Having knee troubles?
Walking up and down stairs uncomfortable on your knees?
Whether it’s from an acute injury or wear and tear over time …
knee injuries are no fun ;-(
The GOOD NEWS is …
There are lots of ways to relieve knee pain naturally and without surgery,
that restore the health and stabilization of your knee joint.
In this blog I will give you a bunch of tools designed to make your knees healthy and strong so you can do all the things you love to do without knee restrictions.
1st I need to mention,
This is not meant to be an individual program or diagnosis for whatever you have going on personally. This is about overall knee care so that you can give your body what it needs to have healthy strong knees no matter what has occurred in the past.
So, let's dive into some of the more
common causes and fixes for knee issues
Weak VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique)
Weak VMO (Vastus Medialis Muscle) is probably the most common reason people have knee issues - especially women. The VMO is the muscle responsible for keeping the patella (knee cap) tracking properly. It’s often referred to as the “Tear Drop Muscle” because a well developed VMO is the shape of a tear drop.
There is a very simple and effective solution for this type of problem …
Strengthen your VMO muscle
Take a 5 minute break and try this video session:
So, if your issue is a weak VMO, the above straight leg lifts is an easy
and effective way to heal your knees naturally.
Also, see "Additional things you can do to heal your knees naturally" below,
to help you on your journey to healthier, more strong and stable knees.
You Could Have A Muscle Imbalance ...
so it's important to know how to make knees stronger
There are lots of ways your muscles can be out of balance.
When the opposing muscle groups (antagonistic muscles) get out of balance in strength or flexibility, it can create mis-alignments. Think tug a war … whichever side is stronger pulls more than the other side and creates a mis-alignment, which creates pain and inflammation.
What can you do?
Work the antagonistic (opposing) muscle groups:
~ Quads AND Glutes & Hamstrings
~ Inner AND Outer Thighs & Hips
Your body wants to be in balance. Once you start working these opposing muscle groups regularly, you’ll start feeling like you have more pep in your step with the added strength and stability.
You’ll feel like being MORE ACTIVE!
To learn and be guided through workouts for the above opposing muscle groups - go to your Body Conditioning Program on ELEV8 Workouts:
PROGRAM: Body Conditioning
Session for Quads:
CATEGORY: Healthy Joints
Session: Knee Exercises 5:31 minutes
Session for Hamstrings & Glutes
CATEGORY: Healthy Joints
Session: Supine Glutes and Hammys
Do the following exercises 2-3 times a week, depending on how much your knees need strengthening and rebalancing.
Once your knees are strong and stable … you can taper off to once a week maintenance.
Do your Quads AND Glutes & Hamstrings on the same day.
Do your Inner & Outer Thighs on the same day.
Progression: Start with 1 set no weights … Increase to 2 sets when you’re ready … add ankle weights when you’re ready.
Start to notice where your weaknesses are and increase weight, sets and repetitions on the weaker muscles 1st.
This is what your Hamstring & Glute Workout looks like: ;-)

You Could Have Tight Hips Or Calves ...
If your hips or calves are really tight it can pull the knee out of alignment,
creating pain and discomfort. Luckily this is another easy fix.
Tight Hips:
We use our hip/glute muscles in so many sports and activities, so tight hips are quite common and can cause pulling on the knee joint as well.
The solution for this is to stretch the hips, but not just any stretches.
Stretch all around the hip joint, in several different positions.
If you’re doing ELEV8 yoga sessions with hip stretches regularly -
you may already have your hips in check.
This is one of my specialties, because my hips were soooooo tight from Ballet dancing for many years and then I was blessed to work with clients who had extremely tight hips as well. I had to develop extremely effective hip stretches for myself and my clients, so none of us had to have surgery.
You’ll love the feel good way I move your body while stretching your hips.
The following is a great sequence to open your hips and glutes to feel
more freedom in this area of your body.
BONUS: this is often great for people with low back issues as well.
Session for Tight Hips on ELEV8
PROGRAM: Body Conditioning
CATEGORY: Healthy Joints
Session: Complete Hip Stretch
Tight Calves:
Just standing on our feet all day can make the calves tight. Then when you add sports, dancing or any activities on your feet - you're working those calves even more.
There are several stretches for tight calves, but when they’re really tight -
Stretching along with massage using Pressure Point balls is your best bet ...
To learn how to roll out your calves and be coached through it go to:
PROGRAM: Body Conditioning
CATEGORY: Pressure Point Balls
SESSION: Deep Tissue Calf Massage
The above suggestions are a great start to learn how to get your knees stronger and healthier.
Once you've done these exercises to initiate some good strength and stability, there are more advanced exercises that you can add to your workouts, like:
Session: Knee & Hip Stabilization
PROGRAM: Body Conditioning
CATEGORY: Healthy Joints
Additional things you can do to heal your knees naturally …
When you have inflammation in your knee, in most cases, you can benefit from icing. 10 minutes at a time is best. Get a gel pack, wrap around your knee snug ...
you can use a long piece of fabric like a scarf to secure it so the gel pack is in full contact with your knee.
*Note: Do not put the gel pack directly on your skin. A thin fabric in between like a pillow case will suffice.
Also, if there’s inflammation you can take a natural remedy for inflammation, such as: Turmeric, Bromeline, CBD. Pharmaceuticals such as Ibuprofen will also help to decrease inflammation, but if something more natural works it's better in the long run … so you’re not risking side effects.
Don’t let a knee injury or issues set you back or create pain and discomfort in your body. Always remember,
Give your body what it needs and it will heal itself.
Michelle,
I am looking at these now. Awesome.
Cindy😀