Have you ever wondered why you have knee pain when you stand up after sitting down for a while, or even after running? Your muscles may be suffering from a condition called "gluteal amnesia." It's exactly what it sounds like; your gluteal muscles, after having been in a constant state of relaxation, can't get the "wake up" signals it needs from the brain. Therefore, the other muscles have to overcompensate, and knee pain may occur. The knee pain comes from a combination of different factors; for example, the hip flexors compensate for extensive sitting periods by shortening. Simple exercises can prevent gluteal amnesia from setting in, however.
Performing glute exercises while you're sitting, for example, is a great way to keep the muscles active even when you aren't. Strengthening the inner abdominal muscles helps as well, since they assist the gluteal muscles in keeping the body's upright posture. If all of this seems confusing to you, there is an easy way to figure out if your ab muscles are the cause of your knee pain-it's called the overhead squat test. Doing this test will give you a rough idea of where the problem might lie, so that you can take the necessary steps to do something about it.
Do a simple overhead squat and get someone to take a picture of film you doing it; analyze the results. If your torso bends forward greater than 45 degrees, this is called excessive forward lean. In excessive forward lean, the weight of your body shifts to the balls of your feet, causing an imbalance. When you're doing exercises that require heavy lower body activity, your calf muscles will be overactive; this, in turn, increases the internal rotation of the knee. Excessive forward lean also means that you have poor posture overall, primarily due to weak abdominal muscles.
The weakness in core musculature, which includes muscles like the transverse abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, rectus abdominis, gluteus max and gluteus medius, can't keep you upright. Excessive sitting or sedentary jobs can relax and weaken these muscles. As a result, posture is thrown out of whack and you end up putting excessive stress on the feet. The overhead squat test will show this through excessive forward lean. However, training your core, and more specifically, training the abdominal muscles and glutes, can improve your posture and reduce the chances of knee pain. Many people don't realize that strengthening the ab muscles can improve posture, but it's actually true.
Pamela Brown
http://exerciserehabfix.com/
I provide information dedicated to helping others overcome injury in order to increase human performance and health as well as providing relevant weight loss information. The facts that I provide are current and research-based and I work to educate others on the most optimal methods to achieving their goals.
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