How Taking Care of Your Knees Can Save You (Big) Money

Alamy Protecting your knees is part of protecting your overall health, and protecting your health helps ensure your financial security. For runners, joint problems can creep up slowly, and runner's knee is among the most common. Even if you don't have minor pain or signs of weak knees, you'll want to take proper care of those joints -- especially if you're a runner. Bad form, injuries and nutrition can all contribute to gradually sorer knees, and sometimes osteoarthritis. You may think it's just a little pain to work through, but sore knees are often a sign of serious problems in the future. Ignoring that sign may cost you, in the form of a serious injury in the near future or a serious surgery in the more distant future. Either way, pretending it's no big deal is a risk you shouldn't take. For you, devoted runner, prevention and appropriate care mean you'll be a runner much longer. It means more miles, more races, more hours and more of that runner's high. It just might also mean more money in your pocket later. Here's why. 1. Knee surgery is insanely expensive. Not taking care of your knees can result in more than pain. Your knees might become deformed, or "bowed," from joint degeneration. Chronic inflammation might also result, which can make knee pain even worse. When that pain starts limiting your ability to carry out daily activities, or becomes unbearable, you might need knee replacement surgery. This is a major surgery with weeks of recovery time and physical therapy afterward, but more than 90 percent of recipients report rapid and substantial improvement.