Keys to Overcoming Knee Arthritis Pain

A quick Google search for "knee arthritis" brings up about 29,500,000 results in a fraction of a second.  The Arthritis Foundation offers 25 treatments for Hip and Knee Arthritis...and 10 of them are medications!! Wow.  But at the top of the list is exercise! No pill required.  

While exercise is great, we should be able to be more specific on what can help.  A further look into the research shows that hip strength is one of the biggest culprits of knee OA.

Hip strength...it could really be just that simple...

A research article in this month's copy of the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy looked at 5 different studies with 237 people and found "moderate" hip abductor (glute) strength deficits in people with knee osteoarthritis.

So what to do?  Yes...nice, easy, specific, and effective hip strenghtening exercises.

Bridge - hold 3-5 sec; 3 sets of 10; squeezing and feeling it in the glutes

Hydrant - Hold 3-5 sec. 3 sets of 10. Bring the bent knee back and to the side...feel in the glutes!

Clamshell - hold 3-5 sec, 3 sets of 10; do not let your hips roll back; feel it in your top side glute

Lateral Walks - 20 steps in 1 direction and then head back. 3 sets. Band around ankles, feet forward, slight squat (butt back like you're sitting in a chair).

Want to see a great video from Aaron Swanson, DPT, that covers these exercises in more depth?  Aaron has a band around his knees in all of them.  If you need a band, email me at dominick@sanramonvalleypt.com and we can make it happen!
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