Just today, the last remnants of the 2 feet of snow have melted away and exposed the flat brown grass. This is a great sign because it shows that Spring is just around the corner.
One thing I know about Spring is that it is the start of knee pain season. This is because people have gotten out of their Winter slumber and all of a sudden increased their activities that oftentimes cause knee irritation and pain. This leads me to today’s video and article. It is about the 6-step knee pain treatment at home. Let it help you when knee pain strikes this Springtime.
Take care!
~ Rick
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In today’s video, I wanted to go through the 6-step knee pain treatment at home.
6-Step Knee Pain Treatment at Home
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.
I’ll get Andrea to demonstrate.
1. Improve Knee Range of Motion
Often when we have knee pain, we don’t want to move it. But it is really important to maintain the range of motion you have in the knee and build on that range of motion. Work on straightening the leg out, both neutral and extension, because frequently that end range is lost with knee pain. Bring your heels towards your seat and then work on the flexion. Sit so there is no weight on the knee and then work on that range of motion. Go through 5 repetitions in each direction. You can do this exercise multiple times throughout the day.
2. Strong Hips
Deadlift Movement
Go through a deadlift movement, with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Move through the hips. The rest of your body should be in good alignment as you come back up, going through the hips nice and straight. On the way up, you are really using your glutes and your hamstrings to get you back to that starting position. With knee pain, you often compensate with your hips. We need to have good and strong hips so they can help when it comes to knee pain. Having good and strong hips decreases the workload that the knee has to do.
Dumbbell Movement
You can make this exercise more challenging by adding dumbbells. With your feet hip-width apart, slightly bend your knees and hips, keep your upper body straight, come down, and then raise back up. Pull yourself back up with your glutes and some help from your hamstrings. Go through 3 sets of 10 repetitions, really working on strengthening your glutes and your hamstrings.
3. Single Leg Work
Using a wall or door frame for balance, stand on one leg and work on single-leg standing. By eliminating balance, you are working on the stability of the hip. Good and strong hips will help when it comes to knee pain. Work on the muscles around the knee joint by adding a slight squat. We are working on balance in the knee and stability in the hips.
4. Strengthening the Knee through a Full Range of Motion
In this step, we want to make sure that we maintain and improve the strength of the knee.
Single Leg Tubing Press
Do a single-leg press using resistant tubing. Grab the resistant tubing in your hands, loop it under the middle part of your foot, and then hold it. Straighten out your leg, bend, then repeat in a single leg press movement. Work on strengthening the muscles around your knee joint.
Vertical Shin Squat
If you find this too easy, then you can do the vertical shin squat. Grab the suspension trainer handles and lean back, trying to keep your shins vertical. Bring your hips down to around a 90-degree angle, ideally trying to go a little bit deeper. Your hips are passing your knees and then returning back up.
When you go to a 90-degree angle, you are mainly working the quads and the front of the thigh. If you get below a 90-degree angle, you are working the glutes. When the shin is vertical, it puts the least amount of stress on the knee joint in the squatting movement. If you don’t have a suspension trainer, you can grab a door frame or something really secure. Lean back and go through the movement. Be cautious of using door knobs as they might rip off.
5. Decrease and Eliminate Unnecessary Stress
The more you stand or bend your knees, the more stress is being put on your knees. Lying down places the least amount of stress on the knee, in comparison to sitting or standing. If you don’t have to stand, sit down, or lie down to take away unnecessary stress. If you keep your knees in a bending position by sitting with your legs underneath you, more stress is placed on your knees. It is better to sit with your legs extended straight out to eliminate unnecessary stress.
Do those couple of tweaks to avoid unnecessary stress on the knee. These will help you heal and recover from knee pain as opposed to constantly being irritated.
6. Addressing Inflammation
I recommend icing your knees for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool down your knees with ice if you are walking or standing for a long period of time. Take a bag of ice, put a towel on your knee and then place the ice bag on top of the towel. Everyone responds differently when it comes to icing and how long they can handle it. Remember, put a towel on your skin to avoid a burning sensation.
So there you go, those are the six-step knee pain treatment at home. These steps will drastically help your knee pain.
Take care!
Rick Kaselj, MS
If you want to get rid of your nagging knee discomfort once and for all, then click here to check out the Knee Pain Solved program.
