healthy knee

As Im writing this, I can envision people taking it to the Nth degree and performing depth drops off a ten foot wall. Before we take it there, let me clarify my point a little bit. What Id like all trainees to have is at least a basic knowledge of how to absorb force. If you were to jump up in the air and then land with your knees straight and a loud thud, youre not allowing your muscles and tendons to absorb force. Instead, all the force is being absorbed by your joints, and this just isnt a good thing if you value your knee joints (or ankles, hips, or lumbar spine for that matter.)The vertical jump is actually a great test and exercise to utilize. Jump up in the air and try to minimize the sound when you hit the ground. Land with soft knees, soft feet, and lower into a half squat to absorb the force. Im not trying to make you into an elite athlete with this recommendation, just give you some food for thought. It wouldnt kill you to be a little more athletic, would it?

Ever see a car thats out of alignment? Notice how it wears down those tires quickly? And the gas mileage you get is downright atrocious to boot. So what if your body is out of alignment?Well, just walking around could be a chore, and I can virtually guarantee one part of your knee joint is taking the brunt of the load. To make it worse, youre probably squatting, deadlifting, and lunging heavily as well, which is kind of like speeding with that same faulty alignment. Its going to catch up to you one of these days when the tires blow.Check out the Neanderthal No More series if youre in need of a tune-up. Optimal alignment may not be easy, but the benefits far outweigh the time and energy it takes to get you there.

This may sound really stupid, but youd be amazed at how many clients and athletes I work with who tell me, I cant do X exercise; it hurts my (insert body part here). Since this is a knee article, well assume it hurts their knees. Heres the problem though Its not the exercise thats hurting them; its their god-awful lifting technique thats the problem.Im amazed at how many people cant perform even the most basic exercises in the weightroom, yet theyre so convinced its the exercise thats at fault, not their performance of that exercise thats the real problem. The squat is a great example, as its been the scapegoat for everything from sore knees to bad backs.There have been numerous technical articles written on T-Nation for everything from single-leg exercises to squats and deadlifts, so if you think your form may be off, read through them and make sure your technique is spot-on. Improving your technique is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy, as well as improving your strength and physique.

I used to think the psoas was the devil when it came to flawed posture and injuries, but now Im not so sure. Sure, it can be troublesome for a number of reasons, but for those with knee issues Id like to take a closer look at the rectus femoris instead.First off, Im sure youre wondering, How do I know if my rectus is a problem? Try the modified Thomas Test to find out Sit on the edge of a table or counter with your buttocks on the edge. From here, grab one knee and pull it to your chest while laying all the way back with the head and neck relaxed.What youre looking for here is the position of the lower leg in relation to the ground. If your lower leg is perpendicular to the ground, youre fine. However, if your lower leg is not at perpendicular, you have a short or stiff rectus femoris. The gentlemen in the picture below is a great example. Notice how his upper thigh is parallel to the ground, but his lower thigh isnt perpendicular. Id be willing to bet that more than a few of you are going to fail this test miserably So what do you need to do if this is the case? Rather than stretching your one joint hip flexors, you need to focus on your rectus femoris, a two-joint hip flexor that crosses both the hip and the knee. If you failed the test above Its very similar to a regular lunge stretch, but by having your back foot elevated we take your hip into extension and knee into flexion, effectively stretching the rectus femoris from both sides. Focus on staying tall throughout. Coaching cues would include keeping the chest up, posteriorly tilting the pelvis, and squeezing the stretch-side glutes. To get even more bang-for-your-buck, try pairing this stretch with some glute activation work to further restore the balance around your hips.

A healthy diet plays a big role when it comes to maintaining healthy joints. While we dont have all the answers yet, were quickly learning that an inflammatory diet is NOT a good thing; whether youre at risk for heart disease, have asthma, or just want to keep your joints healthy. While weve known for quite some time that poor biomechanical alignment, being excessively heavy, and general wear-and-tear can wreak havoc on your joints, were also seeing that joint destruction could very well be systemic too. Positive changes in your diet could be a huge influence on your joint health later in life. Granted, this isnt my area of expertise, so I called in the big guns for this topic. Heres what Tammy Thomas, MS, RD, CSCS and a specialist in the realm of autoimmune disease, had to say on the topicThere are too many scientific articles to cite regarding joint destruction and inflammation. You can do a search on PubMed with joint destruction and inflammation and see the number of hits you get. Researchers know that inflammation plays a definite role in joint destruction. Diet plays a role in inflammation, especially dietary fats. The fats, more specifically the fatty acids, we ingest directly affect our bodys production of eicosanoids (hormone-like substances) and the ratio of pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. Cutting back on saturated fat, and even omega-6 fatty acids (arachadonic acid), which tend to be pro-inflammatory, while increasing the intake of omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid), which are anti-inflammatory, will help to prevent the occurrence and progression of systemic inflammation associated with mild infection, poor diet, and obesity.

While the jury may be out on the ability of certain supplements to protect and or regenerate our joints, Ill be frank here Im not willing to wait around to find out. What if we found out in 15 or 20 years that glucosamine and chondroitin really do what they say? Wouldnt you be kicking yourself for not taking them sooner, when your joints were in far better shape? I know I would be. But what else is out there? I believe to keep our joints healthy we need a three-pronged approach with our supplements While some of these practices may be on the fringe, Im willing to take calculated risks, especially if the rewards are as great as some say. Heavy weight training may look great on the outside, but it does have a few drawbacks on the inside (especially concerning the joints). However, proper supplementation could be a great way to minimize the effects of those drawbacks.

This is another addition to your program that can give you huge paybacks over the long-term. First, if you havent purchased a foam roller] yet, what are you waiting for? Id venture to say almost any performance coach worth his salt is using one, so why arent you? If you arent sure how to use one, check out our Feel Better for 10 Bucks article. Something we didnt discuss in the foam rolling article is changing the length of the muscle while youre working it. This allows you to work different areas of the muscle and get an even better response. For instance, try this for your rectus femoris and quads Roll these areas like you normally would, and then continue rolling but bend your knee. You may not feel it at the bottom of the quads, but I think youll notice a big difference when rolling the top of your thigh.Now as great as the foam roller is, it still pales in comparison to specific soft-tissue work performed by a specialist. If youve never had soft-tissue work done before, Id start with a solid ART provider, as theyll be able to get rid of adhesions and scar tissue that have built up over the course of your training career. After that, a more general deep tissue massage will help normalize your tissue tone and help you realize better quality of movement. This isnt really something that can be described in words, but youll know the feeling when you effortlessly drop into a deep squat for the first time.

I recently came across an interesting prospective study regarding patello-femoral pain. While most studies are retrospective in nature (e.g. they examine an issue aftertheres a problem) very few look at it in the opposite fashion. This prospective study (3) examined 282 athletes enrolled in phys ed classes and took them through a battery of tests to determine baseline statistics. Two years later they followed up, and 24 of the 282 had developed patellofemoral pain. After running statistical analyses on these subjects, researchers determined that athletes who had developed PF pain had significantly tighter quadriceps and gastrocnemi than their healthy counterparts. So whats the moral of this story? Stretch your quads and calves. As well, its interesting to note that the gastrocnemius can wreak havoc on both sides of the joint. The gastrocnemius is the calf muscle that crosses your knee joint, and can therefore contribute to posterior knee pain as well. All the more reason to stretch those puppies out if you ask me.

argets Quadriceps and hip flexors. Complements the walking motion by working muscles in opposition that may be underused, such as the smaller quadriceps muscles of the thigh. Cues Begin lying on back with right leg straight and extended; left knee is bent, with left foot flat on floor. Contract right thigh muscles to straighten (but not lock) the knee. Slowly raise leg until knees are parallel, then lower. Repeat 8 to 12 times, working up to 2 sets on each side. To advance Begin holding to a 35 count in the up position.

Targets This multi-dimensional exercise targets the hamstrings, quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and abdominal muscles. A lower-intensity alternative to squats and lunges. Cues Stand with lower back against an exercise ball of about 25 inches that rests against a wall. Feet are shoulder-width apart and a comfortable distance from the wall. Body is erect. Slowly bend knees and lower body until thighs are parallel with the floor; keep knees above (not in front of) feet, and abs contracted to avoid excess sway in the back. Pause at the bottom, then roll back up. Repeat 8 to 12 times, working up to two sets. to advance Increase pause at the bottom to three, five, or even 10 counts.