Written by: Rozalia Kieliszkiewicz, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Our knees are the driving force for our bodies. Without them, we could not move around the way we wish in the practical world.
Many maintain a flexed knee position due to inactivity and sitting all day by a work desk or office.
The work-from-home method has become a recent norm in our society. Thus, our knees do require more nurturing attention.
When our knees are constantly flexed or bent, they are under constant strain and tension when we stand, creating pain and increasing the potential for injury.
As an Athlete and Fitness trainer, I am used to pushing myself to the Limits and can often forget that we only have one body.
It has been one year since my Knee Injury, where I chipped the patella, and a bone hung from the joint cavity during a soccer game. Unfortunately, this devastating event occurred due to an over-excited athlete's ego, which took over my basic sense to nurture and care for my body to prevent this sort of adverse circumstance from transpiring.
This type of injury degenerated my leg muscle surrounding the knee reasonably quickly, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.
As a result, I had one leg more giant for an entire year than the other. – With Humor.
Fortunately, my knowledge as a personal trainer had kicked in, and I followed and still follow several Knee Exercises that promote joint health, extension and a full range of motion.
This focus, coupled with strength training exercises, strengthens the muscles surrounding the knee to prevent further injury.
1. Realignment of the Knee Joint
I realigned the knee joint to restore function and standard range of motion. However, it is unnatural for the knees to handle a heavy load. Thus I had to pull apart the joint surfaces to reset my knee in a good position. The first thing I did was create a distraction at my ankle and grab my shin to rotate my tibia (lower leg bone) internally. I then applied pressure and flexed my quad, realigning my knee and restoring the extension range. intuitively
2. Romancing the Fascia
Romancing the Fascia is a technique I learned with DTS Fitness Education that taught me to separate the small Fascia in the joints to create room for fluid to flow, increasing the range of motion.
I hooked a band at the top of my foot, wrapping around the heel and then around a pole to create pull. By rocking back and forth and lightly pulling, I separated the fascia muscle around my knee, ankle, hip, and leg. This technique improves the range of motion in the knee and allows a reset potential to build on a firmer foundation.
3. Applying pressure
This technique should only be used if you fail to reach the full extension and need to lock out your knee.
I performed this technique while holding the band around my foot and propping my leg on a foam roller. I then applied pressure with two thumbs on my knee until I restored normal function.
4. Ball gap and Smash Mobility
Knee pain, whether created by extended flexion, heavy load or injury, requires mobilization of the tissues surrounding the knee joint.
I took a lacrosse ball and placed it behind my knee on the inside of my leg. I then curled my heel to my glutes, using both hands, hugging the leg. By doing so, I created a compression that targeted my hamstring and calf, focusing on targeted trigger points. I performed on the inside and outside lines of the muscle.
5. Knee stack with a double lacrosse ball or Gemini
You can perform this smash technique in several ways depending on your needs. First, you can place the Gemini between the inside and outside lines of your calves and hamstrings.
I have yet to do this technique because the smashing approach above provides more precision.
However, you can also use the Gemini to mobilize the inside and outside line of your calves and hamstrings by grabbing one end of the Gemini and pulling, twisting on the soft tissue. The last way is to smash on one side, lay on your side, stacking both knees on top of each other, and press down on the Gemini towards your grounded leg.
Recovery, Realignment and Rebuild
It can be daunting to receive an injury to the body when an athlete or just a general active user. In addition, it can create mild depression and other health issues as you go from being a consistently dynamic individual to being sedentary. However, these exercises provide hope and a process that leads you towards recovery, proper realignment and then rebuilding your strength, muscles and power.
A Personal Trainer can help you with these techniques and other movement practices such as strength training, Yoga, and Animal Flow.
Please find me on my booking website if you want to connect with me and book a training session. I'd be happy to take you on as my regular client :)
Rozalia Kieliszkiewicz, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Rozalia Kieliszkiewicz is a writer and entrepreneur educated in the various healing arts. Her goal is to help others create change within by healing and connecting with their Body, Mind and Soul by experiencing her healing and spiritual journey. Founder and Owner of Soul Food Fitness, She shares the knowledge that she has learned with others through practices such as Tarot Divination, Astrology, Psychology, Nutrition and Fitness. In addition, she is one of the co-founders of Leinko, a free space platform dedicated to entrepreneurs who wish to work in freedom to teach, coach, heal and serve humanity.
Her Mission: Heal Within, Heal the World.
