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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Medical News Group
The looseness or tightness of the leg and hip muscles can have an enormous impact on knee pain.
The quadriceps and hamstrings maintain about 30% of the knee joint's stability. If a patient complains of knee pain and avoids moving the knee at all, those muscles will atrophy and eventually make the pain worse. There is evidence that people with knee problems who keep the hips loose and maintain strength in the leg muscles--especially the quadriceps--function quite well despite mild knee pain.
In addition, patients who might be candidates for knee replacement surgery can delay it for many years simply by keeping the leg muscles strong and loose. As the population ages, this stands out an important consideration.
Most people aged 60 years and older have some osteoarthritis in their knees,...
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