Did I get your attention?
Even as a trainer, I sometimes feel fear or discomfort about knee injury or pain. I have many clients express concern and interest about their knees. But have you considered: It might not be your knees.
Unless you have arthritis or a known injury, knee discomfort and dysfunction often originate from muscle imbalances—particularly weakness in the legs or glutes.
The knee joint sits between your ankle joint and your hip joint, Both power houses for movement like walking, running, swimming, or painting the house.
The knee joint, comparably to other joints in the body, does less well; it only has so many motions, mostly allowing your leg to bend and extend. The knees also provide both flexibility and stability for motions like hinging and lunging, stabilizing after impact from running, jumping, and stepping.
Yes, arthritis, past injuries, or cartilage loss can cause pain and dysfunction. If you’re experiencing sharp pain, swelling, or instability, always consult a physician or healthcare provider.
But general discomfort, weakness, or soreness from daily activity could point to a lack of strength or mobility in the surrounding muscles and joints.
When major muscles of the legs and core are not strong enough for our activities, due to sedentariness, skipping leg day or carrying extra visceral fat. That means the tendons and ligaments around the knee have to compensate, leading to overuse and potential strain.
Getting a little technical.
The knee is joint is where all the muscles of the upper leg, back of the leg and the lower leg connect to long ligaments and tendons allowing for all the bending and extending in your leg.
The heavy lifters of the leg are the quads(front), hamstrings(back), adductors(inner leg), abductors(outer leg) and the glutes(butt and hips). The muscles of the legs work together to lift, extend and carry your body. Low muscle strength, endurance and flexibility will eventually lead to dysfunction, favoring and possible injury.
Strong legs = better movement, faster metabolism, and injury prevention across the entire body. So, how do you build that strength and feel more confident during squats?
Move More!
- Check with your physician about injury and get cleared for exercise
- Identify muscle imbalance with a trainer, massage therapist or using diverging functional machines
- Start simple: Walking and squats
- Low impact options include biking and the leg press machine
- Build a routine that includes resistance training 2-3 times a week
- Take movement and walk breaks to get higher daily step counts
Remember:
It takes time to build strength, but you don’t have to do it alone. Join a small group, work with a trainer, and enjoy the process. Your knees (and your whole body) will thank you!
Sources: Nasm Exercise Continuum, Corrective specialist, Image from Canva Open Source