Whether you hurt your knee in the gym, in a poorly instructed yoga class, in an overzealous jogging program, by falling down, bruising it, experiencing arthritis or any of the other hundred ways you can injure yourself, this simple shortcut may be a miracle for you.
This exercise is one of my favorite ways to end knee pain for good.
Here’s how you do this exercise:
- Get a blanket. Roll it up half way until you have a soft cushion that’s maybe three to four inches high. If you don’t have a blanket handy, roll up a yoga mat a third of the way and proceed with the exercise.
- Sit on the ground with both legs out in front of you and your hands behind your back.
- Place the rolled up part of the blanket directly ABOVE the back of the knee that’s hurting – not BEHIND the knee. That’s really important that you get the placement of the blanket right.
- Bend your other knee.
- Make sure that the foot of the leg you are working is STRAIGHT UP to the ceiling. This detail is crucial. Your feet control the position of your hips. If your hips are torqued, you will not be able to fix your knee. Look carefully at my photograph and follow along closely.
- Now isometrically contract the knee that’s on the blanket. Hold the contraction for a count of three and then relax it. Keep repeating this – contracting for a count of three, then relaxing your muscles – for about 60 seconds.
- Rest the knee you just worked and switch to the other side.
- Now get up off the floor and walk around – notice the difference in how your knee feels!
Let’s talk about why this simple exercise is so effective:
- Misalignment in the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones can be a major cause of knee pain even if you haven’t injured yourself.
- Bringing your knee back into alignment is essential to get rid of the pain, no matter what the cause.
- Sometimes the muscles around your knees are so weak they can’t support the bones, tendons and ligaments. This exercise will help strengthen the major muscles supporting your knees.
- This exercise gets your foot, hip and knee in the correct position to begin your healing process.
If you have been experiencing knee pain, call me at 678-612-8816 or email catherine@unlimitedenergynow.com to set up an appointment to learn how to feel better.
More than likely, if your knee hurts you may be experiencing imbalances in your feet, hips or back that are contributing to your knee pain. Find out how your entire body can work better so that you don’t have to live with chronic pain.