Knee pain is no laughing matter. It can be incredibly difficult to deal with and get in the way of daily life. The fact that so many people suffer from it and do not take it nearly as seriously as it should be taken is even worse!
But knee pain treatment is often expensive and tiresome. It can involve all sorts of exhausting therapy, medications, and bills. This isn’t to say that these types of treatment aren’t good; they certainly are, and they help a lot of people.
But what if those options aren’t available to you? Or what if they are, but you want to supplement them with something simple and cheap that you can make right at home? It sounds almost too good to be true, but it’s tried and tested with raving reviews on positive results all around the world.
You probably didn’t think that a refreshing drink would be all it took to have stronger, pain-free knees – but it’s all possible, and it only takes a few inexpensive ingredients.
How To Make A Smoothie To Relieve Pain And Restore Strength
Understanding Knee Pain
Knee pain is a problem that plagues approximately 19% of the overall population. It can cause discomfort, get in the way of daily chores, decrease positive thinking, and lead to loss of mobility.
This issue is most prevalent among certain demographics, as some factors do increase the risk of developing such pain. Factors such as age, weight, levels of exercise or athletic activity, and previous injury can all contribute to one’s likelihood of developing this problem.
You’ll find a large number of causes for knee pain. Some non-disease causes include:
- Overuse
- Accidents
- Infection
- Strains or sprains
- Untreated injury
- Poor posture
- Bad shoes
- Lack of cool down and warm up sequences when exercising
- Bad stretching practices
Some more serious causes include:
- Baker’s cyst
- Bone tumors
- Bursitis
- Chondromalacia patella
- Dislocation
- Gout
- Iliotibial band syndrome
- Meniscus tear
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Osteosarcoma
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Tendinitis
- Torn ligament
Some of these issues are more serious than others. Please note that if you believe you have a medical condition causing your knee pain, you should speak to a doctor as soon as possible.
Of course, a lot of knee pain is just the product of age. It comes with getting older, especially if accompanied by weight gain or a lack of physical activity. If that’s the case for you, then this amazing drink just might help you out.
How To Make The Smoothie To Relieve Knee Pain And Restore Strength
Now that you know how knee pain happens and the importance behind strong knees, it’s time you learn about this secret three-ingredient smoothie to relieve knee pain and restore strength!
Sadly, we have to break it to you: three ingredients is an understatement, and it’s over-simplifying. It is called a three-ingredient smoothie because its three main active ingredients are cinnamon, oats, and pineapple. These are the most crucial parts of the smoothie as they provide the most benefits to knee pain.
But this isn’t to say that the other ingredients don’t have benefits, too! They’re just not the main focus. With that being said, each and every single component of this smoothie is thought-out, allowing them to all have a significant impact on your body’s overall health when taken daily.
Without further ado, here’s how you would make a delicious knee pain-relief smoothie. The ingredients you’ll need are:
- 7 grams of cinnamon
- 1 cup of oatmeal (instant type)
- 2 cups of pineapples (diced)
- 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (100% natural)
- 40 grams of almonds (crushed)
- 40 grams of honey (organic)
- 1 cup of gelatin (organic)
- 250 ml of water
Now that you know your ingredients, here’s how to prepare your cinnamon, oat, and pineapple smoothie.
- Boil your oats.
- Take your diced pineapple pieces and juice them.
- Place your orange juice, cinnamon, honey, and almonds in a blender. Blend until nice and smooth.
- Add your pineapple juice and oats into the blender. Blend until nice and smooth.
- Serve and enjoy! Drink daily, and add ice if you desire.
Wasn’t that simple? This easy and inexpensive recipe is all it takes for healthier knees.
How These Ingredients Work
On the whole, this smoothie we talked about can soothe pain in your joints, especially in your knees, and that it can help ligaments and tendons to become stronger. But is that all it can do? Though formulated for knee problems, it’s a versatile drink, after all.
How do each of these ingredients used in the smoothie work? Are there any additional positive sides to using them? Let’s find out!
A) Almonds
Almonds are packed with micronutrients and monounsaturated fats. These components help significantly lower inflammation markers, which can help with pain issues caused by this problem, according to the dietitian and nutritionist Marisa Moore.
Another area that often affects pain is weight gain, and almonds can help control this issue. Almonds, packed with fiber, help keep you full while reducing cholesterol and helping you to better manage your weight.
B) Cinnamon
A double-blind study involving 36 women with rheumatoid arthritis found that consuming four (500 mg) capsules of cinnamon powder every day caused lowered blood pressure, less inflammation, and higher levels of positive C-reactive protein, which fight inflammation.
This delicious spice has also been found to provide anti-inflammatory benefits all around, so it’s great for knee pain. Plus, it has antioxidant properties that make it very healthy in general, too.
C) Gelatin
Gelatin on its own has yet to be found to be extremely effective against knee pain. But when combined with vitamin C and calcium, it seems that some level of supplementation with gelatin can boost knee performance.
As a result, gelatin has been speculated to be able to help strengthen joints that usually face high levels of stress, especially during strenuous activity. More research is needed, but the results are looking up.
D) Honey
Honey has been used for its medicinal properties for a long time. Not only is it a healthier, more natural sweetener that adds delicious goodness to your smoothie, but it has antibacterial strengths that make it a great option for treating a variety of conditions, including knee pain from arthritis.
But the kicker comes when honey is used in conjunction with cinnamon like it is in this smoothie. In Ayurvedic medicinal practices and similar traditional medicine, cinnamon, and honey mixed into a paste is often rubbed and massaged over pain places on the body.
In addition, drinking warm water mixed with cinnamon and honey has been suggested to relieve some pain from arthritis – including knee pain – when consumed regularly.
E) Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a great smoothie addition, and just like most other whole grains, it can help to bring down inflammation. It also has positive effects on pain relief and muscle repair and recovery, according to sports nutritionist Nancy Clark.
F) Orange
Many people who experience knee pain also deal with muscle cramping. But to address this, we have to understand why muscles cramp up. In many cases, it is due to muscle tiredness – but it can also be caused by low calcium or potassium levels within the body.
Consuming fruit, especially the kind rich in vitamin C like oranges, can reduce overall inflammation, muscle pain, and knee and joint issues within the body. It can also lead to a lowered risk of lesion development in bone marrow, which happens due to knee osteoarthritis.
G) Pineapple
Pineapples contain a very special compound called bromelain. It’s arguably the most famous enzyme when it comes to bringing down arthritis-related inflammation, and therefore, most sources of knee pain.
Countless studies have shown that bromelain relieves pain and inflammation at the same level as many NSAIDs. It even quickens the rate of healing post-surgery or injury.
How does bromelain do this? Essentially, it activates a specific chemical in the body that blocks metabolites, bringing down swelling and breaking down problematic components.
More Advice To Relieve Knee Pain And Restore Strength
A smoothie is great, but is there more you can do to help keep your knee pain at a minimum? The simplest way is to help strengthen your knees, allowing them to cope better with potential strain. After all, prevention is better than cure.
There are a variety of knee exercises you can perform that can help add some strength to them. Placing your thighs around an exercise ball and performing squats while squeezing the ball between your legs is a great way to do this. Just keep your knees at a 90-degree angle at the lowest point of the squat and hold for around 10 seconds. You can repeat this up to ten times, but don’t overdo it and cause injury!
You can also perform a leg lift, where you lie on your back with one leg bent with its foot flat against the floor. The other leg kept straight, is then slowly raised up until it is between 10 inches and 15 inches away from the floor. Hold for around 5 seconds and repeat on the other leg, then do up to 10 reps, again taking care not to overdo it.
Other ways to strengthen your knees and reduce pain include:
- Do taichi
- Undergo hot and cold treatment therapy
- Use a herbal ointment
- Take ginger extract
- Eat additional calcium
- Take note of muscles that need work and exercise them
Please note that if your knee pain is extremely severe, you should speak to a doctor. While this smoothie can help, it is highly unlikely that it will be able to completely cure very drastic levels of pain, so think wisely!
Final Thoughts On Making A Smoothie To Relieve Knee Pain And Restore Strength
You don’t have to suffer in silence through your knee pain. You don’t have to grin and bear it as you force positive thinking just so you can get through the day. Many don’t understand how debilitating knee pain can be, and we understand how rough it is.
That’s why this tried and tested three-ingredient smoothie recipe is so good. It has scientific backing, tastes amazing, and is hassle-free to create. When taken alone for mild to moderate pain or alongside other forms of treatment for severe pain, this smoothie truly works wonders. Give it a try, and you just may be surprised by what you find!
