Reduce Back and Knee Pain with correct posture

MyAchingKnees.com believes in a comprehensive approach to reducing or eliminating chronic joint pain. Very rare is the solution one dimensional. With chronic joint pain, especially knee pain and back pain, people often find the best relief through a combination of enhanced nutritional supplementation, smarter approach to exercise, and possibly massage therapy, topical creams and ointments.

Another part of the solution is learning to do routine physical tasks in a more mechanically sound posture.

Everyone has probably heard the saying “Lift with your knees, not your back.” This is vitally true. Bending over to pick objects up placing you and your body in a mechanical disadvantage, with the lower back absorbing alot of stress.

As far as the knees go, a much more sound way to pickup objects is to squat with your heels remaining on the ground, keeping your back straight. Most people can do this and it is referred to as the “half squat”, as the thighs do not go lower than parallel to the ground.

An alternative is to kneel on one knee with the other leg in a "L" shape and straighten up with pushing up and off with the back leg. This is commonly called the "lunge" position. The idea is that neither leg contracts under 90 degrees and therefore keeps maximum stress off of the knee joint.

A lot of people do not have sufficient muscle mass or tone in their thigh muscles (Quadriceps) to comfortably do routine half squats, especially when picking up additional weight. Simple leg extension, with a light ankle weight and or a couple sets of half squats added to your physical training or physical therapy regime will certainly help develop better quadriceps strength, as well as strengthen ligaments an tendons in the knee joint.

Most people, if performing the full squat, would fall over backwards and although this is embarrassing and potentially harmful (particularly if you hit your head on a bunch of sharp rocks), the full squat performed with the heels off the ground placing too much weight on the balls of the feet and toes AND places great stress on the knee joint. This position has to be avoided. By the way, watch Baseball Catchers squat - you'll see them with their heels on the ground.

When you add weight, as picking it up off the ground, when you are in the full squat position with heels off the ground, the additional weight and pressure on your knee joint is greatly additional, furthering pain and discomfort to that joint.

So squat smartly and keep additional stress off your knees.