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Lead Stories: Thursday, August 28, 2008

Gauging leg strength

Posted October 16th, 2007 at 2:45 PM by Shannon Clark

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

One of the best ways to determine how you are progressing on your fitness program and how good of leg strength you have in general is with a wall squat test. A wall squat test will primarily assess your quad strength however the hamstrings and glute muscles will also come into play as well.

The nice thing about a wall squat test is that it is going to mimic movements that you perform very often in every day life, whether it’s getting up and down from a sitting position or walking up a flight of stairs. Being strong in this type of body position will be of benefit to you because it will make these exercises easier as well as help to prevent you from suffering any injuries in the future.

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Eight strategies for reducing knee pain

Posted August 9th, 2007 at 4:12 PM by Julie R. Keen

Section: Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

Knee injuries are common for the weekend warrior and athlete alike. The best way to handle knee injuries is by prevention. Once they start, they can be tough to treat, depending upon the structure injured.

When we look at the anatomy of the knee, there are some major structural elements that can be injured, usually from traumatic events. By this I mean an landing wrong in the midst of your big 5k race, improper tackle playing football, or missing the landing on the jump when skiing.

If you have injured one of these structures, and didn’t notice, you have a bigger problem than just some knee stiffness! If your knee is really swollen, painful, and feels unstable, go see a good orthopedic surgeon immediately. If your knees give you occasional trouble during your workouts, or you find that you can’t do certain exercises because of your knees, then these tips might help…

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Strengthen quad muscles to help your knees

Posted May 7th, 2007 at 11:30 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab

Doctors have known for many years that having weak quad muscles (in the front of your upper legs) increases risk for damage to the cartilage in your knees. A study from Purdue University shows that strengthening these muscles slows down knee cartilage damage and may even improve knee function (Arthritis & Rheumatism, October 2006).

The researchers placed 221 adults in their sixties and seventies either on a program of strengthening their muscles in their upper legs or just moving their knees in a series of range-of- motion exercises. The subjects exercised three times per week (twice at a fitness facility and once at home) for 12 weeks. This program was followed by a transition to home-based exercise for 12 months. Older people weaken naturally with aging, but the range of motion exercisers lost more strength than those who exercised against progressive resistance. The strength training helped retain joint space, signifying that this group had less loss of cartilage.
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