Help with an exercise my PT gave

duckykissy

Hey I was just wondering if anyone could help me out. My PT is closed until Monday so I've got a few days to wait before I can call to ask any questions there.

I just got handed a bunch of exercises to strengthen my knees and hopefully fix my problem with them. But one, the "Sit-to-stand" seen here: http://www.myfitnessequipment.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/chair-squat-knee-joint-exercise.jpg is giving me a lot of trouble. My knees keep clicking and my back is hurting so I'm pretty sure I'm doing them wrong. Most chairs in my house have handles, which makes the thing a bit harder so I tried doing it on my bed and then on my exercise ball. Both were worse than the chair.

Is there a good trick to doing this exercise so I can get the angles of my body correct? My Pt said that when I'm attempting to do them naturally (without thinking about the movements) that my feet angle out incorrectly (Although I've been pretty good at correcting that as I do these exercises) and I don't put my weight back far enough. The result of this movement is a lot of pressure on my knees and I'm forcing them to do all the work. I understand what my goal is, to fix that angle to take the weight and work off the knees, but how do I get there? Is there a trick of what chairs are best to use or how far to be from where you're trying to "sit"?

dbmata

March back to your PT, and MAKE HIM SHOW YOU proper way to do it.

After that, if all your chairs have arms, use the toilet. It's a squat essentially though, *kitten* out, squat down, tap the chair and back up.

Timorous_Beastie

I agree that your PT should show you the proper way, but you might want to try pushing your weight back into your heels as you squat and stand. Try pointing your toes up inside your shoes to get the right feel. Having your weight on your forefoot and toes puts more stress on the knees.

duckykissy

My PT did show me, but she also went through several other ones so it's a bit of a blur and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. I may record myself on my phone. Might be easier to see what's up that way.

dbmata

Might be.

Seriously though, feet a little wider than normal, feet turned out a little, *kitten* out first, then squat down while keeping your spine neutral.

Then back up. 1.

Keep your weight primarily over your heels/midfoot. Don't be afraid to stick those arms out like supahman.

hill8570

Personally, I wouldn't do a squat like that picture anyway. Feet shoulder width apart (the wider the stance, the less stress on the knees), feet angled about 30 degrees out, start bend with the knees and then shove the butt back. Keep your thighs pointing in the direction of the feet (i.e., don't let the knees "cave in"), and don't let your knees stick out over your toes. Visualize keeping your weight centered over where you'd tie your shoelaces -- better to be a bit back on your heels than on your toes. Like the picture, you'll have to have those arms out to counterbalance your butt being back. If your arms are small, you could try using some small barbells to add a bit more counterbalance weight.

tomatoey

duckykissy wrote: »

My PT did show me, but she also went through several other ones so it's a bit of a blur and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. I may record myself on my phone. Might be easier to see what's up that way.

Go back and film your PT showing you

duckykissy

tomatoey wrote: »

duckykissy wrote: »

My PT did show me, but she also went through several other ones so it's a bit of a blur and I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing wrong. I may record myself on my phone. Might be easier to see what's up that way.

Go back and film your PT showing you

This is a great suggestion! I'm going back next week for a check up so I'm sure she would be willing to have me record her.

Thanks everyone for your help. I only did 3 (out of the 30 I'm supposed to do) this morning before I went "nope, nope that's not how that should feel!". That was still enough to make my knee a bit grouchy so I may have to try again later this evening or tomorrow. Either way though I feel a bit more prepared for them.

zanqundria

Did you have knee surgery or something?

duckykissy

No I messed it up royally about a decade years ago playing sports and, since the PT I saw at the time sucked, I didn't think it was too bad and just iced it for a while. Ever since then I've just had this bum knee that I've been ignoring and let it heal incorrectly. That plus a lifetime of being obese has caused a lot of stress on it and the surrounding muscles. My new PT is trying to help me strengthen the muscles surrounding my knee so I can get the exercise I need safely. That's why all the new knee/leg exercises.

Azdak

If you are trying to do it from a chair and not a bench, make sure it is a hard chair and you are sitting on the very edge. Most chair seats --even wooden ones--angle backwards so that if you sit all the way back in the chair you are at a more difficult angle and have to bend forward more to get up.

For the sit to stand, you are emphasizing the "vertical" part of standing up, not the rolling forward that most people do when they get out of a chair. Incline the back just a little, and then drive through the hips. If you do it correctly, you will feel a tightening in both your abs and lower back.

Azdak

hill8570 wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't do a squat like that picture anyway. Feet shoulder width apart (the wider the stance, the less stress on the knees), feet angled about 30 degrees out, start bend with the knees and then shove the butt back. Keep your thighs pointing in the direction of the feet (i.e., don't let the knees "cave in"), and don't let your knees stick out over your toes. Visualize keeping your weight centered over where you'd tie your shoelaces -- better to be a bit back on your heels than on your toes. Like the picture, you'll have to have those arms out to counterbalance your butt being back. If your arms are small, you could try using some small barbells to add a bit more counterbalance weight.

It's not supposed to be a squat.

duckykissy

Alright- so just updating, I videoed myself doing it this morning, using a lot of the pointers you guys gave and removing the chair from the picture. Not only did I feel it in all the right places, removing the chair and recording it allowed me to see that I just can't bend far enough to get to the chair without my knees screaming. I think that may have been a big part of my problem, focusing too much on the sit aspect and not the rest of it. Now I also have recorded evidence of myself to give to my PT for pointers. But 30/30 didn't hurt so that's a very good sign. Thanks everyone!

ninerbuff

duckykissy wrote: »

Alright- so just updating, I videoed myself doing it this morning, using a lot of the pointers you guys gave and removing the chair from the picture. Not only did I feel it in all the right places, removing the chair and recording it allowed me to see that I just can't bend far enough to get to the chair without my knees screaming. I think that may have been a big part of my problem, focusing too much on the sit aspect and not the rest of it. Now I also have recorded evidence of myself to give to my PT for pointers. But 30/30 didn't hurt so that's a very good sign. Thanks everyone!

Just another quick note: If an exercise is killing you to do it............STOP. It's not going to slow progress if you have to wait to see your PT again to get more instruction, however you could end up injuring yourself experimenting on what you think may be wrong with your form.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
[/quote]

duckykissy

ninerbuff wrote: »

Just another quick note: If an exercise is killing you to do it............STOP. It's not going to slow progress if you have to wait to see your PT again to get more instruction, however you could end up injuring yourself experimenting on what you think may be wrong with your form.

Definitely great advice, that's why I only did 3 yesterday. I knew something was wrong the second I felt pain and stopped. Today's exercise left me feeling stretched not sore. After I was done, I was still able to do the shopping and cleaning so my knees are much happier, as they should be. My Pt said that these exercises are supposed to help the pain and inflammation, not make them worse or overtire them.