A quick reminder, you still have time to enter in the POM Pomegranate Juice giveaway! Winners will be announced on Link Love Friday (27th)!

.

Okay…many of you have left comments regarding knee issues. I think most of us have experienced challenges with our knees at one time or another in our lives…yes? My friend POD reminded me a few days back that she also faces the consistent knee hurdles during exercise. I embarked on a bit of research and Q&A from individuals that have experienced knee issues or are involved on the rehabilitation end.

Some findings…..

What are some causes? According to the Sports Injury Clinic, “Knee pain can be related to overuse where small stresses are repeated a large number of times without allowing adequate recovery, for example running too much too soon, or excessive jumping. Or injuries can be acute where the injury is caused by an impact or twisting such as an anterior cruciate ligament injury. An overuse injury can also be considered to be acute if it is painful or inflamed. “

So what do we do? Walk About Magazine states, “We have to keep the foot and hip in line with the knee. This means wearing shoes with good support and properly strengthening our hip, gluteal, abdominal, and back muscles (commonly referred to as the “coreâ€Β). It also means walking with good posture and using caution when walking on surfaces that ask the knee to work at an angle. “

What are some good knee strengthening exercises? Buzzle.com offers a few helpful knee exercises:

Quadriceps strengthening contractions

  • sit on a chair and extend legs
  • heels must touch floor and knees must be straight
  • tighten the thigh muscles and retain the state for a count of 10
  • loosen the thigh muscles and retain the state for a count of 3
  • perform 10 repetitions to complete 1 set
  • perform 2 or 3 sets, many times in a day

Hamstrings strengthening contractions

  • sit on a chair with heels on floor
  • without moving heels pull back on them – tension will be felt in the hamstrings
  • retain the state for a count of 10
  • loosen the tension for a count of 3
  • perform 10 repetitions

The exercise is called Glutes strengthening backward leg swing.

  • grip the back of a chair for support
  • straighten any one leg and swing it backwards till the buttocks tighten
  • tense the muscles to a maximum and swing leg further by about two inches
  • return leg to floor and perform 10 repetitions
  • repeat same procedure with other leg

My personal experience suggests that I stay away from high impact or pounding exercises while the knee is in recovery. I will  stick with low impact exercises such as a bike or elliptical machine. For those that have Arthritis, or a permanent knee issue… a change to an elliptical and or bike exercise might make sense.

.

USEFUL SITES:

How to Manage Knee Pain with Exercise

Knee Rehabilitation Exercises

Stretches for the knee

.

*Remember to seek out advice from a medical professional

Sources: Sports Injury Clinic ; Walk About Magazine;Buzzle.com