---
title: "5 Ways to Save Your Knees"
entity: "blog"
canonical_url: "https://www.betterknees.com/blog/5-ways-to-save-your-knees"
markdown_url: "https://www.betterknees.com/llms/blog/5-ways-to-save-your-knees"
lastmod: "2021-12-16T18:08:00.000Z"
---

[ read time ~ 2 minutes ]

My clients are committed to strengthening their knees from the inside-out. But frequently, they feel opposition from health care providers who believe cartilage can't change. So I was grateful to see a recent article in [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/well/workout-exercise-knee-health.html) stating, " Instead of an inert shock-absorber doomed to get brittle and eventually fail with age, ... cartilage is a living tissue that adapts and thrives with regular use. " " 'Since cartilage doesn’t have a blood or nerve supply, we used to think it couldn’t adapt or repair itself,' " said Michaela Khan, the lead author of [The Influence of Running on Lower Limb Cartilage: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34478109/) . Alex Hutchison-- author of the article [How to Save Your Knees Without Giving Up Your Workout](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/well/workout-exercise-knee-health.html)-- explains, " But that’s not the case .

Cyclic weight-bearing activities like walking and... running squeeze the cartilage in the knee joint like a sponge, expelling waste and then drawing in a fresh supply of nutrient- and oxygen-rich fluid with each step." Moreover, Hutchison outlined the following recommendations:

- Decrease the consecutive duration of activities that cause knee pain . For example, "if a weekly two-hour tennis marathon leaves you with aching knees, you might try swapping it out for one-hour sessions twice a week."
- Prepare for activities ahead of time . "What your knees can handle today depends on what you’ve been doing with them over the preceding weeks and months." He extended a warning specifically to those who haven't been skiing since last season and who have an upcoming ski trip planned.
- Avoid traumatic injuries (like ACL tears) that can accelerate cartilage degeneration over subsequent years.
- Train your body to move effectively , which will decrease unnecessary strain occurring at the knees.
- Don't depend on supplements alone . Supplements without following the above recommendations probably won't provide a long-lasting solution.

Jackie Whittaker, a physical therapist and arthritis [researcher](https://shoutout.wix.com/so/83Nrflq1D/c?w=wUL1aNwkudcw8NB0ZhkhF2dYJ-dEFnO-pNkEIP_AFvY.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJtZWQubmNiaS5ubG0ubmloLmdvdi8zNDQ3ODEwOS8iLCJyIjoiY2I5YTI1ZjUtNjFjYS00NjA2LWQwOWItMTYxYTMyYWU3OTU2IiwibSI6ImxwIn0) at the University of British Columbia, was quoted as saying, "' A lot of people think that osteoarthritis is just a normal consequence of aging, right? It’s not inevitable. There’s a lot you can control. ' ” Are you ready to take control of your knees? My colleague, Doug Kelsey, PT, PhD, and I developed [Better Knees for Life](https://kelsey-group.teachable.com/p/better-knees-for-life) a program to provide guidance to heal and strengthen your knees from the inside-out.

[Better Knees for Life](https://kelsey-group.teachable.com/p/better-knees-for-life) helps you get stronger, feel better and maybe best of all, feel more in control of your life.

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[Learn more about Laurie Kertz Kelly](/about)