Registered Kinesiologist
Registered Kinesiologist
What is “Prehabilitation” Training and How Does it Relate to Knee Injury?
Prehabilitation or “prehab” is a preventative approach aimed at improving a person’s strength, flexibility, endurance, overall fitness to prevent injury or before undergoing surgery.
For knee injuries, prehab training is crucial for building strength and stability in the muscles surrounding the knee, enhancing function, preventing future injuries and preparing the body for quicker recovery in case an injury does occur.
Meet Vince
To better explain prehab and how it can fit into your training program, let’s use fictional client, Vince, as an example scenario throughout this blog.
Vince, a 53-year-old man, has recently recovered from a knee injury he endured while playing tennis. Now that he’s healed, his personal trainer wants to modify his training program to build strength in surrounding joints, muscles, and tendons to prepare his body to withstand any further knee injuries.
Research shows that those who engage in prehab programs significantly reduce their risk of injury, whether they’re preparing for a competition or aiming to move better in everyday life.
The Role of Resistance Training
Vince’s trainer focuses his program on resistance training. Lifting weights helps strengthen key muscle groups to support his joints, reducing the risk of getting hurt again. Resistance training will also improve Vince’s stability, mobility, and fitness level, which are all important for staying injury-free.
To keep Vince progressing, his trainer uses a method called progressive overload, which means gradually increasing the intensity of the workouts over time. By adding more sets, increasing reps, lifting heavier weights or reducing rest times between sets, Vince can continuously get stronger and build more resiliency; Making his body more resistant to knee injury.
How Prehab Training Fits into Your Strength Program
Vince’s training program would focus on his knee strength and mobility, as well as surrounding muscles and joints, such as the hips, quads, and ankles. This is important because your knee joint’s function is directly affected by other areas. Weakness or instability in the hips or ankles can put stress on the knee, leading to an increased risk of further injury. Let’s dive into the areas in which Vince’s trainer might focus on in his prehab training program.
Hips
The hip joint plays a crucial role in stabilizing the knee, especially in terms of internal and external rotation. If your hips are weak or tight, it can throw off your knee alignment and put extra strain on it, increasing the risk of injury. Improving hip strength and flexibility through exercises like 90/90 and weighted hip flexion can help protect your knees.
90/90 Internal / External Rotation
Standing KB Hip Flexion
Standing Captain Morgans
Quads + Hamstrings
A common knee injury is an ACL tear, which is caused by a muscle imbalance between the quads and hamstrings. When the quads (which pull the knee forward) are much stronger than the hamstrings (which pull the knee back), the ACL is put under extra strain, making a tear more likely during running or jumping. Vince’s trainer might work on strengthening his hamstrings to prevent this injury. To address hamstring weakness, include a slider hamstring curl in your training.
Slider Hamstring Curl
Inner + Outer Quads
It is common for people to have an overactive vastus lateralis muscle (outer quad) and an underactive vastus medialis oblique muscle (inner quad). This imbalance between muscles can lead to knee problems. Strengthening your inner quad muscles is essential for knee stability as it plays a key role in controlling the position of the kneecap. If this is weak, the kneecap might move out of alignment and cause knee pain and injury. Include step-down variations to address this muscle imbalance.
Heel Elevated Side Step Down
Ankles + Lower Leg Muscles
Having a good range of motion in your ankles is also essential for knee health. When the ankle lacks flexibility, it creates a block, forcing the body to compensate by shifting stress to other areas, particularly the knee. This strain can lead to knee injury and pain, as the knee is forced to handle movements it wasn’t designed for.
Lower leg muscles, like the calves, are key to ankle movement. The soleus, a deep calf muscle, prevents your body from tipping forward. Weakness or tightness in these muscles can affect balance or posture, leading to knee strain. Including exercises to improve ankle mobility and strengthen lower leg muscles can reduce knee pressure and prevent injuries.
Banded Ankle Distraction
Seated Machine Calf Raise
Conclusion
Whether you are dealing with knee pain, wanting to prevent a future knee injury, or have another area of focus you are working through, one of our personal trainers can work with you to build a custom program to meet your body’s needs. Our thorough health + fitness assessment will dive into your injury history, and learn about both your strengths and areas for improvement, so a tailored program can be made to meet you where you’re at – so you stay injury free.
Begin Your Journey with Us
Reach out to us for a complimentary consultation. We would be more than happy to offer some guidance to help you move forward on your journey. Sometimes taking the first step is the hardest, so don’t hesitate to get some help to kickstart the process. We all start somewhere.