YOU DON'T HAVE BAD KNEES! " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbfLvo6eJsQ (if you'd rather watch the video, here it is!) If not, enjoy the article! "squatting is bad for your knees. I have bad knees anyway. I used to be able to do that but I guess Im just getting older now...." "My knees are just jacked up..." How often do you hear that? Or how often do you say that to your friends/peers? I ask this question because I hear it so much! Because of this, I had to look deeper into the context behind why people's knees were bothering them. Because in reality we are meant to squat, bend, twist, lunge, push, pull, and throw (primal and innate movements!). That's what our bodies are designed for! Most of the clients that I have come across have chronic knee pain. Now, if you have had knee surgery due to injury, the process by which you get back into your primal movements is a little different. However it doesn't mean you justify not squatting or moving with "bad knees". There is always something else going on BEHIND the scenes that can better assist your knee in functioning in a healthy way! So what am I talking about?

The Body is Holistic! To isolate the knee and say "you are the cause of why I can't do this, this, and this! ughhhh!", is assuming that your body works like a car. It has parts and you can isolate the problem, remove things, and replace them. But you see, the body is more complex and interconnected than that. Imagine this. Your brain connects to your spinal cord and then literally branches out into your periphery. It's almost like it falls into your body spreading its connections to organs, muscle tissue, glands etc. Beyond that, there are connections between connections. It's one HUGE network of communication! Why then would be treat the body as anything different?! Okay back to the knee.

Your Knee is Like The Middle Child Your knee literally is like the middle child. It lies between your hip joint and your ankle joint. Whenever the knee is extended (straight) the ligaments around the knee have to tighten or fasten to hold it locked in position. Whenever the knee bends however, those ligaments have to loosen to allow for movement of the knee. NOWWW.... it's really on your tendons and muscles that are either upstream or downstream from the knee that will ensure that it is stable and functional! We blame the knee so much that we forget what's happening around it. It's not your knee folks! If you hips and ankles are dysfunctional, then..you guessed it...your knee will be as well! So what does THAT even mean? There are two main reasons why your knee becomes compromised: 1) You have muscular imbalances that have developed from your hip to your ankle  due to misuse,abuse, and disuse! 2) Your body structure is either bow-legged or knock-kneed making your more prone to knee pain

Muscular Imbalances Muscular imbalances apply to your whole body! if there are some muscles that are overdeveloped compared to others, there will be some sort of dysfunction or instability. The degree to which this exists depends on the disparity between muscle groups. So let's start with the hips and move downward! 1) Hips- If there are muscles around your hip that are weak relative to the surrounding musculature, it will cause instability and pain in the knee. a) Namely, if there are imbalances between your ABductors (the muscles that move your leg away from your body) and your ADDductors (muscles that move your leg toward the body). What this means is that one set of muscles are overdeveloped compared to the  other. They are like wires on a bridge. If one side is underdeveloped the foundation begins to shift and fall out of place (knee instability and pain). This is more common than you think! You may very well have the same process occurring with your physiology.   2) Quadriceps and Hamstrings- The same concept applies to the quads and hamstrings! If one is way overdeveloped than the other there could be anterior or posterior tracking of the knee. This puts your knee at risk for injury! 3) Foot, Ankle, Tibia- Again the same concept applies for the muscles downstream from the knee as well! Also if your ankles are overly tight, you limit the amount of movement you can have in your knee.This causes tightness in the achilles, calves, and even the muscles on the lateral and anterior parts of the tibia! Andddddd you guessed it...it will cause a dysfunctional pattern in the knee! So what should you do?!?! For all imbalances your goal is to stretch the muscles that are overactive and strengthen the muscles that are weak!!!

Bow-legged-ness vs Knock-Kneed Now the other cause of knee issues can also be the way you are structured. Don't worry you aren't doomed! Below is a depiction of different kind of structural positions of the legs. Genu-valgum indicates "knock kneed" and Genu Varum indicates "bow-leggedness". 1) Knock-kneed- Your ADDuctors are over-active while your ABductors are weak. A primary concern for this group of people would be strengthening the ABductors while stretching the ADDductors. 2) Bow-legged-ness- Your ABductors are over-active while your ADDductors are weak. So your goal here would be to strengthen the ADDductors while stretching the ABductors.

This should shed some light on why you feel like your knees are "bad"! In the end, the goal is the same: strengthen the muscles that are weak, and stretch the muscles that are overdeveloped. This will help bring your body back to a more functional state. And remember folks don't hate on your knees. It's has a difficult job as it is being the middle child! Next time, we will focus on exercises that aid you in balancing the muscles around your hips, knees, and ankles! Stay tuned and much love,                                              Sumair