UKC

Anyone got any recommendations for exercises to help prevent knee pain from downhill walking please? I don't get into the mountains very frequently and when I do I tend to get very sore knees - walking poles can help but I'd also like to try and strengthen muscles beforehand (living in London limits any hill training).

In reply to RuthK:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/knee-exercises.aspx

These have helped me and my knackered knees. It says they are specifically for runners, but they are just general knee stretching/strengthening exercises. I find the squatting/lunging ones work best, I guess they are the closest to the actual movements you do whilst walking.

It might be worth finding out exactly what problems you have with your knees so you can tailor your exercises. (Certain exercises are bad for some conditions!).

In reply to RuthK:

I would strengthen the whole quadriceps eccentrically ie as in stepping down a step.
Start with a 4'' step. Stand on it and slowly lower one heel to the ground, then repeat x10. Then change legs.
If you notice lots of 'wobble and shake' in the leg that is still on the step, it is indicative of weakness and poor proprioceptive control.

In reply to RuthK:

Not immediately apparent but hip adductor and abductor exercises.

In reply to RuthK:

I used to have big problems with long downhills and knee pain. I spoke to a physio and they suggested squats and leg presses (on a machine). I don't think that helped much, but I probably wasn't great about doing them. I found some special insoles from a podiatrist quite useful, but not a complete fix. Eventually I moved house and started walking 4km each way every day to work, and it's made a world of difference.

So I guess the answer (for me, at least) is regular shorter walks to strengthen the muscles around the knee.

In reply to RuthK:

Not sure of your age, but in my mid 40s I found I had the same problem. Agony walking downhill. It was all down to knee pronation. Orthotics provided an (almost) instant resolution. Made to measure, but in my overall spend, the most valuable and cost effective piece of kit I have. They're carbon fibre and are a good 8 years old.

In reply to RuthK:

What I've found to at least keep the problem at bay is make sure I'm wearing good quality supportive and well fitting footwear every day all day. I realised (probably too late) that cheap or fashion footwear was a massive false economy.

In reply to RuthK:

not saying people on here dont know what they are talking about but

you need professional advice

if the pain results from a weakness in the musculature structure of the knee then strengthening exercises will help

if this is more a cartilgedge problem or bone problem then they issue is more complex

you really need to seek professional help and get your knee fully checked out

In reply to wannabeagoat:

Thanks all for the replies. I tend to think it is muscle weakness / lack of hill fitness rather than footwear or serious underlying problems so am planning to try exercises but but will get my knees looked at if it doesn't help.

In reply to RuthK:

I found my knees got stronger for walking downhill when I started to do a lot more cycling (60+ miles per week). I'm still not fast, and poles only help on very steep uneven ground, but I can get down 1000+ feet without screaming with pain. I would add to the above advice hip raising and lowering exercises, anything that strengthens the gluteus muscles - the downhill deceleration when you land is controlled also by the glutei as well as the knees, in particular if you land on your heel rather than your toe. I have also found yoga extremely useful (after a lifetime of scepticism). There is a yoga class at the Reach climbing wall on a Wednesday which is climber-focussed, if you are in SE London.
But also never take a bus if there's a chance to walk, even on the streets of the Smoke.

In reply to RuthK:

You can try following Yoga Poses for Stronger Knees :

1. Supported Chair Pose (Utkatasana).
2. Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bandasana).
3. Supported Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)
4. Mountain Pose (Tadasana).
5. Triangle Pose (Trikonasana).

In reply to RuthK:

Grab a Boris Bike and get a daily doze of 20 mins free riding a day. It'll soon strengthen your legs. Dont overdue it to start with.

In reply to Lion Bakes:

Although the bike will be good for the quads, this will not be so good for the core and glutes and physio's hardly believe in anything else for knee pain these days!

Try these wall sits, single leg squats and glute bridges (double leg to begin with and then single legs when you find them easy with good technique)

http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/wall-sit-exercise-to-build-leg-strength/
http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/single-leg-squats-three-variations/
http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/glute-activation-exercise-for-stronger-ru...

HTH SS

In reply to RuthK:

Following on from above, you may find these exercises help your knee pain (despite being aimed at runners with IT band pain). I used to get lots of knee pain walking down hill. Turned out, once I started running I had the same knee pain. These exercises have strengthened my glutes and massively reduced the pain, and extended significantly the mileage I can do before getting pain in the first place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWGpbxbJ6_Y&list=WL&index=12

In reply to SouthernSteve:

Well the physics are wrong if they think that's the only answer.

In reply to RuthK:

Here is the list of some Yoga poses to prevent knee pain and knee injuries.

- Tadasana
- Pavanmuktasana (with one leg)
- Makrasana
- Swastikasana
- Januhastasana
- Ekpadhastasana
- Bhujangasana
- Dwipadhastasana
- Veerasana
- Trikonasana
- Virksasana
- Reclining knee bent twist.