Be Kind to Your Knees

Tips to help you limit and prevent knee injuries

Knee pain is one of the most common issues individuals experience and it can drastically affect one’s leg workouts. Leg strengthening is important in maintaining body proportion and helping to stabilize your core, which can help limit and prevent injuries and pain in other parts of the body

Here are some helpful tips that will prevent and correct knee pain:

      

    Warm up. Take some time to do some warm-up sets of whatever leg exercise you may be doing. For example, if you normally leg press 250 pounds you should do up to 20 slow, controlled reps with minimal weight before beginning to work your way up to 250 pounds. You will get the blood flowing to the knee region and warm up your leg muscles, which will allow them to function optimally.

      

    Don’t lock out your knees. This goes for most leg exercises—squats, leg press, lunges, etc. Locking your knee joint transfers the weight you are lifting from the muscle to the joint, which leads to unneeded stress. Plus, you will keep the tension in the muscle and experience a better workout when you do not lock the knee. If you cannot perform the exercise without locking the knee joint, then you need to lower the weight.

     

    Use proper form. This is especially important for when you are squatting. Make sure to keep your weight focused on your heels, not the balls of your feet. As you are descending, keep your butt out, chest up (to prevent rounding of the back), and do not let your knees come forward. Descend until your thighs are parallel with the ground and rise back up making sure to push up with the heels of your feet.

    Use weight appropriate for you. Focus on completing the full range of motion for whichever leg exercise you are doing. If you are not doing this then you are putting your knees at a higher risk for injury. Therefore, start by simply using your body weight and then gradually increase weight. If your form is compromised, then you need to use a lower weight. 

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Cold vs Heat, How Should We Treat?

One of the most common questions people have about dealing with pain is whether to apply ice or heat to provide relief. A condensed answer to this question depends on how long the pain has been recurring. Most times, ice will be used when controlling a new injury because its coldness reduces inflammation by decreasing blood flow to the injury. When a person is dealing with more chronic pain, on the other hand, heat should be applied. Heat brings blood to the area and promotes healing.

Cold treatment should be used for at least 24 hours after an injury and may be used up to a week to limit swelling. Ice packs or frozen gel packs are ideal to use, but make sure they are not directly in contact with the skin; a towel or compression wrap may be used as a barrier. Also, limit ice application to 20 minutes but repeat approximately every hour. Dry or moist heat can be used to treat recurring pain. However, moist heat tends to penetrate the skin and tissues better than dry heat. Sources of heat may come from the following: heat pads, hot water bottle, gel packs, or hot water baths. Remember to keep a barrier between the heating device and skin, and do not apply heat for more than 20 minutes. It is also recommended to not use heat if there is swelling or if you have poor circulation or diabetes.

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