One of the most common knee conditions is called runners knee. However you can have this injury even if you are not a runner. The medical term for this condition is called patellar femoral pain syndrome. In this injury the pain is in the front of the knee but can move from side to side and underneath the knee cap. This knee pain is caused by a muscle imbalance. The muscles on the outside of the knee, mainly the vastus lateralis, IT band, and gluteus maximus becomes too tight pulling the patella outwards. Meanwhile the vastus medialis, which is on the inside of the knee, and the gluteus medials in the hip are weak. Overall this causes the patella to glide outwards which can result in anterior knee pain. Active release and acupuncture are very effective treatments at releasing the muscle tension in the vastus lateralis, IT band, and gluteus maximus. After the manual treatment I would prescribe these exercises to address the weakness in the vastus medals and gluteus medius. Follow us on instagram @rebuildphysiotherapy for full videos of these knee and hip exercises.
1) Banded Cowboy walk
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- Place the band around your ankles.
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- Squat down in a deep athletic position and engage your core.
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- Keep your knees pointed outwards, step forward lifting up each foot as you step.
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- Keep your torso facing forward and avoid rotating your torso as you are walking.
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- Take big slow steps.
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- After walking forward the desired number of paces walk backwards to the starting position. Stepping backwards will really challenge the gluts.
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- Progression 1: hold a kettle bell or dumbbell out in front of your body to engage the upper body and further challenge the core.
2) Banded Crab walk
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- Place the band around your ankles.
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- Squat down in a deep athletic position and engage your core.
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- Keep your knees pointed outwards, step laterally lifting up each foot as you step.
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- Take big slow steps.
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- After walking the desired number of paces walk back to the starting position with the same technique.
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- Progression 1: hold a kettle bell or dumbbell out in front of your body to engage the upper body and further challenge the core.
3) Single legged squat on stairs.
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- Stand on one foot facing the arm rail.
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- Squat down leading with your hips.
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- Keeping your back straight and lean forward to counter balance.
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- Drive through your heels as you stand back up.
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- Extend your hips all the way forward at the top of the movement.
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- It’s important to keep your hips facing forward and level throughout this exercise.
