About 25% of adults suffer from knee pain (a number that has increased to nearly 65% in the last two decades), and if you’re one of them, you know how much it can interfere with daily life. Climbing stairs, getting up from a seated position, and even taking an evening walk with your dog can feel like painful chores when your knees start to hurt. While knee pain can occur as you age, knee injuries can occur at any age. As a personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist, I see a lot of knee pain issues, even in high school athletes.
Throughout the day, your knees support your body’s weight and are subjected to different types of pressure, strain, and stress. Performing the same movements every day can cause wear and tear on the joint and its supporting structures, Mark Gugliotti, an associate professor of physical therapy at the New York Institute of Technology, tells Yahoo Life.
Because the knee is sandwiched between the hip and ankle joints, both of which have more mobility than the knee, if one of the joints is unstable or not mobile enough, the knee can take the majority of the damage due to its stable design, according to Jake Schaake, a chiropractor and CrossFit trainer at PALM Health in St. Louis, who tells Yahoo Life. “Imbalances in the quads and hamstrings can also cause ‘pulling’ on certain parts of the knee,” he adds.
Injuries, arthritis, weak hip muscles, and limited ankle mobility can all contribute to knee pain. Identifying the cause of your knee pain can help prevent it, but sometimes that’s easier said than done. The good news is that there are effective exercises to help prevent knee pain that work for most people.
5 Exercises to Prevent Knee Pain
Strengthening exercises can help manage pain in people with knee osteoarthritis and can prevent pain from developing. These exercises strengthen the muscles around the knee and allow them to better manage endurance. As a result, this increases joint stability and gives you more confidence in your movements.
Proper form is important to avoid injury. If you are new to these exercises, it may be helpful to work with a trainer or coach to make sure you are doing them correctly. If a new move causes you discomfort, stop doing it or try going at a slower pace.
Wall slides
Wall slides are a quick, accessible exercise that you can do anywhere and are very effective. They strengthen the key muscles that support the knee joint, improve balance and posture, and increase the range of motion of the knee without putting too much stress on your joints.
They will also help you relieve knee pain, recover from injuries, and improve your daily functioning. What does this mean? Walking, getting up from your chair, and climbing stairs will become easier and less painful.
Here’s how to do a basic wall slide:
Stand up straight with your back against a wall and your feet hip-width apart.
Raise your arms, pressing your shoulder blades against the wall. The backs of your hands should touch the wall and your thumbs should be level with your head. Your upper arms, from shoulders to elbows, should be perpendicular to the floor.
Inhale. Slowly bend your knees and slide your back down the wall until your knees are bent at a 45-degree angle. Bending more than that can damage your knees.
Bending your knees, straighten your elbows until your arms are extended above your head, still against the wall.
Hold this position for five seconds.
Exhale as you straighten your knees and push yourself up the wall until you are fully standing with your knees straight and your elbows bent back to the starting position.
Repeat this exercise five times and gradually increase to 10 or 15 repetitions as your quadriceps strength improves.
Glute bridges
If you want a simple, single exercise that can strengthen your glutes, knees, and core muscles while relieving knee pain and improving balance, try glute bridges. By strengthening your glutes and lumbopelvic region (which includes your spine and pelvis), glute bridges help stabilize your lower back and improve knee stability. This is a relatively simple exercise that almost anyone can do, regardless of fitness level.
Here’s how to make them:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on an exercise mat or the floor. Your feet should be close enough together that your fingertips can touch.
Press your lower back into the mat and contract your stomach muscles.
Place your hands on the mat, palms facing up or down. Lift your hips by squeezing your buttocks and keeping your chest open.
Don’t arch your back too much or tuck your chin in. Lower your hips until your lower back touches the mat.
Repeat the movement, exhaling as you raise your hips and inhaling as you lower them.
For a more challenging version, raise one straight leg, keeping your knee in line with your hip while maintaining good form and alignment.
Monsters walk
Monster walks are not only fun, they are also a great way to increase the strength of the muscles that help stabilize your hips and pelvis, the same joints that, if unstable, will lead to knee pain. This resistance band walking exercise can help relieve knee pain because it also strengthens the muscles around the knee joint.
Monster steps also work your thigh and core muscles, which are also essential for knee health. These fun banded steps also increase your hip mobility and build stability and balance to prevent falls.
Here’s how to do monster rides:
Wrap a resistance band around your thighs, ankles, or both.
Bend your knees into a quarter squat position.
Step forward with one foot, then the other, while maintaining tension on the band.
Continue this walking motion for 10 to 15 steps.
You can also walk backwards in the same way.
Jump
High-impact exercises like jumping and hopping may seem like the last thing you want to do to prevent knee pain, but it’s quite the opposite. Impact exercises help build and preserve your muscles and bones for healthy joints.
Results published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research show that impact exercises, including lateral jumps, can improve thigh bone strength, bone mineral content, and even bone shape in postmenopausal women—all without damaging knee cartilage. Keep in mind that these exercises may not be appropriate for people with osteoarthritis or knee pain.
Jumping and bounding are part of many types of sports and exercises, but there is an easy way to incorporate jumping into your exercise routine.
Here’s how:
Do 30 double legged jumps
Do 15 repetitions of alternating single-leg jumps for each foot
Perform 10 repetitions of jumping forward, sideways and backwards. The distance should be between 15 and 30 cm.
Do 10 repetitions of single leg jumping jacks.
Do five repetitions of two-legged rotational (i.e. spinning) jumps with a 90-degree turn in mid-air.
Perform five repetitions of double-legged rotational jumps with a 180-degree turn in mid-air.
Split Squats
Split squats, like all types of squats, are great for strengthening the muscles around your knees. Stronger muscles help absorb shock and reduce stress on your knee joints. Split squats in particular improve balance, stability, and mobility in your knee joint, and the unilateral nature of the exercise helps correct any muscle imbalances between your legs.
A word of caution: “If your knee pain is from patellofemoral syndrome,” a condition characterized by pain around the kneecap, “you may want to avoid squats and lunges until you are able to strengthen the other muscles around the knee joint that help keep your kneecap in proper alignment,” Dr. Christynne Helfrich, a physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic specialist at Hinge Health, tells Yahoo Life.
Here’s how to make them:
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart. Step forward with one leg, creating a split stance. Keep your back heel off the floor, chest up, and shoulders back.
Bend both knees to lower your body until your back knee is almost in contact with the floor. Keep your upper body straight and your front knee aligned over your ankle. Avoid letting your knee sink inward.
Push through your front heel to return to the starting position. Keep your core engaged and maintain your balance throughout the movement.
Perform the desired reps on one leg before switching to the other.
Rachel MacPherson is a personal trainer, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and exercise nutritionist.
