The ‘knee’d’ to know for healthy joints
It isn’t just the older generation who suffer with stiff, sore, or weak knees, at any age. 1 in 9 Australians will experience knee pain in their lifetime. This blog takes you through some ideas to help keep your knees in good working order.
This one should be fairly obvious but is a common mistake … wear the right footwear! Yes, your knees need the right support just as a mountain bike needs the right suspension. If you are a jogger, runner, or hiking enthusiast, it is important that you have the right type of support to help protect your knees.
Stretch it and move it! If you have a problem knee, then taking up a regular stretching routine, will help stimulate blood flow to these areas and help maintain flexibility and a full range of movement. Warming down after a long jog/run/cycle/swim will also help reduce swelling and discomfort in this area.
Work on your butt! Yes, you have your derriere for a reason, and it’s not just to sit on! Having strong gluteal muscles supports external rotations of the hips, stabilises via the IT band and helps control deceleration when reacting to the force of the ground (e.g. jumping, lunging, jogging etc.) These are all important when reducing the chances of damaging your knees with meniscal tears, ACL tears and/or patellofemoral pain.
Many of us have a slight asymmetry in our hip alignment. Perhaps we just have wider hips than others, or some people have an anterior pelvic tilt, whilst others have a pelvic drop. This usually means either the left or our right hip tilts higher than the other which is actually more common than you might think! For people who live with these complaints, no matter how minor, it can help to activate the problem side with single leg and balance focused exercises as well as working on strengthening the glutes… Please refer to point 3!
Pick and choose your exercises. Favouring your knees by avoiding high impact exercises such as jogging might be necessary for you, depending on the strength and condition of your knees, however that doesn’t mean you have to neglect your legs altogether! Exercises such as swimming and cycling provide an excellent way of activating and exercising the knee joints without placing too much pressure on them.
At The Athlete Lab Physio Clinic we work with you to help incorporate these suggestions into a comprehensive plan to ensure that you keep leading the active life you love!