Knee stability

ldrosophila

I talked to PT at work today because I'm concerned with blowing out my knee doing exercises since it is so weak and unstable. They suggested a brace for stability and of course to continue strengthening my core. Any suggestions on braces? My weak point is that tendon along the side. Does anyone else have issues w/ knees? And what are you doing to prevent having your knee from giving out and strengthening it?

maxcottle

Hiya, I have some Mueller Knee Supports they are metal reinforced and have holes over the Knee cap. THey are fantastic. A bit Pricey I think I Paid £79 for them but they are worth their weight in Gold. I can Squat heavy weight with them as well as play squash and Jog. Bearing in Mind I haven't been able to Jog in almost 20 years because of my knee problems. I would deffinately reccomend them.

Hendrix7

The main stabiliser for the knee is the hamstring, do plenty of hamstring work. I'm not sure why core strength would be relevant to knee stability.

Single leg movements will also help with stability...such as.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgl5vO43GNo

knightreader

getting the wrong brace can damage your knee. see your doctor, tell him/her what is going on and see what they recommend. plus, with a prescription, your insurance will likely pay for it.

good luck.

wellbert

Keep in mind that braces will slow the progress you make with your knee and prevent it from getting stronger. Once I gave up the brace and started doing barbell squats, my knee went from flimsy to wrought iron. YMMV.

What's the source of the instability? An injury? Strengthening the joint will make it more stable, as well as tighten that tendon up.

cordianet

The main stabiliser for the knee is the hamstring, do plenty of hamstring work. I'm not sure why core strength would be relevant to knee stability.

Single leg movements will also help with stability...such as.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgl5vO43GNo

Agreed, strengthen your hamstrings. I have no ACL and little to no cartilage in my left knee so I'm super familiar with knee issues. One of the first things I was told to do after my injury (25+ years ago), was strengthen my hamstrings. In so doing, I got back much of the stability I used to have, even without one of the major ligaments. Deadlifts are the defacto standard by which most other hamstrings exercises are measured, so talk to your trainer about learning good technique. Another fantastic exercise would be kettlebell swings. If you have a bike, bike sprints can also build some serious hamstrings. Plus because of the fact that they are so low impact, biking generally does not cause too many problems for those with knee issues.

One final word. I was always told that swimming was great. I'm hear to tell you it sucked big-time for me. Hurts like the ****ens because every movement caused excessive laxity in the joint and put pressure on parts that didn't want to have pressure on them!

JTick

Depending on what part of your knee bothers you, core strengthening can definitely help as the ab muscles wrap around and connect to quad muscles, etc, which attach to knees. Did the PT say anything about specific leg excercises to strengthen quads or anything?