5 handy tips to prevent knee pain!
Having knee pain is quite prevalent from the general population to elite athletes. I used to suffer from knee pain and I understand how debilitating it can be! Here are 5 quick tips that can help alleviate and/or prevent knee pain.
- Strengthening your leg muscles
There is no skipping legs day! Having strong muscles around your hips and knees play an important role in ensuring good knee alignment during movement. More often than not, weakness in your glutes (bum muscles) results in poor knee biomechanics.
- Stretch stretch stretch
Ensure you stretch your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, ITB, and calves! Having good hip, knee and ankle mobility goes a long way in preventing knee pain. Tight muscles can cause an imbalance in muscle pull on your knee, thus affecting the alignment of your knee. Ensure you hold each stretch for at least 30-60 seconds for it to be effective.
- Wear proper shoes
Having a good pair of shoes that supports your feet in a neutral position ensures your knee is in an optimal alignment when you move. If you have overly pronated (rolled in) feet, wearing shoes with proper arch support will prevent your feet and knees from collapsing inwards. If you do a lot of running, wearing shoes with a good shock absorbing soles provides good cushioning from the impact of running.
- Maintain a healthy weight
Carrying excessive body weight increases the axial joint loading on your knees and can cause knee pain. Prolonged excessive loading on your knees can increase the rate of wear and tear in your joints.
- Get it assessed properly
If you have been experiencing knee pain for a while, it would be very beneficial to get a proper assessment from a physiotherapist. Physiotherapists are the specialists in movement and we can help identify any unhelpful leg biomechanics that can be driving your knee pain. Let us help you! Click here to see our availability at Perth Physiotherapy and Pilates.
Jared
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