Six ways to protect your knees

Six ways to protect your knees during exercise

Many people think that only running can cause knee pain, but in fact, hiking and mountaineering can also cause knee pain! Muscle strength training or stretching exercises can relieve pain, but in fact, hiking and mountaineering are still related to knee injuries.

When hiking or mountain climbing, one often has to climb up and down the route, and the lower limbs need to bear a lot of weight. The cartilage between the patella and femur is under stronger pressure than normal walking. If this happens frequently over time, it will naturally cause cartilage wear, and the knees will feel uncomfortable or even painful.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a symptom of tissue inflammation in the kneecap area caused by overuse of the knee, which often causes dull pain. This pain is particularly severe when going downhill while hiking.

Once knee pain occurs, how can we remedy it? If the symptoms are not serious, you can recover by resting for a short period of time. For those who have persistent pain, some people will take medicine, injections or ointments to reduce inflammation, or undergo various physical therapies such as heat therapy, electrotherapy, and hydrotherapy. However, studies have shown that treatment through muscle strength training or stretching exercises is the most effective.

The American Family Physician journal reported that exercising the quadriceps (the muscle that works when we straighten our knees) to strengthen the muscle endurance around our knees can stabilize the patella and thus protect the knee joint. In addition, regularly stretching our hip joint muscles such as the hamstrings, iliotibial band, and calves to relax tight muscles can also help protect the knee joint.

Next, let’s take a look at what exercises can protect your knees!

1. Cycling

Riding a bicycle or power bike can strengthen the quadriceps and hamstrings around our knees, increase muscle endurance, and is a good exercise to protect the knee joints. It is recommended that people who plan to climb mountains spend 20 minutes riding a bicycle 3 to 5 days a week as pre-training 2 to 3 months before climbing. Exercise makes a difference, and you will be surprised to find that your knees are not so sore after coming down the mountain!

2. Leg Extensions

We can use fitness machines to exercise the quadriceps and increase muscle endurance. After sitting on the equipment chair, bend your knees and stretch your feet under the roller. Hold the handles on both sides of the chair with both hands to fix the upper part of the body, then straighten your legs and lift them up to the same height as the chair, then relax and return to the original position. Repeat the action of lifting up and down 10 times, and repeat this 3 times.

If you don't have a fitness machine at home and want to practice this exercise, you can put weights on your calves. The weight should be bearable, but not too heavy to avoid injury. Practice the same movements as above.

3. Wall squat

The horse squat is very effective for knee muscle endurance training. After practicing, the saying "a long journey tells a horse's strength" is very appropriate! How to squat correctly? First, put your back flat against the wall, but keep your feet about 60 to 90 cm away from the wall. Then slide your back down and squat slowly until your body, thighs, and calves are each 90 degrees. At this time, slightly adjust the position of your feet so that your feet are shoulder-width apart, then maintain this position for 1 minute before standing up. Do this action five times in a row, and each time you have to hold it a little longer than the previous time. The goal is to be able to hold it for 5 minutes on the fifth time.

4. Stretch the posterior thigh muscles

If the lower limb muscles are too tight, the muscles will be pulled and the knee joints will be damaged. Therefore, stretching exercises to relax the leg muscles are very important. Here is how to stretch the hamstrings.

Pull up a chair, sit on the front third of the chair, bend your right leg, stretch your left leg straight, and point your toes upward. Take a deep breath, then slowly bend over while exhaling (keep your back straight) until you feel a slight pain in the back of your knee. Maintain this position for 30 seconds, then switch sides. You can also gently press your knees to keep your legs straight; repeat the same action twice on both sides.

5. Calf stretch

It is recommended that you do some calf stretching exercises every day to avoid muscle tightness. This exercise is very simple. Just face the wall, put your hands flat on the wall, squat with your right leg forward, and stretch your left leg backward until you feel a slight pain in your left calf. Maintain this position for 30 seconds, then switch sides. Repeat the same action twice on both sides.

6. Iliotibial Band Stretch

The iliotibial band is part of the hip joint muscles. It is extended from the gluteus maximus and the tensor fasciae lata, and is a tendon-like soft tissue structure that connects our buttocks to the knees. When the iliotibial band is too tight, our knees will also feel uncomfortable, so it is important to stretch and relax this part.

Pull up a chair and sit, cross your right leg over your left leg, and wrap your hands around your right knee. Slowly move your right knee toward your left shoulder until you feel the tendons of your right leg being stretched. Maintain this position for 30 seconds and then put your right leg back on the floor. Then switch sides. Repeat the same action twice on both sides.

Take action now and exercise! ! !