Knees hurt? This exercise can assist.

Caitlin Berzok is afraid of strength training. From time to time she practiced with the weight of the ankle, but she was worried that weighty lifting could ponderous down or lead to injury.

In 2015, she was grave about running, moving from shorter races to marathons, and only a year later she began to have chronic knee pain. Soon she could barely run a mile. Mrs. Berzok, then 29, tried to rest, stretch and cooperate with a physiotherapist, but nothing helped.

Then the fresh physiotherapist ordered her to raise the weight of Kettlebell, starting lightweight and eventually working up to 40 pounds. She left the session later flooded after the wide sessions of squats, SquatsIN Bulgarian squats dividedRomanian dead string and throws. “I never knew that there were so many different types of squats,” said Berarzok.

During the year she returned to painless marathons and has been raising for years.

It often affects knee pain 25 percent adults. While experts from the generation often recommend rest and ice to reduce knee pain, evidence now suggest strength training Power Reduce pain and increase the range of motion.

“Stronger muscles assist more evenly spread the load on the knee,” said Dr. Nima Mehran, an orthopedic surgeon at Los Angeles, California, who specializes in the knee. Muscle building decreases The amount of joint loadHe said, and can also improve equalization, which in turn helps prevent injury.

“People think that strength training will hurt their knees or cause further damage,” said Leada Malek, a physiotherapist in San Francisco, who specializes in sports medicine and the author of “Science of Entrzmij”. But this is not really the case, she said.

The key is to find movements that you can do without severe pain and gradually build your strength and range of motion.

How muscles affect knee pain

While the knee joint itself has no muscles, it has ligaments and cartilage and is stabilized by the muscles surrounding the joint: quads, popliteal tendons, calves and hips.

These muscles drive your body movement and also act as shock absorbers, said Dr. Malek. Dr. Mehran said that chronic knee pain – unlike acute injury, which may require surgery – can often be solved by strengthening. This is especially true of the two most common types of knee pain.

The first is Rapeseed painAlso known as Runner’s knee, which is pain in the front of the knee. The second, knee pain associated with osteoarthritis, often occurs in people aged about 50 years venerable or can often lead to discomfort and stiffness surrounding the entire knee joint.

Dan Giordano, a physiotherapist in Recent York, who treated Mrs. Berzok, added that it is vital to remember the muscles of the hips, because they play a significant role in reducing the load of the knee.

Many patients Dr. Mehran are 50 and 60 years venerable with chronic knee pain and want to avoid knee replacement, but their pain limits their actions and quality of life. He said that he advised these patients to try strength training first.

“Knee replacement can be the last step,” said Dr. Mehran. “But there is all a lot on this ladder before we get to the last step.”

How to strengthen the muscles around the knee

When it comes to managing chronic knee pain, Dr. Malek said that the best approach is a progressive strength training program, which means increasing weight or traffic impediment.

Start with squats.

As Mrs. Berzok said, one of the best exercises of the knee force is squats, which are focused on quads, popliteal tendons, buttocks, hip flexors and calves.

The key to squatting with knee pain is to start from the movement version, which does not cause pain. If you cannot achieve a deep squat, at the beginning go as low as possible, starting from body weight and slowly adding weight.

Double on the buttocks and tendons of tendons.

Focus on strengthening the muscles in the rear chain, which include the buttocks and the popliteal tendons. When these muscles are unbalanced – for example, if your quads are much stronger than the popliteal tendons – it can raise the probability of knee pain, and in extreme cases it can even lead to a torn ACL, said Dr. Mehran.

To strengthen the buttocks and hips, Dr. Malek recommended the bridge of the leg or CLAMSHELLSusing body weight, exercise band or Weights outside the knee.

Add weights and raise difficulties.

To get a more hard movement of the buttocks and the popliteal tendon, try it out Weighted hip string or Romanian deadlift. Dr. Malek also recommends Hill on a box or stairs.

What to know about high -impact exercises

If knee pain is piercing, fresh or injury, most experts recommend abstaining, climbing or jumping-and switching to a low-effect cardio, such as swimming or cycling-at least until you receive a professional grade.

However, Dr. Malek said that it is not necessarily true, that high -effects activities always deteriorate knee pain, especially in the case of osteoarthritis.

“It differs depending on the person and his history of injuries,” she said. While experts agree that strength training is an effective way to prevent and treat knee pain, a higher effect should be done only if they do not cause pain. Dr. Malek said that if your knees deal with it, running and jumping will not necessarily damage your knees.

Although it is certainly a matter a bit of a debate Among the researchers, Dr. Mehran said that there is some evidence that runners for life can develop Thicker protective cartilage Around their knees.

As for Mrs. Berzok, until 2023 she could run a half marathon about 13 minutes faster than before injury, even after the child’s birth in 2018.

“I think that everyone should be a strength training – especially women as agded,” she said.

Hilary Achauer is a strength trainer and an independent writer covering health and fitness.