Hey welcome back everybody to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. This week, we are talking to those of you who may be experiencing some knee pain when you go down stairs. What things can you do with your exercise to not necessarily treat the knee pain, but make sure your muscles are supporting your knees and the issue doesn’t get worse?
1) Listen To Your Body
Our first tip when your knees are bothering you while going down stairs is to listen to your body. When your body hurts or feels uncomfortable, it is typically a sign that you are doing something that your body is telling you to stop doing. But, what we often notice with our clients who have knee pain when they are going down stairs is the pain usually gets worse depending on what else our client is doing. Use these instances as a learning opportunity to gain knowledge about your body of what might be contributing to the knee issues.
Action Step: Pay attention to when your knees are bothering you and, even harder, when they aren’t bothering you. What is different in one situation versus the other? What kind of activities were you doing before the issues began, not just when they started? Make notes of these so you can start to find correlations between your activities and your symptoms.
Related: Suffering from knee pain? We have some advice.
2) Add In Resistance Training Throughout Your Week
Our second tip when your knees are bothering you while going down stairs is to add in resistance training throughout your week. Resistance training will help to strengthen the muscles that support your knees, your hips, your ankles, and your feet. All of these areas can impact how your knees are feeling, so adding in specific exercises for each area can be tremendously helpful.
Action Step: Start adding in resistance training throughout your week to help strengthen all of your muscles. Not sure what to do? Check out The MAS At-Home Workout Program for a 75-day video-guided program that will teach you how to start resistance training appropriately for your body.
Related: How your shoes could be contributing to your aches and pains
3) Add In Muscle Activation Techniques®
Our third tip when your knees are bothering you while going down stairs is to add in Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®). MAT® is designed to find the muscles that are not supporting your body and get those muscles working better. When your muscles work better, your joints will take on less stress and have the opportunity to feel and function better.
Action Step: Want to learn more about MAT®? Download our free eBook here. You can also find a certified practitioner in your area here.
