NPR piece on women and knee injuries

[Gayle]

Natural muscle imbalances appear to be the primary culprit - quads over-developed, hamstrings and glutes under-developed. That was the cause of my ACL tear.

Looks like part of the preventative training program described includes a focus on deep squats...of which I have become a big fan.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93309486

 

[RapidBreath]

thanks for the info

I will pay more attention to staying balanced. Of course the next question is what do you do if you are already unbalanced? Do you train the under developed muscles and hold off on training the hyper developed muscles until the under developed ones catch up?

 

[Miss Lee]

As an Ohioan, I'm SO PROUD of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. It's ranked in the top 5 children's hospitals in the nation, a major research center, and one of our crowning jewels.

And oh yeah, kettlebell training has me doing deep squats and LOVING it!

 

[fit44]

Great article Gayle! Thanks for posting it Of course, I love looking at your boy. He always puts a smile on my face. Kiss him for me!

I'm unbalanced for sure. I've been working on deep squats and kbell swings. I'm learning to engage my glutes more. Also, more deadlifts!!!

 

[Gayle]

I will pay more attention to staying balanced. Of course the next question is what do you do if you are already unbalanced? Do you train the under developed muscles and hold off on training the hyper developed muscles until the under developed ones catch up?

That's basically what my PT had me doing when I was trying build up my hamstring strength.

Thanks, Cynthia!

 

[SirenSongWoman]

Man, I've been reading The New Rules of Lifting for Women and the author goes on quite a bit about knee issues in women, due to quad overdevelopment and muscular imbalances. Everyone's talking about it now. Good!

 

[aproudfit]

I am in PT with my left knee for this exact issue. My right leg is stronger and my muscles in my left leg are a little out of balanced. I do beleive that is because of an injury to my left knee a few years ago - so I do think I was favoring it and maybe not working it as hard without even thinking about it...

The injury was really bad this summer - but then I relalized that I had been wearing flip flops and sandal all summer without any arch support - hence a worsening knee. My PT said it was VERY common and a busy time of the year for her because of people not wearing supportive shoes which then torques their knees....

 

[Jess_jugs]

Man, I've been reading The New Rules of Lifting for Women and the author goes on quite a bit about knee issues in women, due to quad overdevelopment and muscular imbalances. Everyone's talking about it now. Good!

That's what I thought of also. Great read in The New Rules!!

 

[NinjaMom]

Gayle~

Thanks for the article. It reinforces what my physical therapist has told me all along. I tore my hamstring at the sit bones a year ago and when I started PT, I was told it happened b/c of an over-flexible hamstring coupled with muscle imbalances. When she tested my muscle strength, I was very weak in the adductors, abductors and glutes. I thought WTH? I've been working my legs for years! The problem is even though we think we are working a particular muscle in isolation, other stronger muscles are still assisting too much. When she gave me exercises that isolated just the muscle she wanted strengthened, I could barely perform them! What an ego buster

Another thing I've learned is that just because you have a pain in one area, it doesn't mean that is where the actual problem is. For example, when I had knee pain, it wasn't my knee that was the problem, it was an IT band that was too tight.

JJ

 

[Dela]

Maybe a dumb question, but how do you know if your leg muscles are imbalanced?