5 Ways to Reduce Knee Pain during Lunges

Lunges are a great exercise to strengthen the lower body. Lunges can be a challenging exercise because they work so many muscles at the same time. On the front leg, you'll work the glutes and hamstrings and, on the back leg, you'll work the quads and calves. For some people, traditional lunges can cause knee pain. Here are 5 ways to address this problem.

#1 – Try a Back Lunge

If you feel pain with a front lunge, you can try to do a back lunge.
This puts more of the force on the back leg and is likely to decrease the pain.

#2 – Look at Technique

Start off and make sure the lunge technique is perfect.
Ensuring that the knee does not pass the toes of the front leg and that the weight in the front foot is mainly on the heel.

#3 – Stride Length

Increase your stride length.
A lot of people will take a short step forward. Increase the size of step that you take. This will decrease the likelihood of the knee passing the toe.

#4 – Focus on Down

A lot of times people will focus on moving their body and knee forward during the lunge movement which leads to the knee passing the toes of the front leg.
The focus should be moving down with the body and this will decrease the likelihood of the knee passing the toes.

#5 – Look at Flexibility

Take some time to look at the flexibility in the quads and hip flexors. These are often tight and put greater stress on the patella (knee cap) which leads to greater stress on the knee.

In my next blog I will present alternative exercises to lunges.

To be continued.

Learn more about strength training at my Stability Ball Training workshops accredited for Massage Therapists and Personal Trainers across Canada http://www.gaiaadventures.com/bodyball.html

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Catherine D'Aoust at GAIA Adventures, Kinesiologist, Workshops
www.gaiaadventures.com

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