Sitting, standing, and walking without pain shouldn’t be a luxury for a lucky few. Everyone deserves to live their best life without aching muscles and painful joints.

If you are one of the millions of people that experience chronic or acute knee pain, you don’t have to live with the discomfort.

There are many ways to relieve knee pain without expensive visits to specialists and complicated surgeries.

Are you ready to get rid of knee pain and live your best, fullest life? Great! Keep reading to find out how.

Causes of Knee Pain

Before discussing different ways to relieve knee pain, let’s talk about what causes knee pain in the first place.
Knee pain can be the result of an acute injury. If you have damaged the musculoskeletal structure of the knee (ligaments, cartilage, etc.) it can cause serious pain.

Other reasons for knee pain may be arthritis, tendonitis, overuse, or other mechanical issues. Most often you will notice other symptoms along with knee pain such as swelling, redness, stiffness, or unusual noises.
You are about to read 11 of the best recommendations to relieve knee pain, but there are a few cases in which you should call your doctor instead of trying to get rid of the pain yourself.

Contact a doctor right away if you experience dramatic swelling or are unable to straighten your leg because of your knee. If you are unable to walk or bear weight on your leg or you experience a fever, call your doctor.

Some reasons for knee pain can be very serious and require immediate attention from a medical professional. However, for those that experience chronic knee pain, there are many useful remedies you can try first.

Keep reading to find out more!

1. Low-Impact Exercise

Unless your doctor has recommended against it, you can exercise to reduce your knee pain. Keeping yourself active can help a bad knee by strengthening the other muscles in your leg.

Whether you have a knee injury and are in the process of rehabilitation or if you have chronic pain, you can try some low-impact exercises to help.

Try riding a stationary bike, using an elliptical, swimming laps, or other aquatic workouts. These exercises don’t require you to support all of your bodyweight like walking and running do. Without as much weight, your knee has the chance to recover.

If any of these exercises still cause pain, contact your doctor for advice.

2. Stretching

There are many reasons that you should have a regular stretching regimen. When it comes to stretches to relieve knee pain, think about stretching all the muscles around your knee.

By stretching your hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves it allows you to improve your overall flexibility.
The human body is a complex system but each part supports every other part. If you have tight muscles in your legs and glutes, it could be making your knee pain worse. Stretching each of these muscles once to twice a day for 30-60 seconds could make a dramatic improvement to your knee pain.

3. Knee Pillow

Are you someone that wakes up with knee soreness and pain?

It could be because of your sleep posture. Believe it or not, how you sleep can have an effect on your body’s overall alignment. Without proper sleep position, you may experience hip, knee, and back pain.

One of the simplest remedies for early morning knee pain is the knee pillow. Knee pillows, like the ones sold online, are designed to put your body in an ideal position for sleeping.

You simply slide the pillow between your knees and adjust the strap. Give it a try and notice the difference right away.
This is also a great product for pregnant women that have a hard time sleeping or experience back or knee pain when they wake up.

4. Strengthen

Just like a stretching routine, a strength routine can help relieve knee pain. As you strengthen your legs, glutes, and even core your knee will have more support from those muscle groups.

Be sure to talk to your doctor before starting a strength training routine. If you are recovering from a knee injury there may be exercises that you are not ready for.

Simple exercises like assisted squats and lunges will help you build strength over time. Along with strengthening surrounding muscles, you can try knee strengthening exercises if your knee can handle it.

Listen to your body and don’t try any strength exercises you don’t think you are ready for.

5. Ice and Heat

Using ice and heat is a simple knee pain remedy with big results. You can use ice to reduce any inflammation (swelling) in your knee. Ice can be used after exercise or if you have flare-ups of pain or swelling.
Heat is used to increase the mobility of the joints in your knees. You can use heat throughout the day if you feel your knee is stiff.
Using heat and ice may not be a long term solution to knee pain, but it offers temporary relief when needed.

6. Massage

Physically manipulating the knee can break up tissue that may be causing your knee pain. If you visit a physical therapist they may use certain massage techniques to relieve knee pain.

You can also seek help from a professional masseuse with experience in injuries and musculoskeletal pain.
Sometimes massage will temporarily make the knee pain worse. The benefits may be delayed, but they will be worth the wait.

7. Lose Weight

Some knee pain is caused by supporting excess weight. If you have struggled with your weight in the past, this is probably something you’ve noticed.

Keeping a healthy weight can be challenging but it has many physical, mental, and emotional benefits. This includes injury prevention and less chronic pain.

Consider seeking help from a dietician or nutritionist to help you with your weight loss journey. When you have reached a healthier weight you will start to feel the difference when you walk and move without pain.

8. Physical Therapy

There are many steps you can take to reduce knee pain without visiting a medical professional. But if you have tried some of these strategies and they were unsuccessful, maybe it’s time to ask for some help.

Physical therapists can help you identify the source of your knee pain. They will explore different treatment options that are usually a mix of methods.

A physical therapist often uses massage and manual manipulation. They may also recommend a series of stretches and strength exercises like the ones described above. They can help assure you are doing the stretches and exercises correctly so that you are sure to benefit.

A physical therapist is also trained to use ultrasound and other technology for pain relief. An ultrasound can reach the deep tissue in the knee and provide pain relief.

Some therapists are also using laser therapy which has had promising results. Laser therapy reduces internal swelling and increases circulation in the area. It can even promote the reproduction of cells.

9. Rest When You Need It

Sometimes the best thing you can do to relieve knee pain is to rest. If you suspect your injury has been caused by overuse, rest will allow your knee to heal naturally.
While you are resting your muscles have a chance to repair themselves. You can help the repair process by elevating your leg and avoiding standing or walking for long periods of time.

If you are recovering from an injury, surgery, or trauma to your knee you may need to rest for days or even weeks before your knee is ready for daily activity. If you are unsure about how long you need to rest, contact your doctor.

10. Arch Support

Your knee pain could be a result of a poor choice in footwear. Each time your foot hits the ground there is an effect on the muscles from your ankle all the way up to your back. Remember, the human body is complex and interconnected!
One easy thing you can try for knee pain is to use inserts or insoles for shock absorption. By supporting the arches of your feet you can reduce the stress to your knees.

You may also want to consider insoles if you are on your feet often. Repetitive stress can make knee pain worse if you don’t have proper support.

11. Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy uses scented oils to stimulate the brain and the nervous system. It has been used for conditions like depression and anxiety. Recent research has also shown that aromatherapy could improve chronic pain.

Aromatherapy is not for everyone, but it can be a relaxing and therapeutic experience.

Relieve Knee Pain and Live Better

You can relieve knee pain and start living a better life today. Try these 11 strategies and see what works best for you.

It may take time and effort, but the results will be worth it. Commit to your health and wellbeing today and experience the benefits for the rest of your life.

If you’re interested in finding more health and lifestyle tips, take a look through our extensive list of health blog posts.