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Knees Hurt? Strengthen Your Hips

PTD0814-leadDoes your knee hurt when you walk, run or climb stairs? If so, you have plenty of company. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Americans make more than 19 million physician visits each year for knee pain. Although osteoarthritis is the most common cause of knee pain in individuals over age 55, knee pain in younger, active people may be caused by biomechanical and alignment problems related to deficits in the hip muscles.
The muscles that control hip movement are some of the strongest in the body. Hip flexor muscles pull the knee upward toward the trunk. The gluteus medius and gluteus maximus muscles also move the hip, extending and rotating it laterally. These heavy muscles attach to the femur (thigh bone). And as the old song says, the leg bone connects to the knee bone, and the knee bone connects to the thigh bone. Therefore, if the muscles that attach to the thigh bone are poorly developed, the knee, particularly the patella (kneecap), can shift out of place with each step and cause pain.
Researchers who have looked at front-of-the-knee pain in athletes under age 40 have determined three types of problems that connect hip muscles to knee pain:

  • weak hip muscles
  • tight hip muscles
  • unevenly developed hip muscles

When study participants performed several weeks of hip muscle strengthening and flexibility exercises, most of them saw changes in leg alignment, and knee pain symptoms improved significantly.
If hip muscle deficits could be the cause of your knee pain, we can assess your muscle strength and flexibility at a physical therapy visit. We can then work with your physician to devise a series of graduated exercises, such as the pelvic drop, leg raise and hip rotation stretch, that strengthen the appropriate muscles and increase their flexibility with the goal of improving your leg alignment and reducing knee pain.
Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation in Wyckoff, NJ provides orthopedic and sports physical therapy services for the greater Ridgewood, Wyckoff, and Bergen County region. This blog is intended for informational purposes only and should not be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. The views expressed here are the author’s views and should be taken as suggestions. Always consult your doctor or healthcare practitioner before engaging in a physical therapy or rehabilitative program.

Tom Willemann

Tom Willemann

Tom Willemann is a premier physical therapist based out of Bergen County, New Jersey. He holds an MS in physical therapy from the University of Miami, is credentialed in the world-renowned McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), and holds an OCS (Orthopedic Clinical Specialist) certification. As of 2018, there are approximately 14,000 ABPTS certified specialists in the nation and less than 400 of them are located in the state of New Jersey. Tom is the owner and director of Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation in Paramus. He opened the clinic, which specializes in spine and sports injury prevention, in 2004 after many years of experience in the field. Tom’s caring interest in others and his strong belief in continuity of care, combined with his clinic’s ability to find solutions for the most difficult orthopedic problems, have earned Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation its excellent reputation with patients and medical professionals in northeastern New Jersey and beyond. A true “family man,” Tom takes pride in his clinic’s warm and welcoming environment.
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