4 Lower-Body Exercises To Combat Knee Pain
Achy Knees? Try These Exercises
The knee is an amazing joint! It aids in running, walking, sitting, and just about everything you do when moving around on your legs. As we get older our knees start to have problems. From tearing a tendon that supports the knee to just feeling aches and pains when we walk around, the knee is a common area of concern. The best way to address knee pain is to proactively work the muscles that surround it and keep them strong.
The following 5 exercises are designed to strengthen your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and inner thigh muscles. These muscles are what keep the knee in place and healthy and they will keep your knees pain-free if you start incorporating these exercises into your daily routine.
See the article below and be sure to pass this along to your friends so that they can combat knee pain now while their knees are still healthy!
By: Kim Pieper
Quads
Supine Straight Leg Lifts
- Lay on your back with legs out straight and toes pointing up.
- Squeeze right quad and raise right leg up off the ground a few inches. Hold and squeeze for 10 seconds then release. Repeat 10 times and switch legs.
Adductors
Inner Thigh Squeeze
- Sit on the ground or in a chair and place either a small, squishy ball or a rolled up towel between your knees.
- Squeeze inner thighs and press in on the ball or towel as hard as you can, hold for the count of 3, then gently release but not so far that you drop the towel. Squeeze right away again. Repeat 10 times.
Glutes
Leg Press-Ups
- Stand behind a bench, stool, low chair, or step. You can hold dumbbells in your hands for an extra challenge.
- Place right foot on top of bench so foot is flat. Lean slightly forward.
- Press your body up until right leg is straight, keeping weight in the heel of the right foot. Left foot should come off the ground.
- Lower with control keeping weight in right foot. Repeat 10 times. Switch feet.
Hamstrings
Stiff-Legged Deadlift
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and hold heavy dumbbells or barbell in your hands in front of your legs.
- Soften your knees and slowly lower the weights down your shins keeping your back long and eyes forward.
- Once back is parallel to floor, squeeze hamstrings, glutes, and abs as you slowly pull weights back up legs to standing position. Repeat 10 times.
See the full article from gethealthyu.com here.
To Your Health And Wellness!
