Knee Pain at Night (Even Worse in Bed!)

I got a question from a subscriber who said his wife felt knee pain at night when she would go to bed. In this video, I'll go over some medical myths the doctors are probably telling you (and why not to believe them), what the actual causes of pain might be, and some leg strengthening exercises to help you work towards a good, pain-free night of sleep.

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At Upright Health we give you strategies and research to get your life back.

With principled functional training, we believe everyone can beat chronic pain and get strong, mobile, and resilient.

Our home training programs help you troubleshoot and train your body safely. We help you tear down fear and build up muscle. We help you think right, move right, and feel right.

Matt Hsu's own battle with chronic pain from the age of 16 in his feet, knees, hips, back, shoulders, elbows, forearms, wrists, hands, and head gives him a uniquely thorough understanding of musculoskeletal pain, the ways in which it can undermine an entire life, and the mental and physical hurdles that keep people from getting out of it.

When not filming videos, he's working out in the living room, surfing, learning dance or gymnastics moves, or riding a bike with his son in tow.

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO
In this video, I address a subscriber's concern about knee pain that his wife experiences during the night. I'll talk about doctors' use of arthritis as a "cause" of joint pain, the muscles to strengthen that are actually going to help your pain, and some exercises that will support your goal of a pain-free night.

#KneePainExercises #JointPainRemedy #KneeArthritis #UprightHealth

[Uprighthealth]

What's going on with YOUR knee pain at night? How often is it happening? Drop me a comment!👇

[juliadrake]

Matt your sense of humor combined with knowledge and practical commonsense ideas is so refreshing that I just had to subscribe !

[EvonneHeystek]

I am a 65-year-old lady who is very active, and about four or five months ago my knee started acting up so bad, I thought I'd have to go and look at a surgeon for a knee replacement. I did these exercises that you recommended and could not believe the immediate results! It was totally amazing how fast these exercises worked.

[Einsteinsmum]

Know that although your parents may not be able to benefit from your guidance, this 70 yr old woman deeply appreciates your videos. Re this video, love that twisting standing stretch. The seated straight leg lift grabbed my calf! Will try walking backwards. Thank you for all the valuable information and useful exercises you provide. ❤️

[roryjdelany]

I am 80, I cycle around 100 miles a week and work out for around 2hrs every second day. About 3 months ago I started getting pain on the inside of my right knee while cycling. Then I started having it while walking, now I have it every night. It wakes me up and I am not ablevto find a comfortable position in the bed. So, I'm very open to whatever help you can offer.
Thank you,
Rory

[vonshango]

4:30  atrophy induced immobility...  8:12 exercise #1 wall twisted hip hinge to stretch ham, then use lat hams to pull you back up. this helps balance as hips now function in more motion range. stretch muscle when bending then fire them back upright. 5-10x2 each side. 13:24 ex #2 seated leg lift and hold.  15:47 when you stretch stiff lateral hams and build strength, your knees will bother less.  16:08 to build knee strength walk backwards a few minutes daily.

[kimberlyrabideau]

First time seeing your content. Was online searching for POSITIONAL nighttime knee pain. Everything I’ve previously found says it’s about arthritis, which I’m not convinced is the cause of my night pain. I only experience pain at certain positions while laying on sides. This approach makes so much logical sense. Thank you! Can’t wait to try these and learn more from you!

[timbuktu]

Your You-Tubes are incredibly reassuring.
The give me incentive to actually do something instead of complaining.

[ImCarolB]

This is exactly what I'm experiencing, and exactly what my doctor told me was the cause! After a bad kidney stone attack, I got into the habit of not exercising or moving around enough. Months later, I am all bound up from the hips to the knees. Nothing to do for it but to get out and walk and go through some exercises. (I'm 70 years old.)

[patriciavarga]

Watching to learn. No knee issues. Thank you Matt

[anniehosking]

I really, really need to get back to doing exercises for my knees (and everything else). A few months of poor mental health and little movement means I'm getting more knee pain and a lot of back ache. Knee pain at night has been particularly bad this week so this is a timely video!

[Terrilyn_Austen]

OMG you are a life saver! I am a runner and heard the same stuff from DR's! This makes much sense!

[sallygreavesbrown]

Your videos helped me a great deal with FAI of my right hip. Now I'm watching this to understand how to mend my left knee. It helps when one has a better understand of how things really work in the body.

[brendagervais]

Wow! My husband just found you and I am excited to help my muscles stay alive. My left knee complains only at night or when it gets cold out so looking forward to helping with exercising instead of meds. Appreciate the share

[joshuacarlmaglangit]

Thank you so much for all of the information. Right now, my both knees hurt so much this evening and I can't sleep and I don't know how to overcome it that's why I go to YouTube and search for it and I see your vlog and it helps me to overcome it. Thank you!

[KC-]

Very helpful! So tired of having arthritis and look forward to learning more about knee strengthening.

[senilecanuck]

As someone who broke his knee many years ago let me suggest another cause of knee pain at night. Definitely do the exercises to improve knee health but there are a couple mechanical causes that can also cause pain in inflamed knees.

It can be as simple as a little pressure on the foot, which causes pressure against the inside of the knee joint against tender tissues. Over time the irritation builds to actual pain, and since you lay there for 8 hours or so it has plenty of time to reach that point.

For me if I lay on my back for example, my toes may not be pointed straight up at the ceiling. Feet angle slightly out when totally relaxed. Now if there is a comforter or other bedding hanging off the end of the bed pulling gently down on the highest point, my toes, that can be enough to create some rotational force against my knee. Because the foot is not pointing straight up it’s pulled down and to the side rotating the lower leg further. This gentle pressure twisting the knee can cause real discomfort over time. And once the knee is inflamed it just gets more sensitive to it.

Simply adjusting the bedding so the weight is not pulling at the foot can be the difference between a comfortable night or tossing and turning and waking up with a swollen knee.

In other instances just putting a small pillow under the knee for support can be what’s needed.

Do the exercises for strong happy knees, but don’t discount simpler causes of discomfort too.

[johnatyoutube]

You do the doctor imitation really well! Lol. If I'd listened only to doctors, I wouldn't be walking a few miles a day and doing asian squats today.

Once in a while, I need an Alleve when I have a joint flare-up, but I'm SO much stronger for exercising and working on my lower body strength and flexibility. I've embraced the barefoot movement and am building natural strength and balance and alignment and it's making a huge difference. And I'm learning a lot from you and embracing it. I'm 61 and if I can do it, anyone can!

[smca]

Love your vids...brain damage had me unbalanced for two yrs, steroids lost me most of leg and butt muscle, and I'm 59 and was unable to even cross my right leg (lots of stiffness around hip)...this also translated to pain in right hip and right knee...watched and used a lot of your vids and is getting better....I do stretches then exercise muscle then massage sore bits...keep up the great work, your helping a lot of people and making a difference in the world.

[VieneLea]

I actually had those pains months ago, but they stopped once I started doing some excercise you recommended. Thank you so much!