Get On Your Knees
By Mark Philippi CSCS
After blowing out both of my knees performing in the World Strongest Man Contest, I often get asked how I came back from two patella tendon tears and what I now do take care of my knees. I last injured my knee in 2000 WSM (re-runs make it seem sooner) but I presently have quite a bit of arthritis in my right knee that limits some of my training and over stresses my left knee. I have many athletes that I train that are searching for ways to reduce knee pain and soreness and prolong knee health. I have included several ideas on how to reduce knee pain and injury outside of changing training routines, and methodology.
The first is to reduce tightness and trigger points by foam rolling or using a massage stick. Make sure you hit the surrounding muscles and connective tissues around the knee. Roll from below the knee to the hip region. Make an added effort to massage the IT band from the hip to the knee. Massage the area deep and often. This will help to reduce patella pain caused by tight IT bands.
Next, purchase a pair on Rehband knees sleeves. It will be the best investment you can make for your knee health. Rehband knee sleeves are a high quality product that is used world wide by strength athletes. They provide warmth, and support to allow for proper knee movement without restriction. They can be found at www.jackalsgym.com. I have had professional football and baseball players, hunters, weightlifters, senior adults all use Rehband knee sleeves with remarkable reduction in pain and a market increase in knee stability. A colleague of mine trained an older very heavy woman that couldn’t even do a chair squat. She put on a pair of knee sleeves and began doing multiple sets. Personally I can’t squat my bodyweight without pain and soreness without them. They provide the perfect amount of support without restriction and they help my patella’s track smoother.
In addition to the knee sleeves, I would add a topical cream with capsaicin as the main ingredient. Capsaicin is derived from hot peppers and helps to block pain receptors in the body. Doctors are experimenting using it in surgeries to help reduce the amount of pain killers used after surgery. For chronic knee injuries it allows for more movement and less pain. Capsaicin combined with the knee sleeves provides warmth, support, and pain reduction. It can be found at drug stores or online, just check the ingredients of the cream for the concentration of capsaicin. The higher the concentration the better.
I would also purchase a (MVT) micro vibration tool. The MVT utilizes micro vibration, sound, light, and magnetic therapy to get the cells of damaged tissue communicating. This helps wake damaged cells up and gets them working properly, reducing pain and increasing range or motion. I have found that the MVT works very well on patella tendonitis. A professional football player I train had trouble with severe Patella tendonitis and found great relief from the MVT. Log on to www.mvtrelief.com to find out more info on the device. It can be purchased through PSI for a discount.
Lastly, I recommend icing after every workout for 20-30 minutes even if you knees feel fine. They may not later. This is very easy to do but most athletes fail to ice until they get a chronic pain issue. Icing after workouts reduces inflammation and soreness which helps with recovery and the ability to train harder the next workout. If you are on your feet a lot and your knees feel fatigued and sore, icing before your workout will help to revive your knees. I have had many long days on my feet coaching, in the Vegas heat, n and had to train afterward; icing for 20 minutes made my knees feel like I had never been on them.
Use these simple suggestions to help avoid knee injuries and chronic pain. Knee pain, untreated can cause hip and low back problems over a period of time. The body is linked; if you throw one area out of kilter another area up the chain will compensate to overcome the deficiency. The reaction and compensation then creates additional injuries in the body. Take time to take care of your knees!