HOW CAN I PREVENT HIP AND KNEE PAIN?
Niggly knees and hurting hips needn’t slow you down – there are simple ways to prevent them
No matter how fit you are, or how smooth your pedalling technique, if you have muscle imbalances and tensions hidden within your body, you are likely to suffer from nagging hip or knee pain, which will inevitably ruin the enjoyment and quality of your rides. “Muscles that are involved in power creation can become asymmetrical in strength, allowing one side of the joint to become stronger or weaker,” explains Laurence Plant, specialist chiropractor and clinic manager at Henley Practice and a Meglio physiotherapy expert (mymeglio.com).
A regular weekly dose of lunges and squats can help to rebalance your body, but one of the most common causes of hip and knee pain is tension around the iliotibial band (ITB) – a thick tissue on the outer side of your thigh and knee – and the tensor fascia lata (TFL), a muscle on your outer thigh. “The ITB and TFL form the lateral structure that braces your hip and knee,” explains Plant, “so when it is over-activated – often due to poorly-recruited glutes – lateral hip and knee pain can occur. The remedy is to decrease tension in your ITB and TFL and increase your glute activation at the same time.”
To achieve this, Plant recommends two pain-busting exercises. First, use a foam roller to massage the outer side of your thigh and the lateral portion of your hip. “Try to find all the tender spots and release these out,” advises Plant. Aim for 3 x 60 seconds per leg.
Second, perform ‘clam’ exercises with a resistance loop: lie down on your side with your knees bent at 90 degrees and, with a resistance loop around your knees, lift the top knee away from your bottom knee, so that you create a ‘clam shell’ movement. “You should feel the posterior (back) part of your glutes activating,” says Plant. Aim for 3 sets of 12 reps and increase the resistance level as your strength develops.
If you make these two simple drills part of your routine home workouts, plus remember to do stretches, you’ll help to iron out hip and knee pain for good.
“MUSCLES INVOLVED IN POWER CREATION CAN BECOME ASYMMETRICAL IN STRENGTH”