I turned 36 back in August and a few of the wheels have fallen off…. wait I know what you are thinking ‘cheeky little…… you wait till you get to 76’.
I know I’ve still got a lot more to come, but my knees are giving me some trouble now.
I played hockey from 11 years old through to the end of Chiropractic college when I was 26. Not a long career by any stretch. Towards the end of playing hockey at Bristol Uni I fractured my patella and never got back in to playing at Bristol as it never felt 100%.
I had a summer to rest and build strength in the knee and by the time I got to Bournemouth to study Chiropractic I was back in. In my final year I had another knee injury, and I couldn’t shake it so I didn’t get back to playing hockey.
The type of knee pain that we deal with as Chiropractors doesn’t come on over night. It happens over a long period of time.
Acute short term knee pain tends to happen following a sports injury when playing football for example. These injuries see an orthopaedic surgeon or a physio. These include ACL injuries, MCL and meniscus problems.
The type of knee pain that we see as Chiro’s is wear and tear, arthritic degeneration caused from alignment issues over a long period of time.
The story I hear each week from our clients is:
‘I had an injury in my 20’s and I never fully recovered, I mean I was 90%, but it seems to have caught up with me’.
‘The pain feels like a nagging ache most of the time, but occasionally it catches me when I turn or go up the stairs and it is excruciating’
For context I’ve had a clicking knee for several years and 6 weeks ago I ‘caught’ it when turning and the pain went right through me. I dropped to the floor and let out a yelp (for reference my pain tolerance is rubbish but none the less it was the first time it happened so the 100-decibel scream seemed justified).
This is where I kicked in to gear and knew I needed to do something to avoid having bad knees in the long run. I have developed my own routine from what I have learnt over the years and current research to help strengthen my knees. Follow along below.
We are going to run through the routine I’m using each day and how simple it is.
Before you try this for the first time please consult with a medical professional to ensure you are safe to carry these exercises out. It is a quick 5-minute routine, the key is consistency, you need to do this at least 5 times per week. I try and do it each evening when I’m relaxing in the evening.
As a side note; we are watching ‘The Day Of The Jackal’ which is tense to say the least, this fun loving knee routine helps to ease the tension. Pick a show, podcast or song you love and try to associate doing this routine with the TV show then your brain will automatically start to do it.
To start you will need a TheraBand, I picked up a set for less than £10 on amazon, you can get the exact set here.
You need a flat and relatively comfortable surface; the carpet is a good starting point and if you have a Pilates mat this can also work.
- The Muncie Knee raise- this is no surprise to you; I love this movement and think it is key to help realign the knee. The knee can be knocked out of alignment overtime due to injury or compensations. I injured my knee when I was playing hockey and the outside of my leg, the ITB muscles have gotten tight over the years and the inside of my leg, the VMO has gotten weaker. This in turn causes the kneecap (the patella) to shift to the side which puts more pressure on my inside (medial) cartilage pad (meniscus).
Do this exercise sitting on the floor and pull your non-involved leg into you with your hands. Take your involved leg and straighten it, locking the knee, then rotate your leg out as far as it will go. Then engage the inside of your leg keeping it locked and lift it up, hold it and then lower it down. You should be able to do 3-5 reps, repeat this 3 times through. It is hard though. If it is easy, you are doing it wrong and you need to check the steps above.
2. Take the resistance band when you are lying on the floor and put your legs in to it, make sure it is secure just above your knees. Start by lying on your side, ensure that your hips are stacked over one another, so you are not rotated. Then raise your top leg up to the ceiling and back down again, do this 10 times, then at the top of the 10th rep, hold your leg there and slowly pulse the leg. This means do 10 mini movements right at the end range of the movement. This will start to ‘burn’ in the outside of your hip. This is good, it means you are working the gluteus Medius muscle which is a stabiliser of the knee.
This muscle is key to promote stability to the knee when you walk or run and will prevent it from collapsing inwards.
3. Clam shell-the clam shell exercise helps the glutes to give stability to the knee as well. You can do this in the same position as the side lying leg raise. Do it after the leg raise and you will notice the movement more as the glute will be fatigued. It is good to work your muscles under fatigue, so they build strength and stamina. Lie on your side with the band above your knees, slowly open your hip outwards and lift your knee whilst keeping your feet stacked over one another. You make a shell appearance with your legs, and you will feel the outside of the hip working well. Repeat this 10 times on both sides, 3 sets through.
I have been doing this routine 5 times per week for the last 4 weeks. What have I noticed?
-I’m more stable in my knees when walking, running and doing Crossfit
-They give way less of the time, I would find that when I walk my knees wouldn’t collapse, but they would slightly give, and I had no control of that. This is less now.
-I have more of a spring in my step
I would highly recommend this routine if you were having a long-term knee problem.
You can take the attitude that ‘modern medicine is so good now that I can get a knee replacement in a few years’ time’. That is an option, but it is risky, there is a small chance it doesn’t give you the result you want. Plus, you cannot do everything you once did when you have an artificial knee. And it is still major surgery.
Your best bet is to protect what you have now for as long as possible. Preventative care is far better than reactive care.
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If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
