Dr. Peter Gott offers sound medical answers to reader questions in the new Lifestyles section...
Our knees take quite a beating in a lifetime.
We lift, run, jump, walk and kick, yet they can still hold strong.
The life of your knees is important because without them in decent working condition it obviously will become harder to do any kind of physical activity. This decreased physical activity can result in other complications such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression and/or anxiety.
While there can be many different causes for knee injuries, there certainly are strategies available for prevention, including strength training and proper stretching, as well as learning how to move properly.
OVER, UNDER
To put things simply, knee injuries can be the result of two major factors: overuse and under use. Overuse injuries result when excessive forces are put on the knees for a continued length of time. People who are often lifting, running, cutting and jumping can easily experience an overuse injury. Oftentimes, it's not the activity that is causing the issue, it is the lack of recovery between sessions or the sudden increase in use of the knee over a short period of time. An example of this happens when the first major snowstorm of the year arrives, and skiers hit the slopes two or three days in a row for several hours.
On the other side of the spectrum, under-use factors can be just as bad. Those who have a sedentary lifestyle can develop pain due to the weakened muscles surrounding the knee as a result of inactivity. This, coupled with obesity, can be a recipe for disaster.
In either case, it is important to strengthen — as well as stretch — the muscles surrounding the knees. Doing exercises such as the leg press, leg extension, leg curl, and using abduction/adduction machines are great ways to keep the knees healthy for a beginner. These exercises will not only strengthen the joint, they will also increase the circulation of nutrients within it. When performing these exercises, I recommend taking about four seconds for each repetition. Slower is safer. Once you have mastered these exercises, you can then move on to standing exercises such as squats, lunges and step ups. These exercises are considered more functional, meaning they are closer in comparison to everyday activities that you may experience such as lifting a bag of dog food or walking up the stairs.
MORE HIPS
And after strength training, it is a good idea to stretch the muscles that were used. This includes the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, inner and outer thigh, and glute muscles. This will help reduce any tightness in the area caused by strength training.
While strength training will do wonders, there is another secret to saving your knees. The trick is to become less knee-dominant and more hip-dominant. To do this, avoid allowing your knees to reach beyond your toes when doing any kind of squatting motion. When lifting an object, your knees should stay behind your toes in the vertical plane and your heels should stay planted on the ground. To do this easier, think of pushing your hips back as you bend down. This will take some of the forces off of your knees and distribute them to your hips. Make sure to also keep your abs tight and your back straight. This will protect your spine during this motion.
Though our joints can take a lot of stress throughout a lifetime, it is certainly possible to prevent injuries using strength training techniques. In conjunction with this, the recovery time of an injury will be considerably less due to the fact that the muscles surrounding the joint are conditioned.
Ted Santaniello, CSCS, AFAA, is a certified personal trainer working at the Wellness Center at PARC, located at 295 New York road (next to ARC) in Plattsburgh. For more information, call him at 324-2024.
