Knees, Knees, Knees
Keep Them Happy
Last winter was an amazing snow year for Telluride and my knees felt it. We all know, skiing, biking, hiking and running can put a lot of stress on the knees- I see it in my clients and in myself. I was thrilled then, to see that my next continuing education pilates course this summer, was called Understanding the Lower Extremity Kinetic Chain.
For over a year now, I’ve been struggling with right leg tension that affects my glut, hamstring, knee, foot and big toe. I’ve often joked that my right leg has scoliosis. I have been frustrated in pilates and yoga that this leg never aligned the way teachers cued. Clicking into skis and bike pedals was stressful on my knee. I was excited to get some answers. Here’s a snippet of what I learned:
Alignment of the hip and ankle can have a large affect on the knee. This may be due to structural issues or movement patterns that re-enforce stress on one or more joints. Stretching is a small piece of the puzzle to a person’s knee pain. Strengthening the hips and knees and gearing these exercises toward peoples’ different anomalies or weaknesses can be very successful for knee pain.
I also read a recent study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, from January 2018, which showed that exercises strengthening the hip and knee could be extremely helpful for patellofemoral pain. My pilates course took this one step further and added the ankle to this equation. Exercises that increase mobility and strength in the ankle can also help with stress on the knee joint.
My big personal take away- I needed to do WAY more to build strength in my outer hip and leg and add flexibility to my ankles. Prepping and getting strong before I do the activities I love will help take pressure off my joints. I need to really fatigue my weaker muscles to get them stronger.
In preparation for another fabulous ski season I am hosting a workshop designed to get the legs strong and the knees happy. There will be exercises to strengthen hips, gluts and hamstrings as well as easy ankle and foot exercises to do at home. Tuesday December 3rdfrom 4:30-6:30p.m. at the Telluride Wellness Center.
For more info call 970-729-0678 Or wendy@pilatesbalancetelluride.com