3 Exercises To Strengthen And Protect Your Knees
First, let’s review the anatomy of the knee.
The Knee is a hinge joint, and is actually made up of TWO joints!
Patellofemoral Joint: This is where your patella (knee cap) articulates with your femur (upper leg bone). Your quadriceps tendon attaches to the patella and continues on as the patellar tendon and attaches onto the front of your tibia.
The patella functions to increase the mechanical advantage of the quad muscles by improving the force of knee extension.
Tibiofemoral Joint: This is where your distal femur joins with your proximal tibia and is the major weight bearing joint of the knee.
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The knee joint works with the hip and ankle joints to allow for weight bearing and movement of the lower extremities. The knee joint complex must therefore provide significant stability and mobility for basic weight bearing functions of daily life!
MAJOR KNEE LIGAMENTS
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ACL: Anterior Cruciate Ligament
The ACL is located at the center of the knee joint and connects your femur to your tibia. The function of the ACL is to prevent your tibia from excessive forward sliding. The ACL also offers rotational stability to the knee joint.
Injuries to the ACL occur in running and cutting sports and the majority are non-contact injuries, often when performing a cut, pivot or landing from a jump. With injury or tear to the ACL, the knee often is in a valgus position with some internal rotation.
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Females are three times as likely to tear their ACL compared to males! This may be due to differences in structure of the knee itself as well as of the hips/pelvis, hormones and neuromuscular factors.
PCL: Posterior Cruciate Ligament
The PCL runs within the center of the knee joint, from the femur to the tibia. It prevents excessive posterior translation of the tibia, thus preventing hyperextension of the knee. It also offers rotational stability of the knee. The PCL is generally stronger than the ACL and therefore is less likely to be injured.
The most common mechanism of PCL injury is a direct hit to the front of your upper tibia (think: front of your shin, just below the knee), especially when the knee is flexed. For example, in car accidents, the front of the shin smacks into the dashboard resulting in the tibia being pushed too far posteriorly.
MCL: Medial Collateral Ligament
The MCL runs on the medial or inner aspect of your knee, but is actually outside of the knee joint itself. It connects from the femur to the tibia. It acts to provide stability to the inner aspect of your knee.
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MCL injuries most often result from a direct blow to the lateral or outer aspect of the knee, causing a valgus knee moment which puts excessive stretching forces on the MCL.
LCL: Lateral Collateral Ligament
Similar to the MCL, the LCL runs outside of the knee joint itself. It connects the lateral aspect of the femur to the tibia and provides stability to the outer aspect of your knee by resisting forces that try to push your knee laterally. Therefore, injuries to the LCL often occur when the knee suffers a direct blow on the inside of the knee, creating excessive stretching force to the outer aspect of the knee.
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IMPORTANT KNEE STRUCTURES
Menisci: Each knee joint has two menisci. The menisci are C-shaped pieces of cartilage that sit between the tibia and femur. They provide extra cushion between the two bones and act as shock absorbers as you load through your legs.
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Common meniscus injuries result from a twisting mechanism of the leg under load (for example: cutting) and can be in combination with an externally applied varus or valgus force to the knee.
The medial meniscus is much more likely to be torn or injured due to it being firmly anchored to the medial collateral ligament and the joint capsule versus the more mobile lateral meniscus.
Strengthening the knee and surrounding structures is so important to your lower body health and function! Targeting the muscles and other structures around the knee can help to reduce the risk of injury and pain at the hips, knees, ankles and even feet.
Try the exercises at the end of this article out so you can continue running, lifting, football or whatever way you like to move, for many years to come!
TOP 3 KNEE STRENGTHENING EXERCISES
Single Leg Squats to Bench
Points of Performance:
Do not let your knee collapse in during this movement!
Perform each rep slow and controlled.
Touch the bench lightly, do not sit onto the bench.
Start with no weight and work your way up to holding 1-2 kettlebells or dumbbells while you lower the height of the bench for an increased challenge.
Side Plank with Leg Lifts
Points of Performance:
Perform the side plank on your toes.
Keep your hips pushed forward.
Keep knees, hips and shoulders in one straight line. Top knee remains bent.
Option to perform the side plank on your knees for an easier variation. To make it more challenging, straighten your top leg.
ISO Hip Flexion + Abduction
Points of Performance:
Bring your hip into 90 degrees of flexion, then actively press your knee into the wall.
Keep your chest up and shoot for 60 second holds/side!
Option to use a ball or similar object to press your knee into, but it is not required for this exercise.
