Project HUGE: Physical Therapy For My Knees
I went to see my primary physician as well as my physical therapist (both of whom are part of the Sports Medicine office at Chelsea Piers). The bad news: I have very tight hamstrings (I knew that), a tight TFA, a tight IT band, strength imbalances, weakness, pronating feet, and I am horribly out of shape (OK, I added that last one). The good news: these can all be fixed and or dealt with.
My PT, Samantha Reenders, DPT, (who happens to be extremely attractive) told me that I have to stretch my hamstrings. She showed me how to utilize a contract/relax technique with a towel to trick the muscle into lengthening more than it would like. In addition to that, I should continue to use the foam roller as I have been. Then, for strengthening the muscles outside of the gym, I can use a thereband for hip abduction (think reverse Thigh Master) and unilateral, shallow squats on a step or a low platform.
In parallel to the PT, I can keep going to the gym, which will keep my moderately sane. I am going to avoid anything that hurts my knee, such as deeper squats and high step ups, but should be able to perform exercises that require less knee flexion such and Romanian Deadlifts and Good Mornings. Just taking it a day at a time now, but for the first time in a long time, I am actually confident that my knees might one day function without pain.
Reader Comments
This might sound stupid, but just... touch your toes. If you bend down and touch your toes, you will give your hamstrings a good stretch.
@Michael,
Not a silly suggestion at all. In fact, if I had been doing that all along, I might not even be in this mess??? Possibly. My only concern with the toe-touch technique is that I don't think I will get as good a stretch as I will with the contract/relax laying down position. But who knows, I will give it all a try.
i'd focus on strengthening the qudriceps group and making sure that the quads are firing so that they can reciprocally inhibit the over-active hamstrings..
as u said u will have a knee without pain 1day.. i liked dat spirit.. nw lets come to the topic.1st you are having hemstring tightness so to relive that u must hv 2 under go hemstring exercise.. that will be putting a roll of a towel under ur knees,then to make ur quadriseps not weaker as ur hemstring tightness can leed to make abnormal synergy that will b flexor type, you have to do active exercise of the knee joint that will b flexion n extension(main) as much as you can.. now lets go to ur it band for that you can take hotpack or hydrocolletral packs n active adduction exercise for lower limb.. according to me this is what you have to done if any balance problem is there then take mat exercises... this is what i can suggest now its on u...whether to do it or not.... i m not at all forcing...