Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2022

How to Self-Treat Knee Pain

Knee pain is a common complaint among exercisers and non-exercisers alike. So often the actual cause of the knee pain is actually a muscle imbalance elsewhere. Weakness in the hip musculature, particularly the deep hip external rotators muscles, is a common contributing factor for knee pain.

In the following videos, I demonstrate different exercises designed to specifically strengthen your hip and lower leg in order to address muscles imbalances common with knee pain. Addressing these muscle imbalances can lead to the permanent resolution of your knee pain and symptoms.

My Top 3 Videos to Self-Treat Knee Pain:

The Clamshell: A “go to” Exercise for Treating Foot, Hip, and Knee Pain – The clamshell exercise is a commonly prescribed exercise designed to target the hip abductors and hip external rotators. However, this exercise is often performed incorrectly or ineffectively. In this video, I demonstrate my preferred method of performing the clamshell exercise in order to insure optimal effectiveness.

How to Use the Clamshell Hip Exercise to Treat Knee Pain – Knee pain is the most common running related injury. The root cause of many of the most common knee related issues is hip weakness. One of the best ways to treat many common running aches and pains is to focus on strengthening these muscles which include the gluteus medius, the tensor fascia latae, and the other deep hip rotators. In this video, I demonstrate how to perform the clamshell exercise. It’s an excellent non-weight bearing exercise to work on hip rotator strength which will directly affect knee stability.

A Barbell Knee Stability Exercise for Runners – In this video, I demonstrate how to perform an advanced exercise known as the clock or star drill. It’s an excellent exercise to work on knee stability and balance while specifically focusing on quadriceps and hip strength.

If you’re interested in more thorough guide on how to self-treat knee pain, check out the Resilient Runner Program. This is the perfect guide to help you take control of your health and fitness as well as self-manage common aches, pains, and injuries. Even if you’re not a runner, this program is appropriate for those who love to stay active and want to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

I WANT TO BE RESILIENT!

If you have a question that you would like featured in an upcoming video or blog post, please comment below or submit your question to contact@thePhysicalTherapyAdvisor.com. In case you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my e-mail list and YouTube channel as well as join our community on Facebook by liking The Physical Therapy Advisor!

Posted on Wednesday, November 18, 2020

My Top 3 Videos on How to Self-Treat Knee Pain

My Top 3 Videos to Self-Treat Knee Pain:

I WANT TO BE RESILIENT!

Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2020

How to Perform a Key Lower Leg Stability Exercise

Weakness in the deep external rotation muscles and poor lower extremity single leg balance are commonly associated with many lower extremity overuse injuries. A simple and effective exercise to improve strength, balance, and general stability of the deep hip external rotator muscles is the clock exercise (also called the star drill).

The important points to remember in this exercise are to keep the stance knee unlocked (the leg you are standing on) with the patella (knee cap) slightly externally rotated (usually pointing towards the 3^rd or 4^th toe). The rotation must come from the hip, NOT the ankle. The stability of the hip and activation of the deep hip external rotators needs to be the primary focus.

Slowly touch the ground very gently with the opposite leg. The amount of pressure touching the ground should be so slight that if there were a package of crackers taped to the bottom of the foot the crackers would not break. Performing the drill on a balance pad will significantly increase the difficulty level of the exercise.

In the following video, I demonstrate how to use a balance pad to perform the clock exercise, a key lower leg stability exercise for treating knee pain, hip pain, and foot and ankle related issues as well as balance.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH NOW

For additional videos on my recommended exercises to increase hip strength and stability, be sure to check out:

For prevention strategies and to learn more about on how to self-treat the most common lower extremity overuse injuries, be sure to check out the Resilient Runner Program, which is designed to help YOU meet YOUR training goals by insuring you have the tools to avoid injury, recover quickly, and train at a peak level.

Have you performed the clock exercise before? If so, what was your experience like? Please leave your comments below.

If you have a question that you would like featured in an upcoming blog post, please comment below or submit your question to contact@thePhysicalTherapyAdvisor.com. In case you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my e-mail list and YouTube channel as well as join our community on Facebook by liking The Physical Therapy Advisor!

Posted on Wednesday, September 2, 2020

How to Perform a Key Hip Stability Exercise

Hip pain, knee pain, and even foot pain (such as plantar fasciitis or posterior tibialis syndrome) can have an associated hip external rotation weakness. An important yet often overlooked component to proper lower extremity stability is how the deep hip external rotator muscles need to work along with other hip external rotators and hip abductors, such as the gluteus medius, to insure proper lower extremity positioning when the leg is in full weight bearing. Particularly, in a single leg stance position during walking, running, skipping or landing from a jump as the leg accepts full weight bearing while the opposite leg is in swing phase.

The deep hip rotators, also known as the short external hip rotators, are a group of muscles consisting of the superior and inferior gemelli, obturator internus, quadratus femoris, and the piriformis. This group of muscles is extremely important for stability of the body, pelvis, and leg as the leg/foot initiates full ground contact.

Weakness in these muscles is often associated with many of the more common lower extremity overuse injuries:

Foot injuries: Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles Tendinitis, Posterior Tibialis Syndrome
Knee injuries: Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS)
Hip related issues: Piriformis Syndrome, Hip Bursitis, Hip Impingement

A simple and effective exercise to improve strength of these muscles is the standing hip 3-way exercise. The important points to remember in this exercise are to keep the stance knee unlocked and in a “soft” stance with the patella (knee cap) slightly externally (laterally) rotated (usually pointing toward the 3^rd or 4^th toe). The rotation must come from the hip, NOT the ankle. The stability of the hip and activation of the deep hip external rotators should be the primary focus.

In the following video, I demonstrate how to use an exercise band to perform the standing hip 3-way exercise, a key hip stability exercise for treating hip pain, knee pain, and foot and ankle related injuries.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH NOW

For additional videos on my recommended exercises to increase hip strength and stability, be sure to check out:

Do you suffer from hip, knee or foot pain? If so, hip external rotation weakness may be part of the reason for the ongoing pain as you overload and overuse other structures trying to gain extra lower leg support. Additional discussion can help others to manage this condition more effectively. Please leave your comments below.

Posted on Wednesday, August 23, 2017

How to Use the Clamshell Hip Exercise to Treat Knee Pain

Knee pain is the most common running related injury. There are many different causes of knee pain including: Patellar Femoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS); Iliotibial Band pain (IT Band); Patellar Tendinitis; and meniscus injuries.

The root cause of many of the most common knee related issues is hip weakness. The hip abductors and hip external (lateral) rotators are very important for knee control and stability. When weakness is present in these groups of muscles, pain is often felt down the kinetic chain (particularly, in the knee).

One of the best ways to treat many common running aches and pains is to focus on strengthening these muscles which include the gluteus medius, the tensor fascia latae, and the other deep hip rotators.

In this video, I demonstrate how to perform the clamshell exercise. It’s an excellent non-weight bearing exercise to work on hip rotator strength which will directly affect knee stability. In the video, I use a red exercise band. As you progress, you could transition to a thicker band to increase the resistance and difficulty of the exercise.

Looking for more comprehensive information on how to self-treat and prevent the most common running related injuries? I have teamed up with Angie Spencer (RN and Certified Running Coach) and Trevor Spencer (co-host of the Marathon Training Academy Podcast) to give you the tools to become a Resilient Runner.

In the Resilient Runner program, we explain injury prevention strategies to keep you running. We provide detailed videos and rehabilitation guides on how to effectively SELF-TREAT each problem area of the body including:

Lower Back Pain and Piriformis
Hip: Hip Bursitis and Hip Flexor Pain
Upper Leg: Iliotibial Band and Hamstring Injury
Knee Pain: Patellar Femoral Pain Syndrome (Runner’s Knee); Patellar Tendinitis; and Meniscus Injury
Lower Leg and Foot: Achilles Tendinitis; Plantar Fasciitis; Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction; Shin Splints; and Stress Fractures

The Resilient Runner program is designed to help YOU meet YOUR training goals by insuring you have the tools to avoid injury, recover quickly, and train at a peak level.

It’s a virtual library of self-treatment protocols including downloadable podcasts, videos, and .pdf files of rehabilitation guides. It also includes a 320 page eBook, The Resilient Runner, Prevention and Self-Treatment Guide to Common Running Related Injuries.