Many people experience outer knee pain. Many recognize or have been told this is pain or inflammation at the IT Band. A great way to prevent or alleviate outer knee pain is by strengthening your glutes!
Pictured here are two important parts that make up the glute complex. The gluteus medius (on the outside of your hip) and the gluteus maximus (the main part of your butt muscle in the back of your hip).
Muscle actions of glute maximus & medius:
Extend the hip
Rotates the hip outward
Side raises the hip
Provides stability of the pelvis and low back
So why does strengthening these muscles help with outer knee pain?
Strengthening these muscles helps stabilize your thigh bone into your hip socket which takes the pressure off of the end of your IT Band *(area that is sore around the outside of your knee/thigh).
Additional benefits to strengthening your glutes:
Helps improve posture by stabilizing and aligning your pelvis in relation to your low back
Supports your joints to do all the FUN recreation activities! Strong glutes will help you with activities such as: golfing, playing tennis, running, walking, hiking, biking, softball, soccer- you name it! These muscles support your body for these types of activities to maximize power, acceleration, endurance, and hip stabilization.
Below are 3 exercise video demonstrations to help strengthen your glutes, prevent or alleviate outer knee pain. (No Equipment Needed!!! WooHoo!)
A great starting point is to do 3 sets of each exercise for 10 repetitions each. I recommend adding these exercises into your routine 3x/week. If you take 10-15 minutes to run through these 3 exercises, you will see an improvement in your lower body strength!
Remember, consistency is key!
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