We are continuing our tips on ways to relieve knee pain at the office. Today we will talk about quadriceps stretches.
Source: Pain Solutions of Charlotte
Quadriceps Stretches
Your quadriceps is probably your most important muscle for your knee. It is the large muscle in the front of your knee. It is made up of four parts that cross your knee and your hips. That’s why it’s called a quadriceps. So, it’s important, when you’re stretching out your quadriceps, to make sure you’re addressing your hip. Too often I see people trying to stretch out their knee by tugging their heel up towards their buttocks, but they’re not addressing their hip angle enough, and they might be causing too much joint compression on their knee.
Classic Stretch
So the classic quadriceps stretch is going to be in standing position and place a supportive hand on the back of a chair, and the key is to grab your foot and to make sure your knees are together, then bring the leg you’re stretching behind the other leg, which will stretch the front muscles at the right angle, and from there you pull up.
When you start to pull up, you should feel an intense stretch or a moderate stretch in the front of the thigh, and you can try to hold it for about 15 to 20 seconds per repetition. Then return to where the knees are together.
If you have an existing knee injury
I strongly suggest you consult your medical professional and use caution on how far you pull your bent leg back and continue this exercise a few times during the work day for a few weeks and see if you can loosen up the quadriceps and relieve the tension and pain over the knee.