Damn My Knee Hurts

mikerobertson2

Mike Robertson just had a killer post on what causes knee pain and the answer might surprise you.

If there is pain in the knee, it does not necessarily mean you have a knee injury or the pain is originating in the knee itself. In fact, the issue is typically traced back to the kinetic segment above or below this joint. The knee requires stability. Stability to absorb forces and engage movement without buckling or shifting. But if the adjacent joints (hips and ankles) are immobile (and they require mobility), the forces that translate across the kinetic chain must get mobility somewhere. The knee, unfortunately, has to compensate.

As a result, pain happens. Either immediately through an acute, traumatic injury or over time. Microtrauma and wear and tear of the soft-tissues and support structures will occur.

So Mike offers two solution; improve hip mobility and activate the balancing force couples, ie. the gluteals to improve posture and restore movement. I discuss this in my new muscle building system AMD in detail and provide strategies for long term health.

Here are a few exercises to improve hip mobility and activate the glutes to get you started:

1. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings will activate the glutes and provide a decelerative loading of the posterior chain.

*Dec 03 - 00:05*Desk email

2. Bulgarian Split Squats

The benefits of Bulgarian split squats are three fold. They activate the glutes, activate the quads and stretch the hip flexors. Again, the goal is to restore neutral hip alignment and improve movement.

3. BTR Deadlifts

Beyond the range (BTR) deadlifts will not only improve hip mobility and hamstring flexibility but also develop strength in this new range of motion. I term this “strength mobility”.

Check out this video:

And finally,

4. Seated Piriformis Stretch

If the piriformis muscle (abducting and laterally rotating the thigh) is tight from too much time on the computer, at your desk or on the couch, it will pull your hips into anterior pelvic tilt. This causes a TON of problems including putting the hamstrings and abdominals on tension and shutting down the glutes. So keeping this muscle (group) stretched is essential for hip mobility and if we look down the chain, knee health.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 12:05 am and is filed under how to build muscle, how to tear cards, injury rehab recover from injury, muscle building anatomy, strength training to improve athletic performance, strength training workouts, your daily inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Damn My Knee Hurts”

Rob Williams Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 8:52 am
Smitty good article. I just did an article about the importance of T-Spine mobility last week.

I noticed the picture you have under the psoas stretch. Is this the correct picture? Because it looks like a seated piriformis/external hip rotator stretch.
Scott Umberger Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 10:30 am
Smitty,
Always great ideas from you guys! The videos are great as well! I love the elevated KB sumo deadlifts. Great idea for some of my atheltes that are brutal at overhead squats. Like you said, a great way to work on hip mobility.
I’m a Stern fan so I appreciate the Artie post! Funny ass guy but sad story!
Jim Smith Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 11:24 am
Rob – Great Catch!

I mistakenly put psoas and meant to say piriformis, thanks!
Lean Bulk Forums Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 8:53 pm
[...] kettlebell stuff. Defranco reccomends the other two (the girl pic is even from Defranco’s site): Diesel Crew – Muscle Building, Athletic Development, Strength Training Blog Archive Damn My Knee Hur… [...]
Travis Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Someone actually mentioned to me how it was odd MR didnt provide any options after posting that. Then you post this! Awesome DC!
Goody Says:
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:53 pm
This is a great post! I’ve been struggling with more knee pain than usual and recently had some strange and acute hip pain. The lack of mobility in my hips is actually hurting my squat – I’m having trouble getting to proper depth. I can’t wait to try some of these movements. Thanks!
mitchel Says:
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Ok guys this looks great; but there is no way I can do any of this. I have had 3 knee surgeries. I am 31 and I am tired of my knee hurting every day. I am tired of hydro codone and lyrica. My whole life sucks and I am ready to cut my leg off. I have been riding a bike at the gym 1 time a week, doing small squat, climbing a ladder, and regular leg exercise. what can I do….. please help infact just sitting here hurts.. I am 31 189 lb and 57. ouch ouch ouch Mitchgoodbar@gmail.com… any thing
Jim Smith Says:
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Mitchel,

Definitely work on your hip mobility with the piriformis stretch.

Other movements that you can google and do are:

1. Glute Bridges for reps or hold isometrically for time
2. Terminal Knee Extensions (TKE’s)
3. Isometrically held lunges – go into a lunge (depending on how far you can do it) and hold for 30 sec to 1 min
4. One leg leg presses (on the machine) for high reps

The goal with knees that have been repaired is to get the quads to fire. If they shut down, and they will, you knee will become really weak and unstable – trust me I know. I had a bad knee for many years because after I tore my meniscus I favored it and did not use it. My range of motion became limited, my quads shut down and I couldn’t do anything.

Start foam rolling everyday, stretching your hips and getting those quads firing again with the exercises I mentioned above.
Eric Says:
September 21st, 2009 at 11:55 am
Here’s what worked for me:

I have had real problems with knee pain, specifically in my right patella, as my squat and DL weights have gone up. (FWIW, I’ve had 2 reconstructions on that knee). Strength was good, and my weights were steadily increasing. However, the pain and stiffness in my off days and in the mornings hobbled me to the point of barely walking. I was afraid I would have to give up lifting heavy.

I researched it a bunch and found a couple of sites which suggested lifting barefoot, so I started doing my squats and DL barefoot about three weeks ago. I noticed a dramatic improvement within three days. I have none of the morning pain and stiffness I had before and am walking normally. My weights continue to climb, pushing nearly 200 on squats and hit 1 RM 300 on DL (I’m 5′4″ 155lbs and 42 yrs old). Be careful not to drop a plate!
Manoj Says:
December 27th, 2009 at 5:14 am
The way I see it is pain results from three things..either direct knee injury or imbalance of the muscles around the knee joint or an overemphasis on the knee joint itself during movement i.e. a lot of people tend to put direct stress on the knee joint instead of using the quads etc.. for taking the main load . Depending on which one it is .. one needs to work on the specific weakness and then work around it.