do you have knee pain the movements like the squat or even walking downstairs bring out symptoms my leg if so you've come to the right place today I want to share with you the exact method I use to help the best athletes in the world fix their knee pain I use a simple science-based protocol that's worked for thousands of people there's three simple yet extremely effective steps to this process in doing each step correctly is crucial so pay attention Step One is mobility before we start any corrective exercise we need to first screen for Mobility
imbalances at the joints above and below the side of symptoms as restrictions in either of these can negatively impact how the knee joint moves and handles the forces placed upon it today I'm going to show you four tests you can perform at home to see if you have problems in these areas if you test positive in any of these tests I'll then give you a home exercise program that focuses on mobilizing tight structures to restore balance to your body the first is the Faber test which assesses both external rotation and extension lay on your back
and place one foot on top of your opposite side knee then let your leg relax and drop as far to the ground as possible make sure to keep your pelvis level as rotating your hips will throw off the results of the test if you have less range of motion on your painful side that would indicate a positive test for test number two we're going to look at hip internal rotation this test is best done with the friend so you can relax as the friend assesses how much you you can rotate however if you're by yourself
sit over the edge of a table or bed and rotate one foot out to the side as far as possible without moving your pelvis or your torso shifting side to side if you have less range of motion on your painful side that would indicate a positive test now that we've obsessed your hip we need to turn our attention to the ankle the first ankle test looks at how far your knee can pass your toe the motion of dorsal flexion find a wall and position your foot a fist plus a thumb length away or roughly 5
in while keeping your foot firmly planted push your knee directly over your toes as far as possible while the goal for most should be to get close to touching the wall with your knee a positive test in the context of evaluating knee pain is only if you have significantly less motion on your painful side the last screen is for the Lesser known but very important motion of tibial rotation as you squat your knee not only moves forward over your toes but your shin bone also internally rotates in tips to the side to screen for this
take a seat and align your feet with your toes pointed straight forward while keeping your knees in place and your feet flat on the ground rotate one foot in at a time as far as possible don't let your foot roll on its side or you'll skew the test results if you have less range of motion on your painful side that would indicate a positive test so now that we've run through these tests it's time to start constructing your individual visualized rehabilitation program starting by restoring Mobility to the restrictions you may have just found now before
we dive into the exercises if you didn't find any Mobility restrictions you can definitely skip over this section and move on to step two but if you did find some tight areas let's dive into what to do if you were limited in the Faber test try the kabell weight shift to perform start in a kneeling position with your restricted hip up then open your hip by squeezing your glute before then shifting into you feel a groin stretch try five Reps for a 5-second hold if you are limited with hip internal rotation try the assisted hip
airplane find something to hold on to before then assuming a single leg RDL position with your focus hip as The Stance leg then drop your pelvis until you feel a stretch in the back of your hip in your glutes try five Reps for a 5 second hold now if your limited hip internal rotation is also connected with a pinching paint in the front of your hip when you pull knee to chest you may want to try a joint mobilization instead place a Monster Band Loop across your restricted hip and assume a lunge position holding onto
a bench can help you get enough tension on the band without being pulled over then take a deep breath out and relax your hip while simultaneously pushing your knee across your body into more hip internal rotation at the same time drop your chest toward the ground if you have enough tension on the band you won't feel that prior hip pinch then after a few seconds open your hip up while squeezing your glute hard for 3 seconds then reset and repeat the sequence four more times if you were limited with ankle Mobility try a calf stretch
with your foot placed on a bench or chair drive your knee over your toe until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg and hold for 5 seconds and do five reps if however this brings out a pinch or blocked sensation in the front of your ankle joint you may need to try a joint mobilization instead make sure to get a ton of tension on the band the band should be placed just over the top of your foot underneath your ankle bones as opposed to up higher on your shin this will help the
band Glide your taus bone backwards effectively assisting the natural motion of the ankle to enhance Mobility if you have enough band tension you won't feel that prior pinch when driving knee over toe try just 10 reps back and forth and last if you found limited tibial rotation on one side find a resistance band if you're at home a towel works great too trap the band under the base of your big toe then open your hip as far as you can to the side while keeping your foot firmly planted to the ground fail to keep your
foot stable and the band or towel will snap out if done correctly you should feel your glute working hard try 10 Reps for a 5-second hold in this open position now before we move on to step two I want to emphasize just how how important it is to do testing like that as there is no one- siiz fits-all method to fix any injury that's why I wrote my book rebuilding Milo so you can learn and apply this approach to any area of the body to Kickstart fixing your nagging injuries so after this video is done
head on over to Amazon.com or your local bookstore and pick up your copy of rebuilding Milo but for now let's continue now that side to side mobility and balances have been addressed we're ready to move on to step two this is your ability to control your body and limit the micr trauma that develops at the knee there's going to be two exercises in this section the side plank clamshell is the first place a resistance spand loop around your knees and lay on your side with your elbow propped under your shoulder perform a side plank with
knee support before then opening the clamshell by externally rotating your top hip hold this position for 5 seconds and you should really feel your downside glute working hard to help stabilize the body as far as the amount of sets and Reps to do at the end of this video I'll show you the full routine written out for now just focus on perfecting the technique of each exercise and yes you can perform this on both sides the second stability exercise is the hip airplane this exercise helps build foot stability and rotational control of your hip to
perform assume a single leg stance and hinge into an RDL position bend your knee slightly before then twisting your pelvis open and closed very slowly 10 times make sure your knee stays pointed straight forward and your foot rooted to the ground each rotation should take about 5 Seconds to perform and make sure to hold the end position for 3 seconds if this movement is too difficult to perform without falling over you can use one hand for balance but try not to hold on with bold as doing so we'll minimize the stability improvements we're trying to
create and turn this drill into a stretch the third step in our complete knee pain Rehabilitation plan is integration in order for this new found mobility and stability to stick around we need to integrate both of these qualities into weightbearing movement today I'm going to show you two exercises most can start performing on the first day regardless of how painful their knee is I'll then show you how to progress each technique will be key for ensuring these are performed painfree so pay attention the first is a squat the next time you go to the gym
look in the mirror or film yourself from the front and back ideally we want to see complete symmetry however many who have knee pain tend to shift one way or the other which loads the knee joint unevenly so there are going to be four steps to a perfect squat I want to share with you today start by setting your feet around shoulder width with your toes relatively forward or at a slight out toe angle firmly secure both feet into the ground spreading your body weight across these three points called the tripod foot next open your
hips up slightly you'll notice if you open your hips up too far your feet will become unstable and roll on their side so so make sure your feet remain rooted to the ground step three perform a small hinge by pushing your butt back while you lean your chest forward slightly holding your arms out in front can help ensure your torso stays in a good position and doesn't round over step four begin your Squat and focus on keeping your body weight evenly spread across your entire foot your heels shouldn't lift from the ground nor should your
weight be entirely pushing through your heels if you focus on your hips staying open your feet staying firm planted and your bounce spread across your full foot your knees will remain stable squat only as deep as you can without pain at first this may only be to a chair but eventually you can go even deeper as long as the movement remains painfree if you found your hips to be very fatigued with the prior hip stability exercises it would be a good idea to wear a resistance band Loop across your legs at this time research has
shown that doing so can enhance glute engagement and coordination therefore addressing a common weak Link in many who develop knee pain just make sure the band you wear isn't too tight or else you won't be able to achieve your same stance width as a side note don't worry about how far your knee is moving over your toes or not just focus on your balance and maintaining the other pillars of a proper squat knees over toes isn't a bad thing despite what your doctor may have told you in the past the step to progression will be
to add load to the movement at first this can just be in the form of a goblet squat this can be done by simply holding a dumbbell or a cattle Bell by your chest and eventually adding a weight on your back with a barbell back squat the next exercise essential for abolishing knee pain is a touchdown single leg squat start by standing on a small box or weight plate usually 2 to 4 in in height before you begin the squat drive your hip backwards and lean your chest forward this hinge movement engages the PowerHouse to
your body the posterior chain your body weight should feel completely balanced over the middle of your foot once the hinge is complete begin to squat until the heel of your free leg Taps the ground after you make contact return to the start position make sure your knee stays in direct alignment with your toes during the entire movement it should not rotate or collapse inwards whatsoever even though the distance for a touchdown is small you should feel your glutes working very hard after 10 reps if done correctly if not hinge a little bit more at the
very start before you start the rest of your squat the step two progression will be to increase the difficulty by making the height of the Box progressively higher a good goal for many will be a height of 8 to 12 in so let's now talk about how to create a program that's right for your body start with Mobility drills that address your side to side imbalances then perform stability drills and finally your integration drills of the touchdown single leg Squat and then regular squats as you can progress the height of your touchdown and add load
to the regular squats this whole routine needs to be performed at minimum 3 to four times per week it's also a good idea to periodically retest every few weeks to see if you've made progress if your pain is decreasing and you notice your Mobility is more symmetrical you can do those corrective stretches less frequently and just do the stability and integration exercises as warm-ups before your workouts keeping those drills in your weekly routine will minimize the risk of those imbalances and your potential for another injury returning in the future good luck on your knee pain
rehab and give this video a watch next on what I believe are the biggest mistakes people do when trying to rehab from back pain and what to do instead