HHS HealthBeat (November 09, 2007)

Buckling knees

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

You’re going up or down stairs, or just walking, and your knee gives way. Researchers say about 12 percent of middle-age or older people they studied had a knee buckle in the past three months – and of that group, about 12 percent fell.

Dr. David Felson of Boston University School of Medicine says people whose knees buckle tend to get around less, and may be at risk for falls and fractures.

Common causes may include weak muscles. Tears of structures inside the knee can also contribute and a doctor could evaluate that.

If it’s weak muscles, Felson says, exercise might help.

`` Those who are exercising had no different risk of developing knee osteoarthritis than those who were not exercising.’’ (6 seconds)

The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, is in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May, 26 2008