Submitted by: Katie Perry

The knee is a truly amazing structure that supports the weight of your entire body and allows you to walk, run, jump, squat, kneel, and generally move about throughout the day. However, all of that function comes with a price. The wear and tear of continual bending and stretching can take a toll on your knee skin, making it drier and more susceptible to the signs of premature aging than the skin in other areas of your body. In addition, as part of the natural aging process, the body loses muscle mass and the collagen beneath the skin s surface begins to break down, which can cause it to lose elasticity and sag. The force of gravity on the knee, coupled with the extra skin in the area that facilitates the bending and stretching of the leg, can make sagging skin in the knee area particularly noticeable.

Knee sag can affect all individuals, whether they are overweight or in terrific shape. In fact, athletic and otherwise thin individuals can often have saggy knees. That s because a lack of fat to hold up the skin above the knee can make the loose skin appear even more pronounced. If you ve found that your knees are less taut and attractive than they once were, you needn t resort to changing the way you dress or feel about yourself. Lifestyle and diet are factors that play in role in the appearance of the knees. Therefore, there are steps you can take to make your knee skin look tighter and more youthful.

Lifestyle Changes to Improve the Appearance of Your Knees

Developing good habits is often much easier than attempting to correct a condition after it occurs. To take proper care of your knees and help prevent wrinkling and other signs of premature aging, you can:

Regularly exfoliate your knee skin with a loofah, scrub, or body brush to slough off dead cells and help stimulate natural collagen production.

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After scrubbing your knees in the shower or bath, coat your skin with a rich moisturizer to help keep it supple.

Incorporate targeted knee-toning exercises, such as leg extensions, squats, and lunges, into your fitness routine.

Practice yoga or Pilates to help keep your knees strong and flexible.

Drink a sufficient amount of water and consume a diet rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids, which are not only good for your skin, but also provide overall health benefits.

Sometimes, though, the excess fatty tissue and lax skin situated around the knees and thighs are impervious to regular exercise and other good habits. In such cases, surgery might be an option.

A Thigh Lift for Smoother, More Defined Knees

A thigh lift is a cosmetic surgical procedure that involves the removal of excess fatty deposits and lax skin from the knee and thigh areas and the tightening of the remaining skin to create a sleeker, more well-defined appearance. This type of surgery might be beneficial for a patient who has lost elasticity and tone in his or her knees and thighs due to aging or a significant weight loss.

When performing a thigh lift, a surgeon will generally create an incision spanning from the groin to the inner knee. The surgeon will then reshape the area by removing excess fat and skin, make deep stitches to help establish new contours, and suture all incisions closed.

Following the procedure, a patient can expect to experience some degree of swelling and bruising for up to six weeks afterward. To minimize these effects and facilitate healing, compression garments might be recommended. While a thigh lift is a generally safe procedure, as with any type of surgery, there are inherent risks of infection, blood clots, and suture separation.

Consult with an Experienced Surgeon

If you are interested in learning more about a thigh lift procedure to target sagging knee skin, you are encouraged to consult with an experienced cosmetic surgeon who is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. A qualified surgeon can assess your needs, answer your questions, discuss your expectations, and recommend a treatment plan to achieve your desired aesthetic result. Should you decide to proceed with a thigh lift, your surgeon can fully discuss both the benefits and risks with you.

About the Author: Katie Perry is an online content editor in the Tampa Bay area. She posts articles about plastic surgery topics and procedures, including

thigh lift

surgery and others.

Source:

isnare.com

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