Strengthening knee ligaments

[Hyoho]

A while ago I made a post in which I stated my concerns for my knees. I managed to soon after consult a physiotherapist in person, and I was diagnosed with patellofemoral knee syndrome. It's a very common injury in male athletes, which develops as a result of overworking/overtraining, and consists of mild discomfort and pain developing due to aggravation of tissues under the patella (kneecap), if I understand correctly. After I was diagnosed, I was given some exercises which helped me immensely, almost immediately. I was allowed to continue with my training, but I have learned to be more aware of what my body is experiencing, and how to hit the brakes a bit, not matter how guilty I might feel for it.

Yesterday, some of the pain returned, which is expeceted, as the issues can last for years. However, I have a have a tendency to really stress myself out about these things, and I assumed the worst immediattely, especially since some of the pain (though minor) was located in an unusual area. I managed to book an appointment with my physio again, God bless her (she's a miracle worker), for tomorrow just to be sure. ButI decided to look into some more serious issues when it comes to injuries in the knees.

At first it started off with a panicky self-diagnosis session , but it then evolved into me planning for contigencies. I remembered how I came across a video a while ago that claimed some specific exercises were especially helpful for preventing damage to the tendons in the knees by strengthening them. Have any of you heard of any such exercises, specifically for the ACL and MCL ligaments in the knee?

I delved into some more research and found out that, although MCL tears usually heal on their own and rarely require surgery, ACL tears are much more serious. A complete ACL tea, supposedly, always requires reconstructive surgery. This got me thinking... ACL tears are most common in martial arts such as wrestling and BJ and Sambo, so how did ancient civilisations deal with? We all know ancient greeks were big on their Pankration, so how did they treat ligament injuries during those times? Given that it was probably a common injury, I am sure they must have researched treatments other than self-healing.

Have any of you heard of exercises specifically focused on strengthening knee ligaments? Do you believe they work? On a slightly different note, have any of you heard of someone making full/near-full recoveries from completely torn ACLs without surgery?
Anyways, wish me luck on my physio appointment tomorrow! Goodnight!

Take some advice from someone who has practiced/taught professionally for 54 years. Forty of those in Japan. Get some decent neoprene knee supporters. Not just the knees but strap up everything else that sometimes aches with elasticated bandage etc. This stuff is the protect you from getting injured. Not something you wear after an injury.

 

[jobo]

Take some advice from someone who has practiced/taught professionally for 54 years. Forty of those in Japan. Get some decent neoprene knee supporters. Not just the knees but strap up everything else that sometimes aches with elasticated bandage etc. This stuff is the protect you from getting injured. Not something you wear after an injury.

 

[jobo]

you can over do it though

 

[JustAPractitioner]

you could try this it is a simple method a bit weird but it is effective

1. Sit with your affected leg straight and supported on the floor or a firm bed. Place a small, rolled-up towel under your knee. ...
2. Tighten the thigh muscles of your affected leg by pressing the back of your knee down into the towel.
3. Hold for about 6 seconds, then rest for up to 10 seconds.
4. Repeat 8 to 12 times.

 

[Damien]

A while ago I made a post in which I stated my concerns for my knees. I managed to soon after consult a physiotherapist in person, and I was diagnosed with patellofemoral knee syndrome. It's a very common injury in male athletes, which develops as a result of overworking/overtraining, and consists of mild discomfort and pain developing due to aggravation of tissues under the patella (kneecap), if I understand correctly. After I was diagnosed, I was given some exercises which helped me immensely, almost immediately. I was allowed to continue with my training, but I have learned to be more aware of what my body is experiencing, and how to hit the brakes a bit, not matter how guilty I might feel for it.

Yesterday, some of the pain returned, which is expeceted, as the issues can last for years. However, I have a have a tendency to really stress myself out about these things, and I assumed the worst immediattely, especially since some of the pain (though minor) was located in an unusual area. I managed to book an appointment with my physio again, God bless her (she's a miracle worker), for tomorrow just to be sure. ButI decided to look into some more serious issues when it comes to injuries in the knees.

At first it started off with a panicky self-diagnosis session , but it then evolved into me planning for contigencies. I remembered how I came across a video a while ago that claimed some specific exercises were especially helpful for preventing damage to the tendons in the knees by strengthening them. Have any of you heard of any such exercises, specifically for the ACL and MCL ligaments in the knee?

I delved into some more research and found out that, although MCL tears usually heal on their own and rarely require surgery, ACL tears are much more serious. A complete ACL tea, supposedly, always requires reconstructive surgery. This got me thinking... ACL tears are most common in martial arts such as wrestling and BJ and Sambo, so how did ancient civilisations deal with? We all know ancient greeks were big on their Pankration, so how did they treat ligament injuries during those times? Given that it was probably a common injury, I am sure they must have researched treatments other than self-healing.

Have any of you heard of exercises specifically focused on strengthening knee ligaments? Do you believe they work? On a slightly different note, have any of you heard of someone making full/near-full recoveries from completely torn ACLs without surgery?
Anyways, wish me luck on my physio appointment tomorrow! Goodnight!

Bringing things back on topic a bit, I'd agree with some of the sentiment above, do what your physio tells you to do, and then keep doing it! Having suffered from a few injuries myself, and yes back slid from stopping doing the exercises, I can't stress enough how helpful a good physio is. It sounds like you have a good one, so keep doing what she tells you.

That being said, physio exercises are generally scaled to help you recover from injury. Eventually it will get to the point where all they do is maintain strength in the joint, unless you start upping the volume or the resistance. For things where endurance is key, volume can work, though it can mean spending a lot of time on rehab/prehab exercises. Added resistance is usually a better option to keep things manageable, as you can spend the same amount of time doing it. Things like using stronger bands, moving into deeper positions etc. can all help.

I've something of a history with overcoming knee problems in particular. I would suggest doing the exercises you are given, laying off the marital arts for a little while, and then when your knees feel better, get back into it slowly. Don't go busting out lots of spinning jumps in your first training session.

Then to keep increasing the joint strength after the physio exercises are getting easy, and to incorporate a bit of MA training at the same time, try out the exercises in this video, it's what has helped me keep training over the years since my knee problems started:

 

[JustAPractitioner]

you could try this it is a simple method a bit weird but it is effective

1. Sit with your affected leg straight and supported on the floor or a firm bed. Place a small, rolled-up towel under your knee. ...
2. Tighten the thigh muscles of your affected leg by pressing the back of your knee down into the towel.
3. Hold for about 6 seconds, then rest for up to 10 seconds.
4. Repeat 8 to 12 times.

forgot to add it also helps with knee pain and soreness

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I listen to the medical history podcast "Sawbones", and ancient Greek medicine is a common joke on that podcast . Basically, if you had any medical problem, the ancient Greeks had a treatment for it, and it was hilariously weird.

So I looked it up, and Pliny the Elder (like the #1 ancient Greek doctor) says that "For the cure of sprains the following applications are used; wild boars' dung or swine's dung; calves' dung; wild boars' foam, used fresh with vinegar; goats' dung, applied with honey; and raw beef, used as a plaster." So, uh, I guess you could try that.

I have NOT kept up my supplies of medicinal dung nearly well enough.

 

[Yokozuna514]

I have NOT kept up my supplies of medicinal dung nearly well enough.

I call bulldung (just being humorous on this fine sunny day).

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I call bulldung (just being humorous on this fine sunny day).

Wait, was that on the list?? I’m gonna need a bigger jar.

 

[Yokozuna514]

Wait, was that on the list?? I’m gonna need a bigger jar.

You might not be the only one that needs one .

 

[Diagen]

l o l kneesovertoes guy come on it's as simple as that. Start light incremental progression if you have issues; don't be afraid of progress though. Forget everything else. You can't develop strong knees being afraid of them either so don't listen to people that have resigned themself to "old cripple" status. Challenging someone's convictions can wait till after you do your deep knee bends. Lunges with weight forward and heel lifted off the ground in forward leg is good, stay at bottom of rep. Do repititions of the movement. Do a hand to toe stretch with 5 lb dbs in hand. Use a balance board or on a brick or something.
Remember that stretching is working out.