Prevent knee pain with this easy sequence

The key to the success of this sequence is to do it first thing in the morning. Ideally in bed before you start your day!

When we consider alleviating pain we think of pills / pain killers / balms and medicated rubs. All of these have their place in recovery and pain relief, but at Strong EnCore we believe that movement and exercise can be one of the keys to managing pain. With the right kind of stretching + strengthening exercises you can manage pain symptoms and take preventative action to ensure that the joints do not weaken further (resulting in more pain!). 

In this video, you see a quick and easy sequence of 5 things you can do in bed before you start your day that will help you manage pain in your knee joint caused by arthritis or osteoporosis. 

The key to this sequence is to first stretch and then strengthen. Using just a yoga band (or duputta / long scarf) and a rolled up towel and the pillows on your bed, you can complete these exercises in less than 10 minutes. 

The goal of these exercises is to warm up and prep your knee joint in a safe and simple way before you require it to support your body weight. The gentle stretching and flexion of the joint and its supporting muscles improves the strength of the joint and also enhances the lubrication within its capsule.

I borrowed the title of this series from one of Brene Brown's amazing books. In her book, Rising Strong, Brown quotes Maya Angelou - “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." This is the motivation behind this series... Our bodies are going to change, the way we face these changes is whats going to make all the difference to the quality of our lives.

The 5 steps are (remember - stretch, then strengthen!)

 1. Using the yoga band wrapped around your ankle and lay back with your knee bent so your foot comes towards your bottom. Pull gently on the straps of the band to bring the foot in a little closer - hold for a few seconds, and then release.

2. Place a rolled up towel under your knee. Sit up tall and activate your quads and hamstrings to push down onto the towel with the back of your knee. Hold the effort for about 5 seconds and then release. Do a few reps on each leg.

3. Place pillows under your heel. Allow gravity to do the work as the back of your knee joint (which is raised due to height of your heel on the pillow) moves downwards towards the bed.

4. Place the yoga band on the ball of your foot and hold the ends in your hands. Using the yoga band for controlled resistance, flex your foot to point the ball of your foot away from your face.

5. Hip raises - shoulders and heels firmly on the bed. Hands by your side, palms facing down for additional support and balance. Gently raise your hips and bottom up to the ceiling