Over-used knees and under-used hips typically go together. Watch this video to learn how to avoid this. This simple exercise is demonstrated by Katy Bowman and should be done 60sec x 3 times daily.
5 Simple Exercises To Get Healthy Knee
To have a better understanding I can recommend a very good article from Katy Bowman explaining the connection between knees, pelvic floor. She gives 5 simple exercises to get knee healthy.
primary reason our country’s knee health is so poor (yes, we’ve got the highest incidence of osteoarthritis) is because we don’t squat.
User+Gait Pattern & Tight Muscles=Joint Damage
When you have Osteoarthritis of the knee, what you really have is the constant rubbing of the bones in the knees. This is not a disease, but a mechanical situation that can be changed at any time. Elevated heels on shoes, extreme tension down the backs of the legs, and the habit of tucking the tailbone under have arranged muscle fibers into short, tight muscles that increase friction in the knees.
Did you notice the mention of the tailbone being tucked? Chances are, if you have pain in the knees you may also be having issues of the pelvic floor (as mentioned in other squatting and pelvic floor blogs on this site). One of the reasons pelvic floor exercises like the kegel have been invented is because we aren’t walking with the correct “pushing off” (hip extension) motion. This pushing back motion tones the glutes (naturally), which (naturally) keeps the pelvic floor long and contracting eccentrically (instead of shortening during contraction), and minimizes the falling forward action most people do when they think they are walking (using the knee’s cartilage for each crash landing is a good way to burn through the knees quickly). Can you see how it’s all connected? The good news is, the very same movements that get the pelvic bones aligned and the PF strong are also the same stretches needed to increase joint space in the knee (and in the hips too).
If your muscles have been super-tight for a super-long time, begin to open your joint space with these exercises. They can be used for knee and pelvic floor issues and are a gentle way to prepare your body for a future squat.
A full article and exercises can be found here.
