Starting a swimming programme Swimming is a great activity for fun and keeping fit. In addition to burning calories, it has proven benefits for the heart and generally improves muscle tone. If you are swimming because you aim to lose weight, it is important to combine the sport with the right diet too. It is important to build up your exercise routine gradually to avoid sustaining any injuries. Begin with swimming one to three times a week, for between ten and thirty minutes. You can increase your swimming time by five minutes for each swim each week, and add in different strokes as you wish. At first, it is important to rest whenever you feel you need to, possibly between each lap. Doing a stroke such as breaststroke may mean you can swim for longer than you could if you were doing a stroke such as front crawl. You can gradually increase the distance you swim until you reach whatever goal you have set yourself, but do this in a way that is not going to cause any overuse injuries. For example, if you have decided to swim twenty laps, you should not swim them all as soon as you get in the pool. Start with four easy laps and then do two laps at a faster pace, repeating this eight times with a twenty second rest between each set to make up your twenty laps.

When is knee replacement surgery offered or suggested for osteoarthritis? The worst cases of OA - those that are creating considerable pain or restricting a patient’s everyday activities more than is acceptable - could be referred for surgery. Today, hip and knee replacements are common and highly successful operations that improve the lives of thousands of people every year, who find their mobility vastly improved by the procedure. The first knee replacement was performed way back in 1968. Early artificial knees were made like hinges; therefore, they would not allow the knee to move in a natural way. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many artificial knees failed soon after surgery; as a result, surgeons tended to only perform them in older patients, where a second operation would not be required.Over the decades, the artificial knee joints have been greatly developed, with improvements in both techniques and the materials used meaning that knee implants are now routinely performed on younger patients. Constant developments and improvements mean both hip and knee replacements continue to become more effective; in addition, new, longer-lasting materials mean the operation no longer has to be repeated every ten years or so.

The iliotibial band (ITB) is not a muscle but a thick band of connective tissue that stretches from the outside of the pelvis down past the knee joint to the outside of the shin bone (tibia). The ITB passes over the knee joint and so this can occur with other knee problems, such as issues with the cartilage. There is also a nerve that is called the peroneal nerve that passes very close to where the ITB inserts, and this too can be a source of symptoms in this area. So it is important to get an accurate diagnosis before thinking about what treatment is best.

We aim to bring our followers expert information and advice so they are informed about their options surrounding their knee OA. Read about the single protein injection that could replace the need for knee surgery for OA sufferers.

Which swimming stroke burns most calories? Since more calories are burnt when swimming fast and covering a greater distance, it seems obvious that the fastest stroke will burn most calories. It is generally agreed that the freestyle stroke, also known as front crawl, is the most efficient and fastest swimming stroke, but this does not mean you should choose freestyle every time. In addition to speed, the number of calories burned whilst swimming depends on frequency and duration. This means that if you prefer breaststroke to freestyle, you may swim longer when you do breaststroke than you would doing front crawl, so more calories would be burned in total. The stroke that actually burns the most is the butterfly stroke, and this can use 404 calories in thirty minutes, but this cannot normally be maintained for a long period of time. Five minutes of butterfly would burn about 67 calories. Thirty minutes of backstroke could burn 257 calories, compared to 367 calories burned for thirty minutes of breaststroke. Slow front crawl will use up 220 calories in thirty minutes, whilst half an hour of front crawl at a fast pace can burn 404 calories. General leisure swimming will burn 220 calories in thirty minutes. If you combine all the above strokes, doing five minutes of each, you will burn around 318 calories in half an hour. The best strategy for burning most calories is to choose the stroke or strokes that you are most likely to be able to do consistently. Mixing strokes helps to work more of the muscles and adds interest to your swimming workout.

Did you know there are different stages of Osteoarthritis? You can read about each stage here: Stages of Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Immediately following injury it's important to adopt the RICE process of rest, ice, compression and elevation. But what next if there are no signs of improvement? Do you go to a physiotherapist or your doctor? http://bit.ly/2mTwN9e

Progressive technology is consistantly changing our lives, here we look at how robot technology can revolutionise total knee replacement surgery