Soft knees please!

Soft knees please!

How would you like a simple formula for reducing knee, hip and lower back pain, while at the same time strengthening your legs muscles and joints? It really could be as simple as keeping your knees soft when you stand and walk.

So, what do I mean by “soft knees”? It’s just a slight bend in your knees. If you already stand and walk with soft knees, well done! If you’re not sure what you do, try this little exercise!

Stand up and lock your knees – that means stiffly straightening your legs.

Can you feel how the muscles in the back of your legs feel lengthened and under tension?

Can you feel your knee joint pinch a little in the front of your leg?

What you are doing is completely relying on your bones to hold you up. You’re creating extra wear and tear in your knee joints and letting your muscles stagnate. Not only that, but by locking your knees you are very likely tilting your hips forward, causing extra tension in your lower back and hip flexors and making it harder to activate your butt and belly muscles.

And we’re still not done! Locking your knees means you have no suspension in your legs. That means your balance will be compromised when you start to move, and you’re more likely to injure your joints and muscles.

So, do you think you normally lock your knees when you stand? Or perhaps you only lock one knee? Or perhaps you lock your knees as you bend over to pick something up off the floor? It’s time to do something about this.

Let’s turn this around! From the locked knee position, slightly bend your knees! Notice how the muscles in the front and back of your legs now feel more even, and there is reduced tension in you lower back and in your knees. You may feel a little less stable initially because all of sudden you are relying more on your muscles to support you than your bones. By softening your knees, you have instantly "switched on" your leg muscles – they will be getting stronger as they work to maintain your balance, support your joints, and help prevent injury. You have relieved tension and excessive wear and tear in your knee joints, hips and lower back. You can more easily engage the core muscles around your butt and belly to help support your overall posture.

Now I mentioned walking as well. As you walk, try keeping your knees slightly soft throughout the whole movement. Rather than stiffly standing up tall and straight, allow your body weight to sink a little into your feet by softening your knees. Let your body weight move forward as you step, sinking even deeper into the knee of your front stepping leg. You’ll notice that you will land more into the centre of your foot as opposed to the heel which was always recommended in the past. This new way of walking gives you better suspension to absorb impact, making your muscles work hard and reducing tension in all your joints. The forward lean also helps with momentum, and all together makes walking easier and more enjoyable.

Don’t underestimate the power of this small change in how you stand and walk! Give it a try!

If you need help making this a habit, try our SuperCue programmes. We constantly remind participants to keep their knees soft.