GGX Schedule for Friday, Nov. 20:
AM: Zumba (Allen)-8:30am-9:30am
PM:Belly Dancing(Allen)-5:30pm-6:30pm

Knee Exercises
bigkneepain.com

Strengthening the muscles that support the knee with knee exercises is most important in protecting your knees from injury - particularly overuse injuries - and chronic knee pain. Weak or fatigued muscles cannot adequately support the knee joint or absorb shock before it gets to the knee and the extra stress placed upon the knee can cause injury or irritation to the structures of the knee.

Muscles that attach to the knee affect knee tracking (while walking or bending and straightening the knee, the kneecap slides over a groove in the thighbone). Muscle weaknesses/imbalances can cause the kneecap to pull to the left or right of the groove, resulting in the underside of the kneecap rubbing against the thighbone and becoming irritated (see runner s knee page for more info on pain caused by poor knee tracking).

Strengthening exercises can make the muscles tight, so follow strength exercises with stretching exercises.

Stretching the muscles that support the knee with knee exercises is also important in preventing injury. Flexible muscles are not as easily injured as tight muscles. Tightness of muscles connected to the knee can also pull the knee out of alignment.

When doing stretching exercises, be careful to go slowly and not to overstretch. You do not want to tear a muscle.

Increase the duration of your knee exercises gradually to avoid overuse injuries and knee pain. Be patient. You will see results.

Strength must be built up gradually. When muscles, tendons or ligaments are stressed slightly beyond their limits, microscopic tears occur. This is normal, and as these tears heal the muscles actually become bigger, firmer and stronger. These microscopic tears must be given adequate time to heal or chronic problems can develop. Try not to exercise the same muscle groups two days in a row to give your body a chance to recover. Doing strengthening knee exercises three or four times a week is enough. Stretching knee exercises can be done more often.

The goal is to prevent injury and knee pain, not cause it.
Don t ignore pain. Pain is your body s way of protecting you from hurting yourself further. It is not unusual to experience mild stiffness and aching of the muscles that lasts up to a day after exercising. But hardly being able to move for a few days after exercising means you have overdone it. It s difficult to know when to quit when you doing knee exercises. Often, the pain doesn't set in until a day or two later. It happens. If it does, you will have a greater understanding of your body s limitations.

If you have overdone your knee exercises...
Rest is important for inflamed muscles/tendons. Applying ice wrapped in a cloth can help reduce inflammation and pain and speed up healing. Knee pain should be completely gone before fully resuming your knee exercises program, however, lightly exercising the sore muscle may help decrease muscle soreness.

If you are currently experiencing knee pain or have a knee condition/injury and/or have a very limited range of motion, or are simply not sure which knee exercises are safe for you to do, see a physical therapist (physiotherapist). A doctor or physical therapist can assess your condition and give you a customized treatment / exercise plan.

Knee Strengthening Exercises:

inner thigh squeezeHip Adductors (Inner Thigh) / groin muscle and inner quad muscle (VMO) Strengthening Inner Thigh Squeeze:
Sit in chair, put fist (or folded towel or small ball) between knees.
Squeeze together knees.
Hold for count of 10. Relax for count of 3.
Do 10 repetitions.

Hip Abductors (Outer Thigh/Hip) strengthening Outer Leg Lift:
Lie on floor on your right side, shoulder and hips aligned.
Bend right leg (leg on floor) to about 90 degrees.
Slowly raise you left leg about 18 inches, hold for a second, and then slowly lower leg.
Do 10 repetitions. Repeat on other side.

Glutes Strengthening Backward leg swing:
Hold onto back of chair for support.
Swing leg back at a diagonal until you feel your buttocks tighten.
Tense muscles as much as you can and swing leg back a couple more inches.
Return leg to floor. Do ten repetitions.
Switch sides and repeat.

*The squat exercise also strengthens the glutes.

Quad Strengthening Leg lifts:
Lie flat on back. Bend left knee at 90-degree angle, keeping foot flat on floor.
Keep the right leg straight and slowly lift it until right foot is about the height of the left knee (about 10 inches off floor). Hold for a count of 3. Repeat 10 times. Switch sides.
Work up to 10 sets of 10 over several weeks.

Alternately, the leg may be lifted until the knees are at the same height.

Safety Tip:
Leg lifts: Lifting both legs at the same time causes excessive stress on your lower back so only lift one leg at a time; the opposite leg should be kept bent with foot on floor.

Wall Squats:

Stand with back against wall, feet about 18 inches away from wall.
Slowly slide down the wall, until your thighs are parallel with the floor (knees at 90 degrees) - or as far as you can go without causing knee pain.
Hold position for a count of 5. Slowly slide back up the wall, pushing yourself up with your heels.
Repeat ten times.
Alternately, hold position for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds, and repeat.

Note: Your knees should be lined up over your ankles when thighs are parallel to floor- you may have to adjust how close your feet are to the wall.

GGX Schedule for Wednesday, Nov.18
AM: Zumba (Nats) -8:30am-9:30am
PM:TRX (Ferleen)-5:00pm-5:30pm;5:30pm-6:30
Spin Bike (Beth)- 5:30pm-6:30pm
Tone and Sculpt (Bel) - 5:30pm-6:30pm
Zumba Toning (Allen)-6:30pm-7:30pm 

What causes knee pain?

Knee pain can be divided into three major categories:

Acute injury: such as a broken bone, torn ligament
Medical conditions: arthritis, infections
Chronic use/overuse conditions: osteoarthritis, patellar syndromes, tendinitis, and bursitis
Below is a list of some of the more frequent causes of knee pain. This is not an all-inclusive list but rather highlights a few causes of knee pain in each of the above categories.

Acute injuries

Fractures: Direct trauma to the bony structure can cause one of the bones in the knee to break. This is usually a very obvious and painful injury. Most knee fractures are not only painful but will also interfere with the proper functioning of the knee (such as kneecap fracture) or make it very painful to bear weight (such as tibial plateau fracture). All fractures need immediate medical attention.

Ligament injuries: The most common injury is the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. This is often a sports-related injury due to a sudden stop and change in directions.

Meniscus injuries: The menisci (medial and lateral) are made of cartilage and act as shock absorbers between bones in the knee. Twisting the knee can injure the meniscus.

Dislocation: The knee joint can be dislocated, which is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. This injury often occurs during a motor-vehicle accident when the knee hits the dashboard.

Medical conditions

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that can affect any joint in the body. It can cause severe pain and disability.

Gout is a form of arthritis that is most commonly found in the big toe, though it can also affect the knee.

With septic arthritis (infectious arthritis), the knee joint can become infected; this leads to pain, swelling, and fever. This condition requires antibiotics and drainage treatments as soon as possible.

Chronic use/overuse conditions

Patellar tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons connecting the kneecap (patella) to the bone of the lower leg. Patellar tendinitis is a chronic condition often found in individuals repeating the same motion (such as runners and cyclists).

Osteoarthritis: A wearing down of cartilage of the joint due to use and age

What are risk factors for knee pain?
Biomechanics: The knee joint is a complicated in its operation and is used frequently throughout the day. Any change in the movement of the joint (leg-length difference, change in walking style due to back problems) can cause subtle changes and cause pain and injuries.

Excess weight: The stress on the knee joint is increased with excess weight. Obesity also increases the risk of osteoarthritis as the cartilage breaks down more rapidly.

Overuse during repetitive motions as are found during certain exercises (jogging, skiing) or work conditions (long periods of kneeling) can cause breakdown of cartilage and lead to pain.