Sunday, November 8, 2015

Knee Injury? Read this

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/preventing-knee-injury

Some useful excerpts:

High arches and low ones. Bow legs and knock knees. Too little strengthening. Too little stretching. Too many miles. Too many hills. And those are just the major culprits. 

The best way to protect your knees is with daily stretching and strengthening exercises, and the easiest way to stick to your daily program is to do the exercises at home without any special equipment. Here we show the two best, simplest home exercises to keep your knees in top shape.
ITB Stretch
Stand with one leg in front of and crossed over the other leg. Exhale, and bend your body to the same side as your front leg. Hold for a count of 20, straighten up, then repeat the bend nine more times. Reverse leg positions, and repeat 10 times in the other direction.

Quadriceps Strengthener
With your feet side-by-side, extend both arms forward, and slowly lower yourself into a half-squat, stopping before your legs are parallel to the ground. Keep your back straight. Repeat 20 times.
Adapted from The Knee Crisis Handbook,
--Brian Halpern, M.D.