reduce pain and discomfort in the knees.

References

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