Fix My Knee Pain

3 Leg Exercises You Need To Tweak
To Avoid Blowing Out Your Knee

Everyone that plays sports and works out hard suffers from sore knees from time to time…..it’s just part of the deal isn’t it?

Having played outside linebacker in college I used to have running backs and full backs diving at my knees to cut block me every time I rushed the passer. After the games my knees would swell up and it would take a few days of icing before I was back to 100%. Practicing, playing games and strength training can all take it’s toll on the body over time.

Westy3I learned this the hard way in 2001. After college I went to Sweden to play football and tore my Anterior Crucial Ligament (ACL). Throughout the season I kept trying to rehab and keep playing but obviously this wasn’t possible.

Once I returned to the states it was time for surgery. To be perfectly blunt with you the rehab process was very painful and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy 🙂 In fact, I remember bribing my physical therapist at the time by bringing him free Critical Bench tshirts and supplements hoping he would take it easy on me.

Crutching around in the snow during that time of my life was not one of my high points. That’s why I want to share 3 important exercises that my friend and Injury Specialist Rick Kaselj see many of our clients performing incorrectly.

Over time improper form, can contribute to knee soreness, pain and even a serious career ending knee blowout. Check out some of our recommended tweaks to make sure you’ve got your technique in check and save yourself from some of the agony we’ve both had to overcome.

#1: The Squat

thesquatThe number one exercise that people ask us about when it comes to knee pain is the squat.

People will get knee pain from squatting and often times don’t even look at their technique as a quick way to fix the pain.

Common Mistakes:

Perform a squat like you usually do and check for these mistakes. Is your stance too narrow? Do your knees pass your toes? Are you getting full range of motion by dropping to the parallel position? All of these technique flaws put the knee in an unstable position.

If you’re doing any of the above listed errors, you can make the following tweaks in order to save your knees.

The Tweaks:

    Change your squat stance so it is hip width apart, this will lead bring your gluteus more into the movement and decrease the stress on your knees.

    Work hard not to let your knees pass the toes when squatting. The more vertical you can have your shin the better. Decreasing how much your knees pass your toes will decrease your knee pain.

    Bend at the hips first, now sit back. As you sit back push your knees outwards so that you can easily drop to full depth. This is a natural happy position for your knees.

#2: The Lunge

thelungeThis exercise can be a big issue for “all the single ladies” and married ones too.

It’s an awesome leg exercise but make sure you’re doing it right.

Common Mistakes:

Get into a lunge position in front of a mirror and take a look at it. If possible get a friend to take a video with your phone. The biggest mistake people make is letting the knees pass the toes when stepping forward while keeping their torso too upright. This is a recipe for ache(y) knees. See below for the quick fix.

The Tweaks:

    Instead of stepping forward to do a forward lunge, step back and do a back lunge.

    Slow down how fast you do the lunge. Most people do their lunge reps to fast and this leads to poor control of their knee and causes the knee to pass the toes. Slow it down lead foot!

    Lastly, another thing you can try if you still feel discomfort is to perform the lunge with more of a bend at your hips. This puts your upper body at a slight angle so it’s not so vertical. This takes stress from your knee and puts it on your gluteus, which is what the ladies typically prefer to target anyhow.

#3: Leg Extensions

legextensionsThis one does not hurt you right away but it may lead to a knee blow out down the road.

Common Mistakes:

If you are loading up the leg extension and going as hard as you can, rethink this. The leg extension is number one exercise that leads to knee injuries and pain. It does have it’s place for rehab work and can be used with light weight, but if you’re going to “balls to the wall” on this exercise….well…don’t.

The Tweaks:

    In order to avoid this, decrease the weight you are doing on the leg extension and increase the reps. You will still get the benefit but avoid the knee pain and injury. This is a simple change. Trust us we’ve seen too many injuries as a result of going heavy on the leg extension machine.

Hopefully this short article helps you out. We’ve got some more videos coming your way off and we’d love to hear your input.

Are there any other exercises you’ve been doing that have been causing knee soreness or pain of any degree?

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