Weak thigh muscles can often cause knee pain. Find out if your muscle is weak around the knee and what to do to strengthen it. 

Sore, achey or painful knees can effect you doing the simple things, such as getting up off the floor or even out of a chair. They can effect your ability to exercise or perhaps effect your productivity at work. 

Knee pain (away from injury) can be difficult to pinpoint the source of the problem. It is often caused by muscular weakness, creating imbalance and then pain. The origin of these problems may be coming from joints above or below the knee, and need to be taken into consideration.

If you have knee pain, especially on the inside of you knee and don’t know what is causing it then we have some exercises for knee pain. Doing these often makes a big difference. We are focusing on strengthening the VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique) that sits on the inside of your knee. It’s job is to stabilise the knee cap.

How do you know if your VMO is strong enough?

Observe: Stand bare legged in front of the mirror and tense the muscles around the knee. You should see the muscles bulging on the inside of the knee, these are your VMO muscles. They should be tense and not flabby. If they are flabby then you need to strengthen these muscles.

  1. STRAIGHT LEG RAISE Lie on back, keep leg straight, turning foot our slightly. Lift leg to 45 degrees while contracting VMO. Alternate legs and repeat 20-30 times.

2.  BALL SQUEEZE. Stand up (or sit down) with a ball, such as a basketball, in between your knees           and squeeze. Repeat 15-20 reps 3 sets

3. BAND

Squats with band slightly above the knees. 15-20 reps 3 sets

Abduction. Place band around the ankle furthest from the wall and secure it to a pole. Gently pull against the band so you feel the VMO activating on the still leg. 15-20 reps 3 sets

4. SQUATS

BOX SQUAT find a stable box or bench that is high enough and squat. 15-20 reps 3 sets

WALL SQUATS – Start by holding the wall squat (knees are at 90 degrees. Hold 30 seconds 3 reps.

5. STEPS UP/DOWN

STEP UP – on a secure box. Step to the side, then step behind. 10-15 reps per leg, 3 sets

STEP DOWN – find a low step and slowly lower one leg to the side. 3 sets of 8, 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up.

Ensure you warm up before doing any exercises. A 10 minute walk or bike ride are a great way to warm up. Start with exercises 1. & 2. and once these are getting comfortable you can progressively add the next exercises.

Other considerations are looking at:

  • Foot issues, such as flat feet

Check these videos: https://errolstchiro.com.au/5-red-flags-for-flat-feet/

  • Weak gluteal muscles
  • Tight hamstrings or ilio-tibial band (ITB)
  • Knee ligament or meniscus tears
  • Knee arthritis

If you do this exercise for knee pain and you find they are causing an aggravation, then stop and see your practitioner. There is no guarantee these exercises will work for your knee pain, however, try them for 4 weeks and do them daily before you decide if they work or not.

Call us for an appointment 9329 1118

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Categories Exercise, Knee Problems
 
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