Our knees are very hard, bearing the weight of our body every day, carrying us around. Therefore, the proportion of the population suffering from knee pain is super high! Many people have felt knee pain and discomfort in the knee, and the pain itself is the most likely to make people “not wanting to move at all”. After all, everyone is afraid that after exercise, the knee will become more painful, and maybe the knee joint will degenerate more seriously.
However, if you stay inactive all the time, the joints will become more and more stiff, the muscles will become weaker and weaker, and the pain in the knee will become more severe. Therefore, instead, we should do some knee joint strengthening exercises regularly, using low-impact and not too difficult regular exercises to strengthen the muscle strength of the muscles near the knee, in order to support and stabilize the knee joint.
Knee pain relief
Stretch the front of the thigh
1. Hold a chair or wall with your right hand and your left ankle with your left hand.
2. Pull the ankle toward the ceiling and press toward the buttocks, feeling the front of the thigh stretch.
Action attention:
During the stretching process, the lower abdomen should be slightly retracted, and the abdomen should not protrude with the movement, so as to stretch to the front of the thigh.
Stretch the back of the thigh
1. Put both hands on the right thigh, straighten the left knee joint, slightly bend the right knee joint, lift the left sole of the foot upward, straighten the upper body, and do not bend over.
2. Straighten the body and slowly downward, and move the chest to the floor. At this time, you will feel the back of the left thigh (parapopliteus) and the back of the calf muscles (gastrocnemius, soleus) being stretched.
Action attention:
Keep your head, neck and back in a straight line, don’t bend your back, and don’t look up at the ceiling, so as not to cause pressure on the cervical spine.
muscle strengthening
strengthen quadriceps
1. Sit on a chair with your upper body upright and your legs straight.
2. Contract the front thigh muscles, straighten the knees, hold for 20 seconds, and then slowly lower.
Advanced action
1. Tie an elastic band to the ankle and chair foot. When the knee is straight, pull the elastic band away.
2. Then put it down at a very slow speed.
Action attention:
The leg should be fully extended so that it can train the internal oblique muscle of the quadriceps. This muscle is very important for patients with patella valgus✽. Training can improve pain.
✽ Patella Valgus: Refers to pain in the kneecap due to abnormal lateral movement of the kneecap
Strengthen the gluteus medius
1. Open your feet shoulder-width apart, wrap the elastic band around your right foot, step on the elastic band with your left foot, and straighten your hips and knees.
2. Resist the resistance of the elastic band, open the thigh outward, then resist the tension of the elastic band, and return to the first action at a very slow speed.
Action attention:
In the process of opening the thigh, the hip joint cannot be bent or turned outward. The body can be slightly inclined to the left to maintain balance, but it should not be leaned too much, otherwise the strength of the waist will be used, and the glute medius will not be exercised.
Strengthen the gluteus maximus
1. Stand with both feet back and forth, step on the elastic band with the right knee slightly bent, the elastic band goes around the left ankle, and keep the balance with both hands on the right thigh.
2. Resist the resistance of the elastic band, stretch the back foot back, and then resist the tension of the elastic band, and slowly return to the first action.
Action attention:
Keep the upper body in a straight line, don’t stoop down, keep the knees bent during the process of extending the hind legs, and don’t lift the calves, so that the gluteal muscles can be really used.
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Can middle-aged 40-year-olds still get stronger through fitness? Yes, you can!
