GET FIT

You may or may not have heard them all: Chondromalacia Patella, Patellar Tendonitis, or “Runner’s Knee”. It all comes down to the fact that a large portion of the population tends to have some sort of knee pain when they exercise, or who are we kidding, when they don’t exercise. The problem is that more often than not, we believe that the knee pain is actually what’s wrong with the knee, leg, etc. However, excluding cases involving torn ligaments, broken knee caps, and other medically examined cases, many of the complaints of knee pain may actually be a symptoms, not a diagnoses.

To illustrate this point, I pose to you the “Noose” analogy (Professional Strength Coach Mike Boyle came up with this, so don’t give me credit).  Mr Boyle states that, “If I put a rope around your neck, throw it over a wall, and then pull on it, you will certainly feel pain in your neck. If I stop pulling, the pain will inevitably, and in most cases, immediately go away. So the fact here is that there was never anything actually wrong with your neck; it just so happened that was where the pain was exhibited because it was the only place it could show up.”

The same sort of basic theory can apply to the knee. As I have discussed with a few of you, most every American has really tight hips because as students, teachers, office workers, or a myriad of other “-ers”, we typically sit down and lean forward all day. Because of this tightness, a muscle in the greater ‘hip’ group of muscles, pulls on what can be likened to a rubber band that runs down the outside of the leg called the IT Band. This band inserts into the lateral condyle of the fibula, which is basically the upper-outside portion of the lower leg. When there is tension caused by the hip and it radiates through the IT Band, it is realized in this portion of the lower leg, causing external rotation in the lower leg and feet – that is to say, they point outward. This action causes the knees to incorrectly track inside of the feet, creating too much pressure on the knee. In summary, pain during standing and walking could be a symptom of feet pointing out, which is caused by a tight IT band, which is caused by tight hips, which are tight because we sit so much.

Similarly, if someone has ‘flat feet’, or some sort of other foot malformation (this is structurally speaking – generally, it’s a very correctable situation), it causes the ankle to overcompensate for improper loading when we walk, run, jump, or anything else. This does the same sort of ‘pulling’ on the knee because that overcompensation causes overuse, overpressure, and over-rotation in the bones and muscles of the lower leg that are immediately connected to the knee.

The point here is that if and when you have pain in your knees, don’t automatically think the worst. Typically, if you have severely injured yourself in any manner, your body will immediately make it perfectly clear, and it will not be just uncomfortable or sore – it will HURT! As always feel free to ask questions and even posit possible solutions to us. That’s what we’re here for!

-Shelby

P.S. I added a new link. Check it out – About “Pre-Diabetes”