As the summer weather begins to cool, thoughts turn to winter. In Utah, skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports are very popular. With that we see an increase in knee injuries. So what better time to address knee injury prevention? Huh?
The knee joint is a type of hinge joint that allows the knee to bend forwards and backwards. Knee injuries fall into two categories; acute (i.e., ligament sprains) and chronic (i.e., tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis). Regardless of the category, there are three areas to address in preventing knee injuries.
- A good flexibility program.
- A first-rate strength program.
- And that over training be avoided.
Flexibility of the knee and surrounding tissues
The knee acts both to support the weight of the body and to flex and propel the body. To help with these tasks is a complex set of muscles, ligaments, and connective and supporting tissues. It is essential that these tissues function properly to protect and stabilize the knee. Regardless of the stretching/flexibility program you choose to do, these basic guidelines apply: warm up until you break a sweat, stretch each muscle group 2 or 3 times, and stretch after activity to cool down. Stretching does not improve performance, but it will work to prevent injury. If you lose flexibility due to injury or age, it’s vital that you regain it as soon as possible. Prolonged inflexibility is one of the major factors to increased injuries.
Strengthening of the knee and surrounding musculature
A strengthening program is one that not only supports the knee joints, but uses proper equipment and techniques to strengthen the muscles around the joint. (Note: ligaments and cartilage cannot be strengthened with exercise; only muscles.) The muscles that should be the focused on are: the butt muscles (gluteus), hamstrings (knee flexors), quadriceps (knee extensors), iliopsoas (hip flexor/stabilizer), and the hip adductors (inside of the thigh). One can also strengthen the lower leg muscles which include the ankle plantar flexors and dorsiflexors. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that “to strengthen these areas, utilize weight machines or some other form of resistance exercise, such as sport cords or resistance tubing. Each exercise should focus on individual muscle groups and be performed in eight to 10 repetitions. Complete at least one set, increasing up to three sets, with at least 20 to 40 seconds of rest between each set. Focus on performing each exercise properly, not on doing a lot of exercise or lifting a great amount of weight.”
Avoid overtraining
One of the most frequent things we see at The Joint in Sugar House is that when patients start to feel better, then they over-do it. Remember, pain is the last compensation to happen, and the first to disappear. Meaning, as the body gets further away from being perfect, it adapts and compensates. Ligaments shorten, muscles tighten, etc. The LAST thing to happen is pain. Pain tells us something is wrong and your body can no longer fix it. Therefore, there is no such thing as “normal” pain. Something is wrong. However, once the body gets “out of pain”, often the patient thinks they are better – and over-does it, thus reinjuring their body. So… take it easy.
- Michael Lindstrom, D.C.
Chiropractic Physician
