A new way to deal with knee pain

Theory

What should be the solution to such a common problem? Of course, as simple and accessible as possible to anyone who encounters it.

According to Isometric Contractions Are More Analgesic Than Isotonic Contractions for Patellar Tendon Pain: An In-Season Randomized Clinical Trial, published in August 2016 in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, isometric exercise can significantly relieve knee pain caused by patellar tendinitis. …

Patients with this problem were asked to perform a set of isometric (static) and isotonic (movement) exercises. Since performing isotonic elements still requires movement, the pain in the knees increased. This caused some disappointment among the athletes in the rehabilitation center.

The isometric method involves muscle tension without changing their length when the joint is stationary. Among the advantages of this method, it should be noted the possibility of intensive local impact on individual muscle groups.

Dr. Ebonie Rio of Monash University in Australia says that doing isotonic exercise is painful enough. The athletes were extremely reluctant to do the exercises, and the desire to continue such experiments was extremely low. Then Ryo and his team decided to test whether doing low-intensity isometric exercises could still cope with knee pain.

Twenty invited athletes with patellar tendonitis agreed to participate in the experiment and were divided into two groups. One performed isometric leg hold, the other performed isotonic leg extension. After a week, the results of the "statics" group were better than the group doing standard isotonic exercises. This is due to the fact that isometric exercises caused less pain, so the motivation of athletes to complete the task was significantly higher.

The result of the experiment led Rio to conclude that heavy isometric leg hold-ups resulted in almost immediate relief of patellar tendon pain. They are much more effective and work much faster than more conventional isotonic exercises.

Does this mean that in order to prevent tendonitis, you need to completely forget about squats in lunges or dynamic squats? In fact, both isotonic and isometric exercises should be practiced. The right combination of different types of training allows you to significantly expand the range of motion, work out each muscle and ligament at new angles for them, thereby increasing the effectiveness of training and significantly reducing the likelihood of injury. The body should develop harmoniously without bias in any direction.

Practice. Spanish squat

The essence of this isometric exercise is to stay in the lower deep squat position for as long as possible (at least 45 seconds). To perform the Spanish squat correctly, a belt is used as support. You can simply hook it to the support so that you get one loop, stand in it and tighten the belt. The tension in it should support you during the slow squat and prevent you from falling back. Alternatively, you can make two separate loops on each side of the support.

Spanish squat technique

Put your feet in the loops and begin to slowly lower yourself down, without bending forward. In the lower position with a straightened spine, freeze for 45 seconds, slowly rise, rest and repeat the exercise.

Another variation of this exercise: stand in front of any support that is comfortable for you to grab onto, grab it with your hands and begin to squat very slowly with a straight back and without forward bending of the body. If possible, try to move down for 20 seconds, then freeze in the lower position for 20 seconds, and then slowly rise.