KNEE pain can be a real burden for many of us. It can slow us down, restrict our movement and generally lead to other joint and muscle problems.
In fact, research by Deep Heat has found that 71 per cent suffer from some form of muscle or joint pain, with 27 per cent suffering from exercise-related knee injuries.
This knee pain can come about due to a number of issues, such as tight muscles and lack of mobility in certain areas.
Tim Kayode, Sports Therapist and founder of Myoset, says there are a number of reasons why knees may be suffering.
Here are a handful, and some simple ways to help ease the pain…
1. Weak or tight hamstrings
Tim explains: “Our hamstrings are huge muscles in the backs of our thighs and they attach to the hip and knee.
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“So it’s only natural that when the hamstrings are tight or weak, our joints are affected.
“Tight hamstrings can be caused from a lack of stretching before or after exercise as well as sitting for long periods of time.
“Plus, tight hamstrings can occur if the hamstrings are weak. So loosening the hamstrings and keeping them strong and mobile is important.”
To stretch the hamstrings, sit on the ground, with your legs outstretched in front of you.
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Bend at the waist and reach forward with both arms, as far down your legs as you can.
Hold for seven seconds, then release and come back to sitting. Repeat four to five times.
Tim recommends Heel Elevated Glute Bridges to strengthen them.
Lie back on the ground with heels on a low bench and knees bent.
Keep your shoulders on the ground as you drive your hips up and squeeze your glutes. Your thighs and body should be in one straight line.
Then, lower your hips back down to the start and repeat ten times.
Goblet Squats are another exercise Tim recommends for strengthening the lower body.
Stand with feet just wider than hip width apart, ideally holding a dumbbell in both hands.
Keep your back flat and gaze forward as you bend the knees and push hips back, lowering your body down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Then, push up through your heels to rise. That’s one rep. Aim for 20 reps.
2. Tight or weak hips
“If your hip is tight and you try to turn using your foot and your hip, it causes your knee to buckle.
“This then turns to dysfunction and puts stress on your knee joint in the long term, which leads to injuries,” says Tim.
He adds: “One key driver behind tight hips is a sedentary lifestyle, AKA sitting down too much.
“And so many of us are victims of that now; we sit at work, in the car, on transport.
“On the other end of the spectrum, too much activity such as running, can also cause hip issues.
“It’s important to always stretch and mobilise before and after exercise.”
Tim recommends incorporating a hip mobility routine made up of three key exercises:
- Dynamic Figure Four Stretch
Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and cross your left ankle over your right knee.
Gently bring your right knee closer to your chest as you wrap your hands around your left thigh to pull the knee closer.
Hold for five to ten seconds, before releasing and going again on the other side.
- Pigeon Pose
Lie face down on the ground, and bring your right knee up to your chest, keeping your left leg extended behind you.
Bring your torso upright and aim to keep your hips square. Hold this for a moment, and if you feel comfortable, lower your chest down to the ground.
Hold for ten seconds, before repeating on the other side.
- World’s Greatest Stretch
Get into a high plank position, with shoulders stacked above your wrists.
Take a big step with your right foot, up to your right hand. Lift the right hand up overhead, before lowering the right elbow to the ground.
Then, come back to the high plank and repeat the move on the opposite side. Aim for three to four reps on each side.
3. Weak or tight quad muscles
The muscles on the front of your thigh can also impact your knees.
If your quads are tight, the knee joint has to overcompensate for the lack of movement in the quads.
So, loosening and strengthening these big muscles is important.
Tim recommends split squats as a good quad strengthening exercise.
Stand in a split leg position, with your left leg behind and your right leg in front.
Keep a flat back as you bend both knees and lower down towards the ground. The back knee should hover above the floor.
Then, push up through the front heel back to the start and go again, aim for ten reps on each side.
To stretch out the quads, an easy stretch to incorporate into your day is the standing quad stretch.
Stand upright on your right leg; hold onto a wall if you need help with balance.
Bend your left leg behind you and use your left hand to move it closer to your glutes.
Push your hips forward as you do this stretch, and hold for 20 seconds. Then, release and swap sides. Repeat this two to three times on each side.
4. Poor ankle mobility
“If your ankle mobility is poor, then it means more pressure is placed on your knee.
“Your knee has to overcompensate for poor mobility in the ankle essentially.
“Some daily ankle exercises can really help and may help to lessen the straight on your knee,” says Tim.
Ankle Plantar and Flexion is an easy mobility exercise to include.
Stand upright, and take your left foot off the floor. Point the foot forward, before flexing at the ankle and pointing the toes upwards. Do this ten times. Then, repeat on the other side.
For Ankle Circles, sit down comfortably, and simply rotate your left ankle in circles, clockwise and anti clockwise.
Do the same again with your right ankle. Repeat this throughout the day.
Knee to Wall is another ankle mobility drill Tim recommends. Stand in front of a wall, with the right foot slightly behind and the left toes against the wall.
Lean forward, ensuring you keep the heel of the front foot flat on the floor. Pause, then return to the start. Repeat five times on each side.
5. You're ignoring your calves
The muscles in the back of your lower leg also need some love to keep them loose and limber.
Tim recommends Calf Raises as a simple exercise to stretch the calves and keep them mobile.
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Stand on the edge of a step, with your heels hanging off.
Then keeping your core tight, lower the heels down slightly, feeling the stretch in your calves. Next, drive back up before repeating the exercise.
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