If you have extremely sore knees and joint pain and you can't find relief, some lifestyle and therapy changes may be the answer. If you take pain killers on a daily basis to help ease the suffering, it's time to find alternative solutions for dealing with the problem.

Daily use of pain killers can lead to long term organ damage, and it can be expensive. You may be able to avoid surgery, or avoid long term pain and arthritis by doing the following things.

Aquatic Therapy and Strength Building

Aquatic therapy in the pool is great for the knees because it's very low impact on the joint. This allows you to build the supporting muscles around the joint and to increase stability and support. Aquatic therapy allows you to make the knee stronger without putting unnecessary strain on the knee. Warm therapy pool water will help make the knee loose for exercises, and cool pool water will help reduce swelling, so both are a great option.

Diet and Weight Loss

Losing weight through diet and exercise can help takes pounds of pressure off your knees. For every single pound you lose, it will relieve your knees of 4 pounds of pressure. Eating healthy and doing aquatic physical therapy, along with other low impact cardiovascular activities like cycling, can help you lose weight quickly.  

If you have dietary restrictions or a problem with weight loss, you may want to seek the help of a physician to get on the right weight loss plan to improve your overall health.

Massage Therapy and Acupuncture

Massage therapy can be used to improve circulation in the joint to help heal the area, and acupuncture can be used to relieve pressure in the knee. The massage therapy is going to help prevent the stiffness that occurs after a long day or when you wake, and it's going to help you relax. Acupuncture can pinpoint the muscles in the knee that are causing your problems and give relief to pain.  Find a licensed acupuncturist to get more information on the treatment options with acupuncture.

If you don't want to spend your days rotating between pain killer pills and anti-inflammatory medication to help your knees, try these three strategies. If your physicians don't think that you need surgery or they think that you have arthritis in your joints, these are all going to help. 

For more information about pain management for your knees, contact a professional like Advanced Physical Therapy.