Knee pain is one of the most common injuries men and women face throughout their lives. It can be annoying or even debilitating for some people making their everyday lives more difficult.
My name is Ben Pavlovich and I am a Pain-Free Performance Expert who has spent years studying common injuries. I have worked with some of the leading physical therapists and top knee experts in the world on how to fix different types of knee pain. My company, TonedX, has a sole mission to help people lift pain free and look great doing it.
Here are the 3 things I look to accomplish with any individual who comes to me complaining that their knees hurt.
1. Don’t neglect the Hips
Iliotibial Band Syndrome or lateral knee pain is one of the most common knee injuries amongst athletes. In a study with female athletes they found that patients with lateral knee pain had weaker hip abduction in the affected leg. What does this mean? We need to build that booty and strengthen our hips. The glutes are the powerhouses that stabilize our pelvis, maintain good posture, and transfer load through the hip joint. Many times when the glutes are not strong enough during a lift our form begins to fail as other muscles like our quads have to overcompensate placing additional stress on the knees. Training all 3 glute muscles can help fix this muscle imbalances and get us back to lifting correctly. Exercises like the hip thrust, romanian deadlift, and cable hip abduction are all great ways to strengthen the glutes and start fixing our knee pain
2. Isometrics are the key
The best exercises when first starting out are isometric exercises or ones where you feel the burn but are not moving. Two examples you have probably done before are the plank or wall sit. The wall sit is an amazing exercise as it allows us to load the quads without having to go through a full range of motion where you might feel pain. I have all my clients start with isometric exercises like the wall sit or spanish squat to start strengthening their knees and get them ready to progress to more advanced lifts.
3. Perfect your form
Many times when a client comes to me complaining about pain we are able to fix it in 5 seconds by fixing their form. Video taping yourself and relearning how to do basic movements like the squat or deadlift should be one of your main priorities when dealing with pain. If you’re doing a squat, start with a resistance band above your knees and follow a 3-1-3 tempo where you drop down for 3 seconds, hold for one second at the bottom, and finish with a 3 second ascent. Become an expert at the basics and focus on slow and controlled movements. Healing takes time and there’s no need to rush.
Knee pain can be annoying to deal with. That being said the majority of cases are treatable and can be prevented if you stick to a proper workout routine that addresses these 3 topics. Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
You can know further through the website tonedx.com/free
