LIFESTYLE NEWS - Exercise is one of the ways to improve your physical wellbeing and it aids in great measure to get rid of ailments, aches and pains.
Follow the exercise programme provided by the biokineticists at Anine van der Westhuizen Biokineticist in George and feel the difference.
This week biokineticist Megan van Huyssteen gives an exercise for one of the knee injuries discussed previously.
This week I will be discussing an exercise for ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) injuries.
When we look at the anatomy of the knee, there are a few muscles that play a crucial part in the functionality of the knee.
The specific muscle we focus on this week is called the VMO (vastus medialis oblique), which is part of the quadriceps muscle (front thigh muscle).
The VMO is an active stabiliser of the patella (knee cap), which means it helps with the tracking (displacement) of the patella when the knee is bent and straightened.
A lack of muscle activation and weakness in the VMO causes mal-tracking of the patella.
Exercise: Quadriceps contraction
- Sit down on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Put a rolled-up towel under the involved knee, and bend the knee slightly.
- Put your fingers over the area of the VMO muscle on the inside of the thigh to feel as you contract the muscle.
- Straighten your knee, trying to pull the knee down into the towel.
- Keep the VMO muscle contracted for 10 seconds and try to repeat the contraction at least 10 times.
This "straight leg position" places a relatively large amount of strain on the ACL ligament, thus it is better to do the exercise under supervision of an exercise professional, especially if you have had surgery recently.
- A variation for this exercise is to sit on a chair or bed with your legs hanging over the edge.
- Straighten your leg against the force of gravity as far as you can, while keeping your focus on the VMO muscle.
- This variation provides a bigger range of motion of the knee and lets the involved muscles work / contract throughout a "functional pattern".
'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news'
