Perform an Ankle Mobility and Strength Drill to Make Your Knee Feel Better While Weeding
Your knee pain should not stop you from doing activities you enjoy!
The video above addresses one specific potential cause for knee pain while weeding: limited ankle mobility.
Why Do I Have Knee Pain While Weeding?
If your ankle mobility is restricted when you squat, you will experience abnormal tension and pain in your knee.
Your ankle should dorsiflex (ankle flexes to let the knee come forward) a lot when squatting to weed in the garden.
When your ankle won't dorsiflex, your Achilles won't lengthen which means the calf complex cannot help support your knee.
What Can I Do To Fix My Knee Pain While Weeding?
A specific ankle dorsiflexion plus strength drill is a good place to start to fix knee pain while weeding.
Balance on the leg of the hurt knee and lean against a solid surface. Hold your other foot up in front off the ground.
Push your injured knee as far forward as you can without pain. At this point, you should feel an Achilles stretch.
Next, perform heel raises while keeping your knee bent and ankle flexed. You should feel your Achilles work when your heel lifts and stretch when your heel drops!
Repeat the heel raises for 10-20 repetitions always before squatting to weed and at least once a day.
As a note, if you don't keep your knee forward and ankle as flexed as possible, it is unlikely that you will create more motion over time.
Remember, This Is Only The Start For Most Injury Recoveries...
The body is complicated and this is one small, but important piece to your injury recovery.
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