Are you struggling with anterior knee pain? Save this post & try these 3 exercises to help solve your Jumper’s Knee.
Try strengthening instead of the tired and often fruitless approach of ice, rest, stretch, take a pill, and wrap a strap around your knee.
That pain along the rope-like tendon just below your kneecap (patella) is commonly called Jumper’s Knee, patellar tendinitis, or more properly, patellar tendinopathy.
Conditions that can disguise as Jumper’s Knee include patellofemoral joint pain or Osgood-Schlatter Disease. Definitely seek a skilled physical therapist or MD for a more precise diagnosis, but either way, all 3 of these knee conditions should be approached similarly from an exercise prescription standpoint.
True Jumper’s Knee (patellar tendinopathy) is a collagen breakdown of the patellar tendon that connects your kneecap to your shin bone (tibia). This tendon is meant to be strong and tolerant of absorbing jump/landing/sprint forces. Additionally, it acts to conduct springiness from the horsepower muscles of the upper leg down to the lower leg. Therefore we must treat it as such and get the damn thing strong and springy if we want it to be happy and healthy.
Try these 3 exercises to bolster your quads and patellar tendon regardless of if you have Jumper’s Knee crankiness.
1) Heels Elevated Wall Sit: This targets strengthening of your quads and anterior knee tendons including your patellar tendon. Shoot for 2-4 holds of 20-90 seconds.
2) Band 4-Point Pike (
https://youtu.be/vUXme5FoeF4 ): This targets quads and anterior knee tendons as well as core and shoulders. Shoot for 2-4 sets of 10-20 repetitions.
3) Mini-Band 1-Leg Squat Iso w/ Lateral Tap: This exercise targets lateral glutes, quads, and knee tendons. Shoot for 2-4 holds of 15-30 seconds.
