Do you find yourself dreading standing after sitting for any time? Are you hobbling around for ages before your knees seem to work again? You aren’t alone; it’s an all-too-common problem for many people. There is a surprisingly simple solution that can significantly reduce your knee pain after sitting.
Let’s have a look at the reasons why this may be happening to you.
Why are you getting knee pain when standing after sitting?
There are several reasons why you may be experiencing knee pain when standing after sitting.
Osteoarthritis
One of the main culprits of this type of knee pain is osteoarthritis. This degenerative joint condition occurs when the cartilage that cushions your knee wears down, causing stiffness, swelling, and pain. Osteoarthritis often worsens after periods of inactivity, like sitting, because the lack of movement reduces joint lubrication.
Also, with inactivity, the soft tissue such as your muscles, ligaments and tendons shorten and stiffen.
When you stand, your knees may be painful and stiff until the knee joint fluid warms up and becomes more pliable. In turn, the soft tissue warms and lengthens. When this happens, the knee begins to feel more comfortable, and pain and stiffness subsequently reduce.
Meniscus Injury
Another common cause is a meniscus injury. The meniscus is the cartilage in your knee that acts as a shock absorber. Injuries to the meniscus, whether from ageing or trauma, can lead to pain and inflammation, especially during weight-bearing activities like standing up. These injuries often make the knee unstable and can contribute to discomfort after sitting.
Patellofemoral Joint Pain
This condition causes pain in front of the knee and around the kneecap. It is caused by knee overuse or knee-hip muscle imbalance. Again, the soft tissue can shorten around the patellofemoral joint after sitting leading to pain on standing.
The Solution
Several easy-to-action techniques can help you to solve this crippling problem.
I ask my patients to consider the following when sitting:
1. Move the knees whilst sitting
It seems such a simple solution and it is! By bending and straightening the knees prior to standing, you will help to warm up the joint fluid, ligaments, muscles, tendons and soft tissue and prepare them for the activity of standing up.
How to perform: Simply straighten and bend your knees 5-6 times. Take a small 30-second break and then repeat.
2. Engage the muscles before Standing
Activating the muscles around the knee such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves prior to standing can have a significant effect on knee pain when standing.
By engaging the muscles we can increase circulation and warmth which helps muscle activation and preparedness for activity.
How to perform: Push your feet into the floor and hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 5-6 times.
Next, keeping the toes on the floor lift the heels and squeeze the calf muscles. Hold for 3-5 seconds. Repeat 5-6 times.
3. Pace the amount of time you sit for
Standing up regularly can limit the impact of knee stiffening. I advise my patients to move their sitting position every 20 minutes and, where possible, to stand up. By changing position regularly, you won’t allow the knees to stiffen up as much and the impact on them when you stand will be lessened.
Conclusion
By following these basic tips you’ll be able to lessen the impact of painful knees when standing after sitting. Of course these strategies are short term solutions but really useful nonetheless. By understanding the underlying causes of your knee pain you will be able to look at addressing the underlying causes and improving them rather than treating the symptoms.
You can find articles on my website on how to manage your Osteoarthritis here: The New Way to Manage your Osteoarthritis and further help on managing your Meniscus Injury here: 8 Tips to Heal your Meniscus Injury
Good luck with your onward health journey and feel free to reach out to me via my website if you have any questions relating to this article. For further information about managing knee pain you can also check out my YouTube channel: MT Physio
