5
KEY WAYS TO RELIEVE KNEE PAIN
1. Increase your leg strength. Do wall sits, knee extensions, toe raises, hip side-lifts and more. Speak with one of our professionals for how to perform these exercises correctly. 2. Control your patella (kneecap) tracking. Your patella needs to glide to form a C pattern when you bend your knee. This gliding of the kneecap is actually dependent on control of the femur bone it sits on. The muscles of your hip are directly responsible for this duty. Focused hip strengthening isolating the large gluteal muscles will help improve your patella tracking. Most patellofemoral pain comes from poor hip and knee control and a physical therapist is the expert to diagnose and treat this problem. 3. Maintain and improve flexibility. With running and exercising it is very common for the powerful muscles in the leg to become tighter. For example, the hamstring and outer tissues of the leg (iliotibial or “IT” band) can become very tight, altering the mechanics of the knee causing pain. Stretch after every time you run and do adequate warm-ups prior. Try integrating yoga and stretching into your routines. 4. Improve your balance and coordination. Do balance exercises to build up your proprioception (sense of balance position). Exercises such as standing on one legwith andwithout eyes closed are important. Don’t forget tomake sure you set up for safety when performing balance exercises by having a steady surface nearby to hold onto when needed. 5. Improve your agility. Many casual runners, simply run, but do not perform other types of important exercises such as strengthening, balance and agility training. Mix up your workouts to include these other types of exercises.
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