Prevalence of Knee Pain Today:
Over 1/3 of the people in the US today have reported having knee pain at some point in their life and in active athletes, this number is much higher. In this article we will dive into the primary causes of knee pain and a few different exercises to prevent and/or cure knee pain caused by overuse and tendonitis.
Causes of Knee Pain:
There are many causes of knee pain ranging from overuse to underuse with most of the non-athlete population falling in the second category with the addition of carrying extra body fat.
When people go to the doctor complaining of knee pain they are usually told to ice it, given an anti-inflammatory drug, or told to stay off it for a few days but these suggestions are only a temporary band-aid that do not address or fix the underlying issue.
Instead of just masking the issue with drugs or by simply not using the joint with the issue (you can’t “stay off it” forever, for obvious reasons), we need to examine the underlying cause of the pain which is, in most cases of the general public and most non-professional athletes, weakness of the muscles around the knee joint (quad and hamstrings), weakness in the glutes/hips causing posture problems, weakness of the ligaments and tendons in the knee, improper hydration, and consumption of inflammatory foods and beverages. Now let’s take a look at the different methods I have found to alleviate or eliminate these issues.
Eliminating Knee Pain Through Exercise:
The first thing I like to recommend for knee pain is the addition of some strength building exercises for the quads, hamstrings, glute/hips, and the tendons of the knee joint. Some of my favorite exercises for this are as follows:
Step Downs:
The step down one of the easiest and least stressful exercises to strengthen the quadricep around the knee joint and can be done by just about anyone regardless of age or athletic ability with no equipment needed so we’ll look at it first.
To perform the movement, simply step off a slightly elevated platform with one leg while bending at the knee with the other, then activate the quad of the working leg to bring yourself back to the starting position. Perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
If it is difficult or painful to perform the movement off an elevated platform, simply perform the movement on a flat floor. Step forward with one foot while bending the knee on the opposite (working) leg, then straighten the working leg to return to the starting position. If you need additional assistance, hold onto something to help keep you balance and aid in returning to the starting position.
You will want to slowly progress to stepping off an elevated platform as you become stronger.
Banded Leg Curls/Extensions:
These are, by far, my favorite exercise to alleviate and prevent knee pain for anyone. They are very low impact, and a properly weighted resistance band can be found for anyone’s strength level.
There are dozens of different ways to set up for these, from sitting on a bench with one end of the band anchored behind you and the other tied around the feet to perform leg extensions with both legs, to laying face down on the ground with one end of the band anchored behind you and the other tied to the feet to perform leg curls with both feet.
I personally prefer to do these at home, so I keep it simple. I loop a band around the leg of my couch and loop a long sleeve t-shirt through the band to fasten to my ankle. I perform both extensions and curls single legged while standing, using a chair or wall for balance if needed. Work up to around 200 reps a day on both extensions and leg curls; the high rep sets will thicken the ligaments and tendons to prevent future injury.
Sled Walking:
The final exercise I like for combatting knee pain is simply walking with a weighted sled. Again, the resistance can be adjusted for anyone at any athletic ability or strength level. The sled can be drug walking forward with long strides pulling through from the heel to provide low impact training for the hips, glutes, and hamstrings, or it can be pulled backwards to target the quad around the knee joint. Both of these methods should be used on a regular basis to strength the muscles surrounding the joint as well as the tendons and ligaments of the joint. Perform in sets of 50-100 yards with an appropriate weight.
Other Exercises for Knee Pain:
The above exercises are some of my favorites for rehab or prehab of the knees but, of course, there are many other exercises that will target the same musculature. Some honorable mentions are as follows: leg extension machine, GHR, seated leg curl machine, Bulgarian split squats, sissy squats.
These, along with my favorite methods, can be rotated in and out of your current training program as needed.
Supplements and Diet Modifications for Knee Pain:
Along with regular exercise and implementing the movements discussed in the previous section, there are also some dietary and supplementation changes that can be made to help alleviate and/or prevent knee pain. First we’ll look at the dietary changes as you should always strive to fix what you are already eating before adding other factors, then we’ll dive into a couple of supplements I like as well.
Dietary Changes:
The first thing you should look at when trying to determine the cause of any bodily issue is your current diet.
Is it filled with inflammatory foods such as fried foods (in high Omega-6 oil such as seed oils), foods with added sugar, refined carbs, alcohol, and sodas? If so, these need to be reduced or eliminated completely for the best results.
These should be replaced with foods like salmon, sardines, grass fed meat, non-processed carbs (think rice or potatoes), and plenty of fresh fruits and veggies.
Simply making these changes will not only reduce the knee pain itself but will also have a compound effect since it will lead to lower body fat content reducing inflammation even further.
Supplementation:
I am not a huge fan of supplementation if the desired effect can be reached with food alone, so we’ll keep this list extremely short (and by that I mean two things).
There’s a ton of supplements out there claiming to reduce inflammation and joint pain but the only ones I have noticed that made a real difference are Omega-3 Fish Oil capsules and Glucosamine Sulfate.
These are both very cheap supplements and should be in anyone’s cabinet that is suffering from knee pain or any other joint for that matter.
Conclusion:
While knee pain is widespread in today’s world, it is normally solved through a combination of strength training exercises, tendon/ligament strengthening exercises, simple dietary modifications, and supplementation if necessary.
Hopefully this has given you some insight into the causes and some simple solutions to fix your knee, or any other joint pain.