There’s quite a bit of controversy between fitness professionals and medical professionals about the safety of various lower extremity conditioning activities. As an orthopedic surgeon, Itypically see folks in the clinic after something has gone wrong so it’s a skewed population. But over and over again I see common themes emerge. I think of these as three easy ways to hurt yourknees.
Deep squats (thighs below parallel), lunge with a short stride, and unaccustomed plyometric activities are more likely than not, in my opinion, to land you in the orthopedic or sportsmedicine specialist’s office. I suggest below some modifications to help you avoid trouble.
Deep Squat (Thighs Below Parallel)
I’m a bigbeliever in the usefulness and effectiveness of dual leg squats. In fact, if I had to pick one resistance exercise for folks to do even into their geriatric years it would be a dual leg squat.
The controversy comes in how deep to go. Do you stop with thighs above parallel to the floor, go to parallel to the floor, or drop thighs below parallel? The argument made by advocates of the deepsquat is that it’s the most efficient way to build strength in the glutes, quads and calves, and from a purely muscular standpoint that’s likely true.
But
Ask a former elite baseball or softball catcher how their knees are 20 years out from their sport. Chances are the response is along the lines of “pretty bad”.
Doyourself a favor and don’t go lower than parallel. If you already have some knee arthritis, or if you’re a senior athlete stop above parallel.
Short Stride Forward Lunge
Here’s another exercise I really like, but your form has to be spot on to avoid injury.A single leg lunge teaches your body dynamic stability, which is important for sport performance and fall risk reduction. When done correctly it’s an excellent way to improve glute and quadstrength too.
The problem is that it’s hard to do this exercise correctly. If I have a patient in the office with kneecap pain or patellar tendonitis we’ll get into their form onlunges. Invariably they’ll show me a short stride, which results in the front of the knees extending beyond the front of their toes.
A long stride results in roughly a 90 degree angle atthe ankle and at the knee, and this reduces kneecap force while maintaining the muscle stimulus needed for strength and stability.
The best option is to
Unaccustomed Plyometrics
Plyometric activities involve bounding and jumping. Many folks are enthusiastic andmotivated to restart group fitness in states that are allowing that, and others with exercise from home options.
There’s a lot of good that can come from plyometric activity but like theforward lunge described above, your form has to be right. Additionally there’s a ramp-up period of several days or weeks when you need to get used to doing the activity. This is especially trueif you’re a novice.
If you go straight from couch potato to high intensity plyometrics you’re setting yourself up for some rough times ahead. Your safest option to keep your kneeshealthy is to go through a very gradual increase in plyometric activity. Be mindful of any soreness that you experience the day after your exercise session. That’s often a sign that you need anadditional recovery day before trying again.
Each of these three activities, when done correctly, are great exercises. When done incorrectly I find that they’re incredibly effective atkilling your knees.
Key Points:
• When done correctly, dual leg squats, single leg lunges, and plyometrics are excellentexercises.
• However, if your form is off or you ramp up too quickly you’re setting yourself up for significant knee issues.
FURTHERREADING: Greatreasons to do ACL injury prevention warmups
(Dr. Dev K. Mishra, a Clinical Assistant Professor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford University and Medical Directorof Apeiron Life, is the creator of the