Table of Contents
- Activities to Avoid or Change
- For Temporary Relief
- Stretches and Exercises for Longer-Lasting Relief
- Yoga Corner
Here, you will find strategies for relief from pain along the inside of the knee that may buckle on steps. For more information about how people describe this pattern look at this other post.
Activities To Avoid or Change:
Falls and Youthful Challenges
This condition is more serious when you are older. Take extra care when descending steps. Also, avoid those unexpected adventures that you haven’t done in years. I’ve treated many people over 50 who tried to prove they can still do it. Keep challenging yourself. It’s essential for longevity. Just be measured and careful.
Avoid kneeling. Especially hard surfaces. Avoid gardening, laying tile, party games, or other activities that may have you squirm around on your knees.
Common in Children. Really.
Even if you’re younger, be measured in your challenges. Surprisingly, this is one of children’s most common trigger point problems. If you fall or have a misstep, get professional help before it becomes worse.
For Temporary Relief:
Pain Patch
Feel for the tight fibers a little above and to the inside of your knee cap. Place the patch over those fibers. It’ll be more effective than putting on the pain in your knee. Don’t worry. I know you’ll probably try both. These patches from Amazon are affordable and about the right size. They’re also available in most drug stores and grocery stores.
These patches are particularly useful if this pain awakens you. The patch is more likely to reduce odor during sleep and keep the cream out of fabrics.
People tend to prefer patches to avoid the cream’s scent, although there are creams with less odor. In addition, people prefer the cream on areas with lots of movement. Otherwise, the patch comes off easily. Also, the adhesive on the patch can irritate the skin, especially after a few days.
These self-care activities, like over-the-counter drugs, are not intended to replace appropriate medical attention. If you have concerns about these self-care activities, get help from a professional. Use these suggestions and strategies with discretion and at your own risk. See your doctor when your pain is severe, persistent, or not responding to these simple suggestions.
Stretches and Exercises for Longer-Lasting Relief:
Stretch. Gently.
This trigger point can respond very well to gentle, repetitive stretches. Use the tips below to be more effective. If you like this standing quad stretch, keep the knees together.
This approach will free up the joint. A little pop while gently stretching the knee can be a great thing. If it pops on every repetition, have a professional check it.
Not just your Quads
Quads are often a problem because of imbalances in the hip. The most common problem is that the hamstrings are too strong and short. As a result, those hamstrings overwork and aggravate other thigh muscles.
In fact, balancing the hip can really help. See the yoga section below.
10 Tips to Improve Your Stretching
These tips make your stretching:
- easier
- more effective
- longer-lasting
- take less time
This is a relatively short post and can make a huge difference. If you find stretching painful, difficult, time-consuming, or less effective, take a few seconds to read this.
Take Care of Your Feet
If you’ve tried the stretches above and it keeps coming back. Look to your feet.
I’ve relieved this in many patients with foot massage. When friends have called, I suggest they get a couple of foot massages over the next week. This does the trick more often than you’d think.
Morton Foot Structure
Some feet have a bone structure that creates more instability than others. This foot rocking can perpetuate foot, leg, and hip pain. A more stable foot and gait can dramatically reduce pain in the lower extremity, especially the hip, and knee.
This condition can remain mild or lead to expensive treatments and even surgery. If you have this structure and some of its symptoms, take a look at this overview.
That post offers practical suggestions to reduce pain and increase stability on the foot. There are simple self-care suggestions, like inexpensive foot pads from Amazon. You can prevent advancing that foot problem, which can perpetuate the trigger points described here.
I’d love your feedback on how this works for you and any suggestions you might have.
Email me at integrativeworks@gmail.com.
Yoga Corner
Balance Your Pelvis
Don’t just open your pelvis; balance it.
Focus on lengthening the shorter ranges of motion. Then, if needed, strengthen those hypermobile ranges. Often, practitioners think that a greater range of motion is better. Research like this study would offer a different perspective. Often, I find it challenging to get people out of pain who are hypermobile, especially in just one direction.
Quadriceps and knee joints have more trouble when the quads and hams are not balanced. Either can be too tight or overstretched. Additionally, poses like warrior or pigeon help to evaluate adductors and abductors.
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Tony Preston has a practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where he sees clients. He has written materials and instructed classes since the mid-90s. This includes anatomy, trigger points, cranial, and neuromuscular.
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*This site is undergoing significant changes. We are reformatting and expanding the posts to make them easier to read. The result will also be more accessible and include more patterns with better self-care. Meanwhile, there may be formatting, content presentation, and readability inconsistencies. Until we get older posts updated, please excuse our mess.