Ever wondered why after or during squats and lunges your knees ache? Chances are your knee cap(s) are the problem and as a female you will be 7-8 times more likely to get knee pain in the gym than males.
WHY ?
Hip strength: Most females don’t naturally have the hip strength required to control the hip and knee from rotating inwards during squatting and lunging movements.
Hip mobility: Females naturally have much greater mobility than males. Unfortunately this means more movement to control and with the above mentioned hip strength deficits the extra hip mobility can be a real problem in your squat
Quad strength: Not enough quad strength will put more force on your knee caps when you squat and lunge
Ankle stiffness: Get rid of the high heels and start doing those calf stretches ladies !! Stiff ankles make it very hard to complete a good quality squat or lunge
Awareness / movement control: Ever watched your technique in the mirror ? do your knees turn in when you lunge or squat ? We know that knee rotation inwards is a massive contributor to knee cap pain
Tips
1.Hip strength: Bridging, clams and side planks are all great drills to build hip strength. Try single legged versions of these
2.Hip mobility: Don’t overdo the stretching of your hips – chances are if your female that strength is more important than flexibility
3.Quad strength: Try some single legged leg press. if your knees are sore this position will be less challenging. Don’t overdo the leg extension machine as it might make you worse
4.Stretch your calfs and ankles. Also wear shoes with a thick sole on them. Perhaps try some of your squats with your fee slightly turned out
5.Knee band: Place a knee band around your knees and perform some squats with this on – it will help remind you to not let your knees turn inwards
If you continue to get knee pain come on in and get it sorted with one of our expert practitioners Adam Shaw, Jess Nortonor Chris Pearson.
Physiologic will be providing injury triage nights at SCNA on the evenings of
Tue 28th May 2019
Tue 2nd July 2019
From 6-8pm.
These sessions are ideal for players who have;
ongoing niggles / pain
a current injury and require some help / information
knee, ankle, hip, finger/thumb pain
The sessions are also ideal for parents to ask questions or seek help for their child if there are concerns about injury. Each player will receive around 5-15 min of time relevant to their problem. The purpose will be mainly to assess and provide advice / simple management. If more extensive management is required it would be recommended to attend in rooms.
We follow Physiotherapist Adam Shaw as he prepares for his first Marathon.
Adam is preparing for his first Gold Coast marathon in July. We will be following his journey as he prepares for his upcoming marathon.
With help from different professionals at Physiologic we will assist him by looking at everything from metabolism efficiency, running technique and economy, effective training intensities, fuel intake and exercises for runners.
As Adam goes through his assessments and sessions with each professional you will find videos of his sessions and the advice he is given.
Adam’s preparation will include the below sessions;
Metabolism analysis:Adam Shaw attends an exercise metabolism analysis with Mark Barrett to work out what intensities he needs to train at to improve his endurance and speed
Metabolism results:David Coombs goes through the results with Adam and explains them in detail
Metabolism training:Therese Fossheim shows Adam how to adjust his training sessions to achieve better results
Nutrition:Delina Rahmate advices on intake for improved performance and recovery
Running Assessment, advice and exercises: David Coombs assesses Adams running technique and gives advice for improvement
Muscle release techniques:Josh Meyer demonstrates effective methods to help with muscle recovery
Please like our Facebook page for notifications on new videos or come back and check on our blog.
Knee cap pain is the most common form of knee pain and affects both males and females of all ages and activity levels. It is often referred to as patellofemoral pain or runners knee.
It tends to become painful when performing activities such as squatting, kneeling, going up/down stairs or sitting for a prolonged period of time.
There are many things you can do to improve your symptoms and your Physiotherapist can help guide you with these.
Be sensible with your exercise and activity levels.
Avoid doing too much too soon.
Aim to slowly increase exercise levels – around 10% increase per week is
usually suitable.
Exercise therapy is the key to improvement
A combination of exercises that use your thigh and hip muscles gives the best results.
Retrain the way you move – this can be done with the support of your Physiotherapist who can guide you in what to look for.
Supportive taping or shoe inserts can help immediately with pain management.
A crisp day greeted me for the morning of the Coolangatta Gold 2018.
Cool but not cold. Spring was in the air – what better way to spend the day than 46km of torture with paddling, swimming and running all on the menu in what has been described as one of the toughest insurance races in Australia.
Id been training hard for this for the past 5 months and at the ripe old age of 40 decided that rather than entering my age group, id enter the Open Elite Male category and battle it out with the best in the business including 5 time winner Ali Day !!
Ive watched this race for many years and I remember as a kid seeing Guy Leech and all my childhood heroes run along the beach at dusk with a hideous look of pain on their faces. I wondered if that was going to be me today and if it was really as hard as everyone says it is. Only time would tell i thought and I really began to grown nervous not at where I would place but how much pain my body was going to go through.
So after breakfast, stocking up on energy gels, preparing my water and hydration packs it was off to the start line with the help of my handlers who would be collecting all my gear throughout the race. A 15-20 min warm up and briefing from the starter about the course and I found myself on the line with starters gun raised in the air.
BANG!!! We jump on to our skis to begin the first 23km ski leg which is my best leg and the part of the race that i favoured myself to hang in there with the best guys – the adrenalin surges through me but I’m pretty careful not to expend too much energy at the start. I know from experience that a lot of young guys will go out hard so my plan is to conserve energy for the first few minutes and try to wash ride. I manage to get in to the front group and I’m feeling good.
I notice that Ali Day goes full gas to move into the lead after 5 min. No one is prepared to chase him and as i suspected it would be the last anyone would see him all day as he raced off the front of the group.
1 hour 45 min of ski paddling and I’m looking really good – equal 2nd with the first group after Ali Day. We are paddling with the wind and i notice as we near the end of this ski that the wind has built to a worrying 18-20 knots southerly.
Worrying because for the next 20km i will be pushing into this wind in the remaining swim, board and run legs. I know the swim will be the hardest of these. I just hope countless hours in the pool over winter on 5-6 degree mornings was worth it !!
Dismounting the ski – it takes ages to get blood into the legs and the young guys storm ahead in a short 2km run to the next leg. My mind starts to think if this is only a young mans game and “am i out off my depth ?”
I head into the 3.5 km swim off Burleigh in 5th place and it lives up to its reputation as being brutal. Being the weakest of my legs – i get passed by about 4 people but this was expected.
I can honestly say that as i came in from this leg i almost contemplated giving up as i felt sick and wobbly on my feet. Id been going around 3 hours with the last hour in a washing machine !!
After meeting my handlers and taking on some food / drink (and somehow managing to keep it down) it was on to the board.
Again similar circumstances – a 20 knot headwind and arms that feel like I’m lifting 20kg every time i take a stroke. The clock ticks over 4 hours and i begin cramping in the lower back. A young guy next to me looks terrible – worse than me and I begin to feel a bit more confident that at least others are suffering as well !!!
7km left to run and again its into a horrible gusty 25 knot head wind. Its amazing how the mind will automatically look for the easiest way out at this point. Anything to make the calf cramps, spiking heart rate and led weights on your shoulders stop hurting.
I focus on little points along the route – “just get to the next set of flags” then focus on another point “just get to the red bus shelter at Kirra”
As promised to my handlers before the race i would literally bury myself in that last run leg to pick up a place and finish in 9th in the Open Male Elite Category in conditions that were later described as the toughest in years!!
Easily the best part of the day was having my two kids run with me over the finish line!!
When i think about why i do this stuff – its easy when i see their faces smiling and proud of me. I just want to be a good role model for them and to try and be a person who promotes what i preach every day in my profession.
It really is interesting about how i viewed this race when I finished. I got so much praise and congratulations from my friends and family but i think with age and being in the health industry, completing this race and putting myself through that pain barrier is extremely insignificant compared to the fight that some people have on their hands when it comes to sickness, death, depression and the emotional sadness that people go through when times are tough.
I was actually extremely thankful that i was healthy and fit enough to participate in something so great and it made me think about how lucky i am to have what i have and do what i do.
This blog is being written from my own personal experience. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with breast cancer in June.
I am not going to say it’s been an easy road. Actually it’s been bloody hard.
I am so lucky to work with a highly skilled team of professionals who are passionate about health and well-being. And who are supporting me.
I think the most important advice I was given from day 1 was KEEP MOVING!
There will be days when you just want to curl up and die. It’s not about running a marathon, it’s not doing a spin class.
I know the thought of exercise can be daunting when you are ill. It can be as simple as walking around the block. Some days it’s just hanging out the washing. Or even watering the garden. But move that body.
Our amazing personal trainer Alex supported and nurtured me through a session today that she tailored to my physical capabilities at this stage of my health and treatment.
I am keeping good health. I have had no other illness or sickness.
My specialist team always commend me on how well I am doing and how I am in such good health for someone going through this treatment. And I say it’s because I move my body. I think exercise has played a big part in my treatment and my good health.
Do I want to some days ? Hell no ! But I know the evidence and medical benefits exercise has for cancer patients.
Please click here and read from The Cancer Council for more information and call our team at Physiologic to see how we can help you or a loved one.
A crisp day greeted me for the morning of the Coolangatta Gold 2018.
BANG!!! We jump on to our skis to begin the first 23km ski leg which is my best leg and the part of the race that i favoured myself to hang in there with the best guys – the adrenalin surges through me but I’m pretty careful not to expend too much energy at the start. I know from experience that a lot of young guys will go out hard so my plan is to conserve energy for the first few minutes and try to wash ride. I manage to get in to the front group and I’m feeling good.
ng my handlers and taking on some food / drink (and somehow managing to keep it down) it was on to the board.
This blog is being written from my own personal experience. Unfortunately I was diagnosed with breast cancer in June.