Derek L. Hill, D.O.

Fellowship-Trained Orthopedic Surgeon and Specialist

4 Simple Moves For Stronger Knees

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stronger knees

Stronger knees is not an easy goal to achieve and knee pain is unquestionably more frustrating than most aches and pains.  If you’ve already been to your doctor and the injury isn’t more problematic, or you’ve recovered from a knee surgery, you’ll want to keep those knees healthy and strong.  Don’t be surprised to find out, as we did from this helpful article at MyFitnessBlog that part of the trick to healthy knees, is healthy hips!  Here are some details why, along with some exercises recommended by Dr. Michele Olson, an exercise physiologist. to help you become stronger and healthier.

Painful knees have been tied to weak hips for years now—especially for women. Typically, rehab has focused on exercises that strengthen the big muscles that support your knees, including the quads and hamstrings, explains Jessica Malpelli. But a new paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that programs that integrate exercises that strengthen the hips are more successful at relieving knee pain.

Your hip muscles are way more essential than you realize, explains Dr. Olson. “Stronger hips take a lot of weight and work off your knees,” she says. Here are four exercises Dr. Olson suggests to target the sweet spot and help nix knee pain for good.

1. Outer Leg Lifts

Lie on your right side, legs bent and stacked one on top of another. Bend your right arm and rest your head in your right hand. Plant your left palm flat on the floor in front of belly button. Now extend left leg away from body; this is your starting position. Without bending your left knee, lift leg up 45 degrees. Hold here for five seconds, then lower. That’s 1 rep. Do 8 reps; then switch sides.

2. Inner Leg Lifts

Lie on your right side with legs extended and stacked one on top of another. Bend your right arm and rest your head in your right hand. Plant your left palm flat on the floor in front of belly button. Bend left leg and plant left foot on the ground in front of right shin; this is your starting position. Keeping right leg straight, lift leg six inches off the ground. Hold here for five seconds, then lower. That’s 1 rep. Do 8 reps; then switch sides.

3. Single-Leg Deadlift

Stand tall holding a dumbbell (start with 8- to 10 lbs.) in each hand. Shift weight onto left leg and begin to slowly hinge forward, lowering weights in front of the body toward ankles, your right leg will raise behind you. Be sure to keep your spine long and abs tight. Slowly return to standing without letting the right leg touch the ground. That’s 1 rep. Do 8 reps; then switch sides.

4. Lunges

Stand tall with feet together. Step right foot forward, bend knees and lower down and far as you can, keeping right knee stacked over right ankle, left hip stacked over left knee. Push back up to standing and repeat on the opposite side. That’s 1 rep. Do 8 reps.

 

 

The Importance of Pre- and Post-Exercise Stretching to Avoid Sports Injury

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Woman doing push upsIf you’re a seasoned athlete or participating in sports for the first time you’ve probably been told that it’s important to do a pre- and post-exercise stretch, but never why. Stretching is very important to avoid sports injuries. Don’t think you’ll have time to implement stretching? You only need 5-10 minutes total, for both pre- and post-exercise stretching.

There are studies and people who do not see the importance of stretching before exercise. They believe that (static) stretching before you lift weights can make you feel weak and unstable during workout. “Still, rather than abandon stretching altogether, recent trends suggest that a technique called “active isolated stretching” might protect athletes from injuries better than traditional bend-and-hold techniques.”

Proper stretching gives you flexibility by increasing the length of your muscles and tendons. It helps you increase your range of movement, which will allow your limbs and joints the ability to move further before an injury occurs. Another benefit of regular stretching is that it helps prevent muscular imbalance. During exercise many people focus more on one side of the body which causes muscles to overcompensate for others. Regular stretching helps lengthen any tight and overused muscles, while strengthening the underused ones.

During stretching remember to:

  1. Never use bouncing motions during stretching to avoid a strain or muscle damage. Instead, take your time and move slowly from one body part to the other.
  2. Hold your stretch position for at least 30 seconds to one minute. The longer you hold the stretch the more your body and muscles will benefit.
  3. Be sure to stretch all of your body parts from head to toe but do not overstretch because that can cause injury.

At the end of your activity remember to cool down to help reduce stiffness, return your heart rate and blood flow to normal and relax your muscles.

Jamacia Magee, Rust Built, Marketing Services

References:

    1. Mattes, A. 2013, April 3). A good reason to skip your pre-workout stretch. Retrieved from

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/good-reason-skip-pre-workout-stretch-110910090–spt.html

Medical Disclaimer: Be sure to check with your physician before starting a new exercise routine or if you have any health care-related questions.

Relieve Chronic Pain with Movement

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chronic painCan you relieve chronic pain with movement?  Our guest author shares his experience working with patients with chronic pain and draws on his own experience with chronic knee pain as he discusses the benefits of movement in relieving chronic pain.
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