Stretches for people with knee problems

One of my students on Sunday asked me what stretches she can do before class to prepare her for class. She has one knee that hurts her sometimes. Any suggestions?

Hi "guest",

"a knee that hurts sometimes" is a bit vague... especially when you realize how complicated the anatomy of the knee is! That's the reason why I don't allow people in my class with "unknown" hurts & pains and advise them to get a professional opinion before joining. Better safe than sorry, for both parties...

[Widy Speed]

Agree Allterrain,
I even suggest to my students to avoid stretching before the workout (maybe with cold muscles).
If they want to stretch before the ride i suggest them to do that after 10 min. warming up before class
Spin Safe
Widy

Hi Widy Speed,

I totally agree!

Besides having the knee pain investigated and checked by a qualified medical professional, once he/she has medical clearance, I would advise him/her to strengthen the knee by strenghening the muscles that support the knee, i.e, quads and hamstrings. Flexibility and strength in these muscles will support a weak knee.

A qualified trainer can provide him/her with an appropriate program. As for stretching prior to class, that's a no-no if muscles are cold, as others have said. Gentle stretches at the end of class can include hip flexor stretches, quad stretches, hamstring stretches. If your student gets medical clearance, you might want to suggest a yoga class for him/her to increase strength and flexibility.

[CancunCarol]

How about changing the question to.... What are stretches one can do to avoid Knee problems :?:

How about changing the question to.... What are stretches one can do to avoid Knee problems :?:
This is a hard question to answer, because most knee problems don't derive from a lack of stretching, but from other causes, such as trauma, abuse, wear & tear etc. etc. A proper warming-up and a solid training program (= no strenght or intervals 4 times a week....) will do a lot more good than stretching....

[jcharry]

I don't know if this might apply to your student, but a few years ago I had a chronic, but not severe, knee problem and went to an orthopod and had physical therapy. It hurt to run and ride, but I kept at it anyway. Since I was doing a lot of heavy weight lifting, I was getting an occasional deep-tissue massage, and I mentioned the knee pain to the masseuse. After he worked on my quads (oh, it hurt :shock: ), my knee felt so much better. A few more sessions, and it was gone.

Even if it doesn't cure the pain, how can you go wrong getting a great massage? :wink:

~Judi