Knee pain sucks. In this article I am going to give you 7 reasons why your knees hurt. However before I get into it I want to say if you have any sort of knee pain then it is a good idea to go to your medical practitioner whether that be a Physio, Chiro, Osteo or whoever it is that you see.
There are literally hundreds of possibilities for why you have knee pain but the most common knee issues I see tend to be some form of Patellar Tendonitis. Essentially inflammation of the knee tendon.
Interestingly the knee itself is rarely the root cause it is more of a byproduct of poor ankle mobility, weak glutes or simply just faulty movement patterns.
So without further ado
1 – You haven’t warmed up properly
The goal of the warm up is to prepare the body for action. The knee joint is full of synovial fluid which is there to prevent the bones within the knee from grinding on each other. Synovial fluid is quite viscous when the knee is cold but once warmed up becomes more runny allowing for freer movement and more lubrication
2 – You need to address the ankles
Tight ankle joints and limited dorsiflexion (the ability of pulling your foot up) can put excess strain on the knees. Here is the kicker… When you squat down, if you don’t have the ankle range your body will compensate to make the move by shifting you forwards and putting excess shearing forces through the knee joint. From the picture above you can see that the knees have shifted forwards and the force which should be on her hips is directly on her knee.
3 – Your glutes give way
Weakness around your hip muscles, namely your glute medius, maximus and minimus muscle can affect the position of your thigh and knee when performing many activities including squatting, lunging, walking, running, jumping and many more. Weak glutes prevent proper stabilisation of the femur (leg bone) and are pulled into an internally rotated position. Knee valgus is often a result of this.
As you can see in the picture above, by adding some downward forces to this patterning, it’s not going to be long before you need an ACL reconstruction.
Interestingly non contact ACL tears are 5x higher in females than in males.
4 – You keep doing pain provoking activities
I know you love going up the Peak but if it hurts your knees then stop. Please STOP. Pain is your friend, it’s your body’s way of saying ‘’hey something’s not right here, maybe we should consider another way’’
The problem arises after the hundredth time you have ignored that message from your body and what was an easily treatable knee pain is know arthritis.
5 – You suffer from quad dominance
Either your quads and anterior chain are too strong relatively to your hamstrings/glutes and posterior chain or your hamstring/glutes and posterior chain are too weak relatively to your quads and anterior chain.
Same but different. Ultimately the result is quad dominance. If you struggle to sit back in the squat or you come up onto your toes when you lunge then there is a good chance you suffer from quad dominance.
6 – You’re not absorbing force
Landing mechanics are often overlooked in the world of knee health. If you were to jump in the air and land with a thud, legs straight and buckling knees you’re not allowing your muscles and tendons to do their job properly. Landing should be quiet and graceful.
7 – Your tissue quality is rougher than a Brass Drum
If you’re the kind of person that just looks at a foam roller and it brings a tear to your eye then you probably have some pretty gammy facial tissue. A tight Iliotibial Band (ITB) along with tight lateral structures of the quad will laterally track the knee. Say hello Patella Femoral Syndrome.
Conclusion
This is just the tip of the Iceberg when it comes to knee pain. As I mentioned in the beginning it’s always worth going to see your Medical Practitioner to rule anything sinister out. Once you have the green light, then it’s time to get those glutes firing, work on your ankle mobility and your tissue quality. Learn to absorb force and re-pattern your lifting.
If you are sick and tired of suffering from your knee pain then come and get a screening and start moving better.
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