Five easy exercises to avoid knee pain
Whether recovering from an acute injury, poor biomechanics or a muscle imbalance, Pilates for knee pain is a good and safe rehabilitation option. The best thing you can do is to strengthen the muscles that support your knee and keep them flexible. Start slowly, and build up over time. Knee pain has many causes and your knee treatment varies considerably depending on an accurate diagnosis.
Treatment can involve simple knee mobilisation techniques, massage, taping, stretches or strengthening exercises.
Knee strengthening home exercises to reduce pain and injury risk:
Starting with VMO activation -
Vastus Medialis Obliquus is an active and dynamic stabilizer of the patella. The specific role of VMO is to stabilise the patella within its groove and to control the ‘tracking’ of the patella when the knee is bent and straightened. Weaknesses in the VMO can cause mal-tracking of the patella and future damage to surrounding structures and pain. The key to solving this problem is both getting the timing of VMO right, and the relative strength compared with the rest of the quadriceps group.
1. VMO Activation
To check the contraction of VMO Sit with your left leg out in front of you and a rolled-up towel under the other knee (the knee should be slightly bent). Put your fingers over the area of VMO as shown in the picture. Push your knee down into the towel, you will feel the muscle tightening under your fingers. If the muscle does not contract, continue to practice whilst pressing down gently on the muscle and concentrating on contracting the fibres underneath your fingers.
Gluteus medius muscle
The gluteus medius muscle is extremely important in stabilizing the hip. It is also crucial in you performing hip abduction and controlling hip adduction. ... To strengthen the gluteus medius muscle and give your body greater hip stability.
When the gluteus medius is weak and is unable to support the pelvis in proper alignment, many things can happen including lower back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and foot pain.
So what is one of the best exercises to improve strength in this muscle? Functional weight-bearing training is extremely important, no doubt, but in early-stage rehabilitation, if you want to give this muscle a good stimulus to adapt and get stronger then you can’t go too far wrong by prescribing side-lying hip abduction. Simple? Yes. Effective? Yes.
2. Clams
Lie on your side, with legs stacked and knees bent at a 45-degree angle.
Be sure that your hip bones are stacked on top of one another, as there is a tendency for the top hip to rock backward.
Engage your abdominals by pulling your belly button in, as this will help to stabilize your spine and pelvis.
Keeping your feet touching, raise your upper knee as high as you can without shifting your hips or pelvis. Don’t move your lower leg off the floor.
Pause, and then return your upper leg to the starting position on the ground. Do 20 reps on each side.
3. Side-lying hip abduction
Start position: Lie on your side with your head supported, knees straight and feet together.
Action: Lift your top leg off your bottom leg as high as possible without rotation of your pelvis. Return to the start position.
Key points: Ensure your pelvis does not rotate backwards during the lift.
4. Bridge
The bridge is one of my favourite exercises. It is a very simple exercise you can do anywhere, at anytime, and when done with good technique is so effective at activating your glutes. First, start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet placed on the floor about hip width apart. You should come close to touching your fingertips to your heels. Push through your heels to lift your hips and back off the ground to make a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Ensure your trying to squeeze your glutes as you drive your hips up. Slowly and controlled, lower yourself down to your original position. To best activate your glutes aim to do 15-20 repetitions.
5. Squats with a Swiss Ball
Begin this exercise in standing with your feet shoulder width apart and your feet facing forwards. Place a Swiss ball between a wall and your lower back. This serves to isolate the quads. Slowly perform a squat, keeping your back straight resting back on the ball. Your knees should be in line with your middle toes and should not move forward past your toes. Feel your VMO with your hand. Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions provided the exercise is pain free.