Knee aches and pains are very common, and many athletes and non-athletes suffer. The knee plays an important role in everyday life and is often improperly cared for on a daily basis. With proper upkeep and continued maintenance, the knee can function properly.
When you have knee aches and pains and try to tell someone where it hurts it's always difficult to explain. Sometimes it may hurt on the top outside of the knee or maybe the top inside. Other times it may hurt directly inside the knee. Or, is it really the knee at all?
Obviously, if you are dealing with an adequate amount of knee pain, please see a doctor. From my perspective, however, don't just focus on what the knee is doing wrong. You must strengthen it so that you can focus on what it should be doing correctly. There are so many muscles and tendons that define how your knee operates. I see the majority of knee aches and pains in the small of the knee just below the kneecap. The biomechanical chain goes as follows:
Once you release tension in the soleus (with massage), you will regain range of motion in your foot (dorsiflexion), thus allowing your anterior tibialis on the front of the leg to function properly. This reduces the biomechanical challenges to the knee. I believe that foot functionality is critical for any athlete since it is the foundation for the body. So, when it comes to having the knee joint function properly, first you must work on functionality, strength, and flexibility of the foot and ankle. (Please read our "foot" section to find out more information regarding foot functionality and strength.)
Now, there is more to consider in the analysis of knee joint functionality. Once the anterior tibialis is overworked, stability in the knee is lost. This is when the rectus femoris (quad muscle) takes the responsibility for lack of stability and functionality in the knee. The rectus femoris connects in the patellar tendon and can demand that the kneecap be pulled upward when the rectus femoris is not conditioned properly. If you think about it, when you bend your knee and your quads are incredibly tight, what is the knee joint supposed to do? The quads are big and dominant, therefore, if they do not have the proper strength or flexibility then everything around them can be jeopardized.
Additionally, I think it's important that you understand you have several quad muscles that are supposed to perform independently. Once you become dehydrated and combine that with a loss of strength and flexibility within a particular muscle group, the surrounding muscles have to make up for the instability. All of the quad muscles connect into the patellar tendon (see picture above), so it is very important to have optimal strength and flexibility in all the quad muscles to protect and maintain a structurally sound knee joint.
Now, the big question...is this process taking care of the cause of most knee aches and pains? I believe that by strengthening the biomechanical chain of events, the knee joint can function optimally. The stronger and more flexible the muscles around the knee are, the more operative the knee is going to be.
Exercises: Examples of massages for the areas discusses above.
TP Footballer & Baller Block Soleus Exercise
TP Quadballer Video
