A torn meniscus or cartilage in your knee is one of the most common knee injuries. When you are younger, the tear often occurs with an athletic event. Torn cartilage can occur from any activity in which you forcefully rotate or twist your knee while putting your full weight on it. As you get older, your knee can begin to degrade, and a tear can occur with little to no trauma. A tear can even occur with a deep squat or kneeling. This is especially true when lifting something heavy. Obesity also puts increased stress on the cartilage of the knee. Your knee has two C-shaped pieces of cartilage (one located more toward the inside of your knee and the other more toward the outside of your knee). They provide a cushion between your thigh bone and your lower leg. If your cartilage is torn, you may experience the following: 1. Clicking or popping in the knee. 2. Increased pain in the knee-especially when rotating or twisting your knee. 3. Your knee may lock up when trying to move it. 4. You may have trouble straightening your knee. 5. You may have increased pain or stiffness, especially with weight bearing on the leg. 6. Your knee may feel like it wants to give way. When you should see a doctor. You should see a doctor if your knee pain persists for several days and/or swelling is present. You should also see if doctor if your knee wants to lock, or not fully straighten or bend. Three Self-Tests: 1. Eges test: a. This test cannot be performed if the injury just occurred, and the knee is very painful or swollen. You may hang on to something for support. Stand with your knees straight and your feet about 12-16 inches apart. Turn your feet out as far as they will go and then squat down. Increased pain or a clicking sound may mean you have a tear in your cartilage on the inside of the knee. (Eges Test) Next, turn your feet in as far as they will go. Again, squat down as far as able (it will be limited). Increased pain or a clicking sound may mean you have a tear in your cartilage on the outside of the knee. 2. Thessaly test: a. Check uninjured leg first. Put all your weight on the uninjured leg and hold onto a counter for stability. Bend the uninjured knee to about 20 degrees and then twist or rotate the knee 3x. Increased pain in your knee joint may indicate a tear in your cartilage. Repeat the test on your painful or injured leg next. 3. Childress or Duckwalk test: a. Patient should assume a full squat position. In this position, the patient should waddle back and side to side (keeping the knees bent). You may have a tear if you are unable to fully squat, hear clicking, or begin to experience increased pain. (Duckwalk Test) If any of these tests indicate a tear, you may want to get an MRI to confirm. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/haMgfrP2mEc Mike: So we're often asked by our patients, "What are some risk factors for developing arthritis?" And some of them even asked, Is my past history of playing sports causing my knee, hip, shoulder, whatever pain you may have? Brad: It's a good question, actually. But arthritis is a very complicated or complex disease, if you want to call it that. Genetics certainly has an influence on it. We understand that, but it's more than just that. And then the activities that a person does can also have an influence. We'll get into that a little bit as well. Mike: So there are some sports that actually carry a higher risk of developing arthritis as you age in comparison to others. So in this video, we're going to look at a couple studies saying what the science says about it, and we're also going to show you some exercises you can do if you're suffering, suffering, suffering from arthritic pain. Brad: Yeah. Now I have to admit the studies are revealing. They show some information that surprised me a little bit. So it's interesting, and just follow us along, and we'll explain what we found. Mike: The first study we're going to look at is called Athletics and Osteoarthritis. Now, in this study, they looked at athletes and older individuals who participated in vigorous sports activities and increased the risk of osteoarthritis. Now, these sports we're talking about are things that are high impact and also have torsional loading, meaning a lot of twisting, turning, diagonal cutting, different stuff. So some examples of this would be soccer, football, basketball, tennis, and baseball. I mean, football's worse because you hit each other, but you know, high-impact, full-on sports at top speeds. Brad: Alright, Mike, I agree with all those, but I don't think anybody in our viewership plays football. Mike: Maybe Aaron Rodgers, who knows if he watches us anyway. Brad: But let's look at moderate exercise. How could that affect their joints? We're talking about like walking? Mike: Walking, jogging, resistance training, functional exercise stuff. Now they have found that that does not increase your risk of osteoarthritis. It can actually improve the strength and mobility in the joints and muscles surrounding it. So we just want to differentiate that this study is looking at high-impact, full-speed sports, not your typical gym goer, weekend warrior person. Now, here are some other factors that can actually increase your risk of osteoarthritis that are not associated with the sports aspect of it. Brad: Yeah, this is actually oftentimes the genetic factor that will really have an effect on it. The first one is joint alignment. For example, if a person is genu varum or genu valgus, in other words, bow-legged or knock-kneed, that can really affect the stress points on the knee joints. Mike: Another thing is a history of joint injury or surgery in the past. So maybe a meniscal tear, playing sports, ACL, etc. Typically, those people can develop arthritis later in life. Brad: The next thing is joint instability or hypermobile joints. In other words, the ligaments are lax; they don't keep the joint in place. Things like they call it hypermobility. Like I said, the common term is- Mike: Double-jointed. Brad: Double-jointed, yeah. There really are no double joints. But anyway, you know what I mean? Mike: The next common cause is above-average body weight. Just having that much more weight compressing on each joint within your body can add up over the years. Brad: Right, and general weakness if your muscles and whatnot aren't strong enough to maintain alignment in the joint, that can also irritate and accelerate arthritis. All right, the second study we're going to look at has to do with what, Mike? Mike: Long-distance runners, and looking at their development, whether they were at high or lower risk of osteoarthritis. So it is called Aging, long-distance running, and the development of musculoskeletal disability. A controlled study . That is a really long title. Brad: Yeah, yeah. Bottom line is, I think most people think people who long-distance run as they age are going to wear their joints out. Arthritis is gonna happen, and they're going to fall apart. Very interesting results did come from this. Mike: Yeah, so the study actually compared 498 long-distance runners, ages 50 to 72 years old. Brad: And 365 community control subjects. In other words, people whom you know live their lives at the average activity level. Mike: So what they found in the study is that runners had less physical disability and maintained more functional capacity than their age-matched control subjects, meaning they compared runners to non-runners in the same demographic and found the runners were essentially moving better and in better shape. Brad: And actually, the runners had fewer visits to the doctor. What is it? One third less? Mike: One-third fewer visits to the doctor. Brad: And most of those visits were as a result of an injury from running, maybe a muscle tear, muscle strain, whatever it may be. Mike: Other issues like that. So, what they found when it comes to osteoarthritis, comparing the runners to the non-runners group, there was no significant difference in the amount of osteoarthritis developed between the runners and the non-runners. Brad: Now I think everyone is not surprised about this fact is the people who were the runners had a better cardiovascular system and health than the non-active people. But the other part that was really interesting to me is the decreased rate of disability in general. In other words, the people who are actively running had fewer problems overall. Mike: In their whole body, upper body, and lower body. Which is pretty fascinating. Brad: Right, that's what I thought. I was happy to hear that. Because I like running, I want to keep running. Mike: So basically, the study concluded that an aerobic fitness running plan structured in a proper way did not increase the risk of osteoarthritis and oftentimes actually helps the musculoskeletal system with aging. You get some bone density benefits, some muscular benefits, and some cardio benefits. Now we should mention that for the non-runners, these people are often running slower, with less impact, taking it easy, and not running super hard as often. So that's why distance running is so different compared to, say, playing football. Brad: Right. Alright, now let's look outside of these studies and see how it relates to us ourselves. How can you improve your health with movement without running? Because a lot of people, most people just do not want to run, and it all boils down to movement and range of motion of the joints to keep them healthy. So we're going to go through some general basic exercises that are very effective for your hands and your wrists. Mike: So movement is good because it actually produces synovial fluid in all joints of the body. We will start with the hand, but we have some other joints we're going to address as well. Brad: Right, so let's get right into the claw. Mike: We should. The claw exercise is first. So simply take your hands up and then make a claw. You're not making a full closed fist yet. You're simply making a claw. So if you have any hand or wrist arthritis, these are good for that. What's the next exercise, Brad? Brad: Tabletop. That's an interesting one. It takes a little coordination where you just bend the fingers. So you're working the big knuckle joints right here. Okay, do that with both at the same time. There's a tabletop and it straightens up. Mike: The next one is called finger abduction and abduction. Basically, you're just opening your fingers, spreading them apart, sideways, and bringing them back together again. Try to do 10 of them. Brad: And then full extension. That means opening your hand to here. That's not full. We want to go back farther. You can use the other hand to add a little passive range. It'll stretch on that as well. Brad: Now oftentimes in the hand, arthritis is felt in the small joints and the fingers and the knuckles, and if you have it, you know it. I feel it. This does feel a little uncomfortable, but the more I do it it loosens up and it feels better. Everyone typically knows or typically experiences up in the morning out of bed, oh, it's hard or do it hurts. And as you do these, it loosens it up, and then you do them throughout the day. Let's talk about some other exercises. Mike: Okay, next, we're going to look at the knee joint itself. If you have some arthritis in there, sometimes just some movement can help. We're just going to simply extend or kick out straight and then flex back as far as you comfortably can. If you are limited in some capacity, you can certainly grab underneath your leg. Just do the range of motion and ability you have, and then come back down. Obviously, the more arthritis you have might take a little while to limber up, but the knee joint just simply straightens and bends. Brad: Yeah, as far as straightening it, you can put it on the floor, scoot to the edge of your chair, and do a little straightening like this. Brad: This also includes the hip, particularly if you're trying to flex the knee. The hip flexes at the same time. You're getting two joints at the same time, which is really nice to do. Alright, hip. Let's talk about the hip a little bit in more detail. Mike, in a seated position, you can simply, as I mentioned before, pull up like this maximum flexion and extension on the chair. You really have to turn sideways and go back. Mike is doing a good job standing. Talk about that a little more. Mike: Now when it comes to standing, you can certainly hold onto something if you need to, flex it up. You can also mess with which range you're in. Notice here, flexion. I can go about there. If I go slightly up to the side, I can get a little higher up. Get that joint moving. When it comes to extension and standing, holding onto something works; kick straight back. Try not to bend forward. It's going to be a little more challenging and engage a little more muscle in a standing versus seated position. Brad: Good. Next is hip abduction and adduction. In a seated position, you can simply keep your feet in one position, one spot, and go in. You're limited, obviously, by knees touching but out. You can go further. You get little hip muscles stretching as well as the joint moving. Mike: In a standing position, simply kick your legs out to the side in a straight fashion like this, and hold onto something for support if needed. Try to control the motion. Good posture. Do not just sway and kick as high as you can. Brad: Good. And then rotating the hip in the chair. It's kind of difficult to get a really good rotation, but you can sit like this and work this way. We're getting a little rotation or holding the knee still and swinging the foot back and forth. This is internal rotation. Typically, you won't go too far that way. This way you can actually pull here and up like you're going to put your sock on. A really good functional stretch as well. Mike: Now if you're in a standing position to do this, act like you're squishing a ugly bug on the ground there and just put your feet back and forth rotating. Notice my heels are up. This helps with the rotational component. If you have pretty good mobility, you feel steady, you could certainly kind of do some hip circles. You get a full range of flexion, abduction, rotation, the hips just moving in all directions. You can go clockwise or counterclockwise with this. Brad: There you go, so we got you some exercises for the hands, hips, and knees. If you want to have another video with some more exercises, what do we have? Mike: You can check out the video, " What I Wish Everyone Knew About Arthritis ." Brda: All right, thank you, Mike. Enjoy the day. 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This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPLcyE4zfQ Mike: Knee pain can greatly impact your life in a negative way. But with some targeted exercises, you can help increase your mobility and alleviate some of that discomfort. Brad: Yeah, so we are going to give you five simple exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles to help get rid of that knee pain and get you back into action. Research has shown that painful knees are associated with weak quadriceps. Now, one of the best ways they have found to strengthen the quadriceps is an isometric hold. So that's what Mike is gonna demonstrate, a really easy way you can do it anywhere at home. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So this is good for anyone, even if you are experiencing some knee pain, because you're in a non-weight-bearing position. Take a pillow, fold it in half, and put it underneath you. If you have a throw pillow, you can certainly use that instead. You're going to be in a long sitting position. You can do this on your couch, bed, or floor if you're comfortable. And all I'm gonna do is push the back of my knee into the pillow. I'm going to breathe and hold for 5 to 10 seconds. After that, relax. We want you to do two sets of 10 repetitions with this exercise. Brad: Now, this is one of those exercises where you need to relax, and it's going to take a little bit of time. For me, they're a little bit boring, but I get through them. They'll be really good for your knee, as well as getting those muscle fibers to fire the way we want them to. All right, now we're going to complement that strengthening for the quadriceps to actually stretch the quadriceps out, as well as the hip flexors. This next stretch does both. It really does a nice job of getting the rectus femoris, which is a muscle that oftentimes gets neglected with stretching. This one covers that and the hip flexors. Mike: So you're going to need to sit on a firm surface at your house, whether that's a countertop, table, or maybe the edge of your bed is firm enough. If it's not, sometimes you can throw a pillow on the edge of your bed to make it a little bit firmer. Now you're going to lie down on your back and begin with both knees to your chest. The closer my buttocks is to the edge of the mat, the more stretch you will feel. If it seems too aggressive, you can certainly scoot up a bit. Now I'm going to stretch my left leg first, lower it down off the edge of the mat. Once I'm here, I'm going to try to bend my knee back as far as I comfortably can. I'm feeling a good stretch and pull right up here in my hip flexor region. Now I'm going to take my other leg and pull it towards my chest. Once I do that, you will see my hip flexor naturally pulling it up. Once I'm in this position, I'm going to relax. You're going to hold this for roughly 30 seconds. Breathe here. After 30 seconds, a reset. Neutral position. And you're going to switch sides. Mike: One important thing to look at, I'm just going to show on this leg for the camera's sake, is to make sure your leg is in a straight line. Don't let it venture too far out to the side. Brad: Very good. And the part where you pull the foot underneath, that particularly hits the rectus femoris, which is a, like I mentioned, a muscle that oftentimes gets neglected. All right, now the previous exercise and the next three are, we need to give credit where credit is due. They actually came from Rick Olderman , a physical therapist who is an expert in this field. He's written numerous books on this and taught the lessons for therapists. These exercises work the key muscles. Anything else, Mike? Mike: You can find his information at rickolderman.com . He has programs, books, and a whole array of things. So for this exercise, we're actually going to start strengthening some of the hip muscles because they directly connect to the knee. Brad: Right. Mike: So we're actually going to strengthen the glute medius and the minimus outside hip muscles here. To do this, if you have difficulty maintaining your balance or you feel weak with it, certainly hold onto something for support a wall, countertop, etc. And you're going to stand on one leg. My knee is slightly bent. I'm not locked out like this. Then I'm going to kick out to the side. I'm not going to kick up way high, just slightly out to the side. Not touching the ground. And come back in. We're going to try to perform 10 to 15 repetitions. Whatever you can do on one leg. Slow, controlled motion. Make sure your posture is nice and vertical. Once you do one leg, switch sides and do the other leg. Again, 10 to 15 repetitions. Slow and controlled. If this starts to feel easy, you can actually add some resistance. Brad: Now, I really want to emphasize the point that you want to actually have a little bend in the knee of the leg that you have weight bearing through. That makes a big difference. And again, slow, controlled motion. I'm using the band for added resistance. So I'm not doing this because that really changes it. It's not going to help. We want a good motion. Now, my balance is a little off here. I'm going to go over here and just touch here. Then I can really focus on the strengthening, and not so much the balance. Brad: Watch my foot. If I point my toe out, which is a natural tendency, I've had a lot of patients do that. The nice thing about the band is that if you do that, the band comes off. So it kind of helps you with your mechanics as well as gives that added resistance. 10 on both sides. And that really works well. Anything else with that, Mike? Mike: A double benefit of this exercise is your stance leg; the same muscles are working. So you may notice that after you do one side and switch to the other, it's still burning, it's still working a little bit. So, that's a good sign. Brad: All right. Subtle exercise, but very critical. Let's go to the next one. All right, the next exercise is strengthening the hip. Specifically, the glute maximus muscle helps position the hip, which positions the knee. It all works together. We're going to show two easy ways to do it. You can do this on the floor. A carpeted floor works well. You could do it on a bed, but usually it's too soft. We're going to do it on the plif just because it's easier to film and give you a good perspective. All right. Mike: So we should mention that we'll show a variation after this in a standing position. Brad: Thank you. Mike: Well, you're going to begin on your elbows, actually, and your knees. I'm going to start with my left leg again. You're going to lift it up in the air. Now, we're not going to do a full hip extension, kicking up towards the ceiling. We're not going to be way down. We're going to go kind of in the middle. This will isolate the glute max. To isolate it even more, turn your foot in, and you can start doing some little oscillating butt pumps. Mike: Notice I'm not going through the full range of motion, I'm just picking the spot, making sure that glute max stays engaged and is firing. If that becomes easy, you can certainly bring your leg back to normal. Make sure to try to do 30 repetitions. And then switch sides. Maybe you'll notice a difference between them, but give this a try. If this becomes easy for you, you can take a cuff weight if you happen to have one. You're going to strap it around your upper thigh region like this. And then again, we're going to do the same type of exercise, and it's going to be a little more resistance. Brad: Good. Now, if you're having problems getting into this because you have knee pain or whatever, you can do this in a standing position. I'll demonstrate. Here, you want to go to a firm surface, like a cupboard, a solid table, or anything that you can get to assist you with your balance and support the weight of your trunk. Same thing, 90-degree bend in the knee. And then we're going to go up in that mid-range, just like Mike talked about in that position. If you want to rotate it to help isolate that glute maximus muscle, there we go. And do that for 30 seconds. If you want to go into your forearms, you can. Make sure you do both legs. Now, you start out with one set, and you can go to two to three sets of 30 seconds on each leg. Once you get used to it, it goes quite rapidly. There's no problem with it. Mike, anything else? Mike: I said repetitions. He said seconds. Pick what works for you and stick with it. Brad: Yeah, that's right. Sorry. I don't want to confuse them. Should we go to number five? Mike: Yes, the last one. Brad: That's right. All right, now the final thing is you could change how you walk to decrease stress on your knees. We found that just asking people to watch how they walk. And oftentimes, most people heel strike first with a fully extended knee. That puts a great deal of impact forces through the knee, hip, and actually into the back. So we'll just say, walk on your forefoot. So you come forward and land on your forefoot, and the heel doesn't touch. That puts a little flexion in the knee. And immediately, oftentimes people say, "Oh, that does feel better on my knees." Brad: If that's the case, you definitely want to start walking. And Mike's going to show you a good system on how to train yourself to change your walking so your knees feel better and do not have those impact forces all the time. Mike: So when you're beginning, do this in your house first. Often, most shoes have elevated heels. I'm not saying high heels, any tennis shoes, most of today's do. So, start barefoot or in your socks. Whatever you feel safe with in your house. You're going to begin with an extreme variation of this just to know what you're doing first and get the right muscles firing. So to begin, you're actually going to take your hands, place them on your buttocks. Now, first walk around, your normal walking pattern, what you do, maybe it's heel striking, etc. I feel weird heel striking now. This is awkward. But feel how your glutes are or are not engaging. I don't feel much engagement with that. Now I go up on my toes, and I start walking, and I feel my butt muscles firing properly. Mike: This is what we want. Get those muscles engaging like they should be, taking stress off the joints. Now, over time, you don't want to walk on your tippy toes for the rest of your life. You may look taller, but it's not really a good thing to do. So, just take shorter steps. You're not going to go out as far. Try to think about landing on your forefoot and then letting your heel touch. Over time and practice, this will become more natural. I typically walk with kind of a flat foot, I like to say. My forefoot and heel land at the same time. I'm taking a shorter stride length. It'll start to feel more natural, but begin slowly just in the house. If you go outside, do short walks. Over time, you'll get acclimated. Brad: That's right. And again, it is awkward, but start with it. Because I know I always used to think that if I'm walking and I walk faster, I want to stride out farther, which simply gives more heel strike. More impact through your joints. It's harder on you. Shorten the stride length up, fix things. And you know, that's actually how runners do it. I changed my running pattern. Mike: Yes, if you want to actually get nerdy in it and increase your stride length, you do, but you go shorter forward and you let your butt kick further backwards. Brad: Yeah. Mike: Now, this is a lot different from walking than running, but that's essentially the idea behind it. Brad: We're getting into the weeds now. Mike: We are. Brad: Anyways, that was fun to talk about for a little bit. Now, do we have anything else to talk about, Mike? Mike: If you'd like to check out more videos on how to help with your knee pain, check out the video " My Knee Hurts Here! 10 Typical Pain Spots And What They Mean ." This actually identifies what your knee pain is in this video. So if you're not sure, my knee pain hurts in the front, the side, and the back. This video gets into detail about what it might be. Brad: There you go. All right, have a good day and be pain-free in the knees. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D5 Pro Plus Massage Gun (with heat) D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraHeat Knee Brace TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun ThermoRed Heated Back Belt Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Zero Pro Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

There are many different issues that could be causing pain behind your knee. The point of this video is not to self-diagnose your pain. We highly recommend you see a health care professional. We will provide you with some common reasons for pain behind the knee in order that you can be somewhat informed when you seek medical help. Baker's Cyst or Popliteal Cyst (same thing): If you feel a fluid-filled bump behind your knee, it may be a cyst. A cyst behind the knee is usually the result of a problem inside your knee joint (arthritis or a cartilage tear). Both conditions can cause increased inflammation and increased synovial fluid, which seeps into the bursa behind the knee. Unfortunately, it seeps through a one-way-valve phenomenon and cannot seep back. Baker’s Cyst can be asymptomatic or present with mild discomfort. Arthritis: Arthritis can be the result of natural wear and tear of the knee joint (osteoarthritis), or it can be a more systemic inflammation problem caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis is generally worse with weight bearing, and stiffer in the mornings or after rest. Cartilage tear in the back of the knee. A tear in your knee cartilage (meniscus) may be due to trauma or simply wear and tear. Depending on the locations and severity of the tear, you may experience the following symptoms: Swelling, pain, decreased motion, locking of the knee, and/or creaking or popping of the knee. One test you can perform yourself is the Duck Walk or Childress Test . Designed to stress the cartilage in the back of the knee, you should squat down fully with the knees turned out. You can hold on to a wall for support. Once in this position, attempt to waddle forward and back, and side to side like a duck. If you are unable to get into a deep squat due to increased knee pain, or you feel clicking with knee pain in the back of the knee, you MAY have some cartilage damage. (Duck Walk) Ligament tear: generally caused by trauma. Four main ligaments that could be involved: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL), Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL), Medical Collateral Ligament (MCL). With ligament tears, the start of pain may be severe and sudden. Often after an injury. You may hear an audible pop or snap, followed by swelling of the knee. The joint may feel loose. You may also have increased pain in the knee when putting weight on it - or you may not tolerate putting weight on it. Your healthcare provider can perform tests to determine the likelihood of a tear. Muscle or tendon tear or strain - hamstring or calf sprain or tear. Indicated by sudden pain in your calf or hamstring muscles. Followed by swelling and inflammation. You may be able to feel point tenderness at the spot where the tear occurred. Use of the calf or hamstring muscle generally increases your pain. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): A DVT is the occurrence of a blood clot in one or more of the deep veins of your leg. It can occur if you are on a medication affecting how your blood clots. It can also occur if you are immobile for a long time due to surgery, long-distance traveling (plane or car), or being on bedrest. DVTs can be serious because the clots in your veins can break loose and travel up and block blood flow in your lungs. (DVT) Watch our video for more information: Is a Blood Clot Causing the Pain in Your Leg? (Deep Vein Thrombosis). How to Tell. How to Prevent. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/GQp73wn6Ha8 Brad: All right, total knee replacement. Now, Mike, Bob, and I have worked with literally thousands of patients after a knee replacement, and we're going to offer you our experience and expertise on how to have your best results. Mike: Now, sometimes it's hard to remember all the details the surgeon tells you for after you go home. What should you do? What should you not do? So, we're just going to narrow it down to two critical exercises you need to be doing for complete success. Brad: There you go, I like that. Now, this information is even more critical these days, as it is common that you may only stay in the hospital for one day or one night after the surgery, versus three days years ago, so let's get to it. Mike, what other really important thing do you need to know? Mike: It's important to make sure you stay on top of your pain medications after you leave. Because if you're in more pain, you're less likely to do exercises that need to be done, so make sure your pain is manageable and don't try to tough it out. Brad: Right, if there are any problems with it, make sure you call your doctor, talk to the doctor, or the doctor's nurse to get things on track. Very critical. All right, now, the basic concept you need to understand is scar tissue after this surgery. They are in there cutting, they're hammering, they're doing all kinds of aggressive surgery, and there's scar tissue that starts to form right away. So if that scar tissue forms in a sense that it actually locks the knee up, that's the big problem. Mike, do you want to talk a little more about that? Mike: So the acronym we want you to remember is STAR, so scar tissue and range of motion. So to prevent scar tissue from building, we need to move the knee. If you were to just lock your knee out straight after surgery, for two weeks, and you try to bend it, you're going to be behind, you're gonna be stuck, it's going to take a long time, and it's going to be painful when you first start moving it. If you've ever had a cast in the past and you first start moving, just think of that. But in this case, you don't want that. Brad: Right, get it moving right away. Let's get to the two exercises, Mike. Okay, the first thing you need to address is knee flexion, or bending the knee. You can do this in bed, depending on how you have your bed set up. Now, if you try to go back and forth like Mike is doing, it's going to be difficult, because the heel tends to stick and slide on the sheets, so you can try this and see if it works. If you have a helper with you, it'll probably work on the sheet. You'll simply put, this represents the bed sheet, you simply put a cookie pan down, that's nice and smooth. Mike: A cake pan. Brad: A cake pan, cookie pan, and then you simply slide it back. Brad: If there's someone to help, you can actually push a little bit. The person with the bad knee is going to tell you when to stop, listen to them. Mike: Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Brad: Okay, the other thing you can use is a belt. Okay, with the belt, the person with the surgery is in complete control, and that oftentimes goes much better; they're more relaxed. Make sure you breathe and relax as much as you can, even though there's pain involved. Brad: Now, there is a device that works much better than this, and that's called the knee glide, and you'll see why. Mike, can you lift your leg up? This is not necessary to do range of motion in bed. Some people find it very helpful, depending on how hard it is to get out of bed, but if you use the knee glide, can you lift your leg up? And you can see it slides back and forth. Very nice. You can put it on the bed, put your heel on there, and it's much easier, isn't it, Mike? Mike: Mm-Hmm. Brad: Yes, yes. Now, the heel might need a little cushion. You simply take a towel, put that on there, that's helpful, and work it back and forth. Mike: You can also use your other leg to help if you don't have a belt handy and you're comfortable doing this. Brad: Good point, Mike. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Now, as you get better, this will not be needed, and you'll do all your range in a chair. Now, if you're in a chair, you want a firm chair that has an open spot under it, so a recliner will not work, and then you'll use your cookie pan on carpet, not on a hard floor, just won't work so well, and you can simply slide it back and forth. You can do this barefoot or with your shoe on, whatever works, very good. Again, like Mike mentioned, your other foot can go over the operated leg, pull, pull, pull, you can help with this hand, stretch that knee, and get that scar tissue to break loose. It's going to be a little uncomfortable, or you're not going hard enough. Back and forth, back and forth. Brad: Now, the knee glide is an option, and there are some big advantages to it. For one thing, it slides back and forth better, it's on a track, so it doesn't have a tendency to go off track, and another big thing is it actually has a handle for carrying it, but it doubles as a stilt, so you can actually go downhill, and it's amazing what a little incline can do to make the knee bend easier. Again, you can grab here, you can grab here. And you're gonna do this at least three times a day. Spend about three to five minutes on flexing the knee, breaking that scar tissue apart. It's not very fun, but it is necessary. The faster you get to it, the easier the whole process is. Mike: And we should mention that if you have a wood or linoleum floor, you can probably do it in your socks or use a towel. You don't need the baking sheet for that. But the knee glide works anywhere. Brad: That's right, yeah. A towel doesn't work very good on carpet. All right, now you're going to do your flexion exercise, and then right after that, or shortly after, you can take a break. You're going to do your extension, or get the knee straight, which is very critical, particularly for a good walking pattern after you have your replacement and things are better. As far as bending your knee, we would like to get it to 120 degrees or more, so remember that. Now, you can also do extension, straightening your knee, in bed. Mike, you want to talk about it? Mike: When straightening your knee in bed, some people, obviously, I didn't have a knee replacement, so my knee can get straight; some people might be limited to start. It just depends upon what limitations you had before the knee surgery; some people's hamstrings tighten up on them. So you may just begin by lying with a towel underneath you for support. Brad: Right, so we got a towel roll, and it really works well. Mike: And you can put it there and let gravity just slowly pull your knee down. Typically, what we do with patients is have them just lie here for a duration of time. Some people even put an ice pack over their knee while they're doing this because it feels good. You can set a timer for two minutes, five minutes. We've had people work up to 10, depending upon what they can tolerate, and just letting gravity work on pulling that knee down eventually helps. Brad: Right, now as a therapist, we'll actually give some assistance and push down on it, really paying attention to how painful it is. If you don't have that leg, you could take your other foot and go over the top, but not so good, 'cause that's where the surgery is, and there's an incision there. You'd have to cover it with a towel. Mike: If you can activate your hamstring and back of your knee muscles and actually drive them down, you can certainly do that, as long as it feels okay. Hold it for five seconds and then relax as well. Brad: All right, now let's talk about doing this in a chair. Get a firm chair with armrests, an upright chair. You can either slide your foot in a cookie pan or a cake pan, on carpet, you would use a towel roll or socks on a smooth floor. This doesn't work so good. And we'll also talk about the knee glide, which works very well, because that's what it is made for. So the concept is the same on all three. You simply straighten out as far as you can, and it should be as straight as your other knee, assuming your other knee is good, and if it goes part way and there's a higher spot, we need to get it all the way down. That may take some days or even a week or two, depending on your situation. Get at it sooner; it will go easier. Hands above the knee, above where this incision is, or the bandages, push down. We do not want to get things dirty there, so keep them clean. Keep that in mind. Infection is something we avoid at all costs. Push. And you may spend a few minutes doing this. It will not be comfortable when you get to the part where it stretches, and you can bounce on it a little bit like that. If you happen to have the knee glide, it does work nicely, it's a little smoother. I would have shoes on, it works better, or at least socks are fine, and do the same thing. Mike, do you have any suggestions? Mike: Make sure you're sitting at the edge of the chair when you're working on your extension. You're going to really struggle if you're far back. Brad: Right, exactly. Mike: Another nice option is to use a stool of sorts. If yours has wheels, great. It doesn't have to have wheels. Brad can show it from the chair perspective there. Brad: Yeah, the wheels are a big advantage because then you can go back and forth, or maybe you can slide your foot across the surface of the stool. Wheels are helpful. Brad: After you get done, you've had enough stretch, things are looking better, and this is where the therapist actually takes measurements, but you'll get a feel. You can also test and see if it's like this, if this one's a knee, if it's the same level as your other one. Then when you ice it, this is the place to do it. Put your cold pack, your towel, clean towel over it, then the cold pack, weight it down, and if you go like this, which I've done many times with patients, it gets a nice stretch. Brad: It is uncomfortable, and what I would tell them is just allow it to stretch that knee painfully until you decide, "I've had enough," then simply bring the stool in, and that changes the amount of pressure on it, and then there's a big sigh of relief. You've done this, Mike? Mike: Mm-hmm. Brad: And the person's much happier there, and then finish icing for 15 to 20 minute,s and then take that off. Do the whole procedure two to three times per day. Mike: And be wary if you ever eat cake or cookies from Brad because they'll taste like feet. Brad: Why, Mike, why? The next thing, and they'll tell you this, make sure you get your walking in using your walker. Do not go from a walker to a cane, or without anything, until you get the okay from your therapist. You do not want to fall because of a misjudgment call. Mike, do we have anything else going on that can help them out? Mike: If you'd like to check out more videos on how to work your knees, you can check the video link on the screen. Brad: What is it? Mike: I don't know, because I can't see it right now. BRad: I'm curious. Let's take a look and see. I did some research on it. Ah ha ha! Mike: " Top 3 Advanced Total Knee Replacement Strengthening Exercise ." Brad: Right, so once you get your knee to bend and to straighten, you still need to work on strengthening so that you can walk up and down steps, uneven surfaces, etc. So this is all done, and we have information for you for complete success. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D5 Pro Plus Massage Gun (with heat) D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraHeat Knee Brace TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun ThermoRed Heated Back Belt Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Zero Pro Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/La7BAQKlXAk Brad: Oh. Mike, what's wrong? Mike: My bicep is hurting. Brad: Well, today we are going to show you a very easy self-treatment to heal a bicep strain. Mike: You can do this at home. And this method has been scientifically researched for years, so you know it works. Brad: Right. And after we demonstrate how to heal Mike's bicep as well as yours, we're going to talk to you about the doctor who actually developed the system. It's been around for a while. And we're also going to show you how to regain full recovery to get active and full potential out of it right after that, with a quick little trick that's very simple. All right, let's get right to the treatment. First thing you're going to do is lie down on a bed works quite well. You can go on a carpeted floor if you'd like. You're going to have a pillow, a throw pillow, which is a little bit smaller, and can be helpful. We'll get into that in a little bit. And you just lie there relaxed. Now, the left side will be Mike's injured bicep. Let's say he's strained it, throwing frisbee golf too hard, you know. You're a pretty good frisbee golf player, right? Mike: Sure. Brad: Anyways, so here we have the injured muscle. Now, the first step, and you need to follow this very precisely, we're going to supinate or bring the palm up. Now we're going to flex the elbow all the way. What we're trying to do is get that bicep to a shortened position to relieve all stress and maximize circulation. Okay. Now, the next thing, because the long head of the bicep actually goes up into the shoulder, we need to flex the shoulder as far as you feel comfortable. Now, this arm should be completely relaxed. So at this point, Mike is going to grab his elbow and control the movement of this arm or this part of the arm with the other arm or hand. And at this point, I'm going to say we're going to move it around and noodle, in other words, just move it and monitor how that bicep feels. As we go up to elbow flexion and then shoulder flexion, it should feel better, that painful strain. And we're going to move it around until we find the point or the position of maximum relief or comfort. Mike, can you find that? Mike: I'm going to say it's right here because I keep bumping my mic with my other arm. Brad: Okay, if you don't have a mic, you'll have a little more freedom. But once you find that, this is really critical. This is a strain counterstrain is the name of this technique or positional release. And at this point, you need to time it for 90 seconds. And throughout that whole 90 seconds, you're going to do nothing but lie there and relax. Don't have the dog jump on you; your kids jump on you. You're not watching TV, and everything is quiet. You're thinking about relaxed breathing. Everything is relaxed. 90 seconds up to 120 seconds. That's going to allow that muscle to relax, increase blood flow, and decrease pain. This works very well. Now, once you get to that 90 to 120 seconds, this is important, we're going to allow that arm to come back down slowly, all relaxed, very quiet. There we go. And then extend the elbow out. And now make sure your arm is not going to fall off the edge of the bed. Have a little bit of space there so you can just relax that arm. Brad: Now, your job for the next couple of hours is not to strain that muscle. In other words, you're not going to do any curls with it. You're not going to do any house chores that are going to work that arm. And right now, you can massage that muscle gently for a minute or two. Brad: It's going to help increase that circulation, relax that arm, and that's the end of the treatment. It just takes a couple of minutes from the whole thing. Once you do it a couple of times, it gets easier. And then you can sit up and continue the rest of the day. Now, if this works very well and you feel a release there, you can do it two to three times per day. Now, once it starts feeling better after a few days, you can start to use it more. When it feels pain-free and that tender spot where that tear or that strain is, it's starting to feel better, it's time to start to get it moving more. But there's one thing you really need to address, and that is the scar tissue in the muscle as a result of the injury. And now that it has been repaired, there's some scar tissue that needs to be broken up to regain full function. Okay, before we go into that, I want to give the doctor who invented or started this system some credit. Mike: So this technique was developed by Dr. Lawrence Jones back in the 1950s. And at first, it was called strain counterstrain, and now it's commonly known as the positional release technique. Brad: Right. Now, Dr. Jones actually formed an institute and really formally got the system going in 1988, and it has grown since. It's very popular. All therapists are familiar with it, or at least heard of it if they don't use it already. Now, let's get into the part that talks about how to break up that scar tissue very quickly and easily. It's just not very hard. Mike: So once your bicep is feeling a lot better and you may have that scar tissue built up in there, which is limiting your motion or function in your elbow joint here and bicep, you want to start massaging in there. You can do just manually, which is fine. It's kind of like you're kneading bread. You want to pick up the muscle bellies. You may find an area that is more tender, kind of work on that area. In this case, because it's probably the scar tissue, you kind of need to break up. Certainly do this for five, 10 minutes, whatever's comfortable for you. Brad: My hand is already getting tired after two minutes. Mike: If you happen to have a massage gun or you're looking for one, you can certainly use those instead of your hands. Brad: You can borrow a friend's, too. Mike: You could. So you can use different models or different strengths. Use whatever is best for you. I have the C2 Pro Massage Gun here, and Brad has a Q2 Pro . The Pro models have a heat and cold head function on them. That's only available on the Pro models. But you just slightly massage that bicep region, go around, find the trigger point, you can kind of dig in there a little bit more, and just do this for five to 10 minutes. Brad: That's right. These guns are becoming very popular. I actually know a person who had bicep surgery. She has scar tissue, the therapist was massaging it out, felt better, and she says, "Can I do this by myself?" She's about my age. And I said, "Yeah." I actually lent her mine. She took it home, used it. She said it was great for pain relief. Improved the range of motion, decreased her number of visits she needed to go to the therapist to get similar treatment. Worked very good. And these new heads are incredible. They get cold, and they'll stay cold while you use them. And they heat up up to 114 degrees while you're using it, so you can get that heat. You use whichever you want, heat or cold, whichever you respond better to. So, they're great tools. So anyway, usually about five minutes on that area will break it up, and you can use that for a few days or whatever it takes to get the results you want. Mike: So if you want to check out more videos on this technique, it can actually be used in numerous joints and locations. The video, " How to Get Rid of Muscle Knots in Traps, Shoulder & Back in 90 Seconds , " is going to talk about muscle knots more in your upper traps, your neck, and even your upper back region. Brad: Right. So do the strain counterstrain on that area. You can do it to yourself quite easily. Go ahead, watch it, and enjoy the day. Stay knot-free. Get it? Knot-free. Mike: Oh God. I was very confused by that statement. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D5 Pro Plus Massage Gun (with heat) D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraHeat Knee Brace TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun ThermoRed Heated Back Belt Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Zero Pro Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

Robert “Bob” John Schrupp June 14, 1960 — August 6, 2025 Robert “Bob” John Schrupp, 65, of Winona, MN, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. A pioneer in the field of physical therapy and health education, Robert’s professional legacy was marked by innovation, compassion, and a global impact on wellness. In keeping with his generous spirit, he was also an organ donor, giving the gift of life to at least three individuals. Born in Glencoe, MN, Robert graduated from the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in 1985 and dedicated his career to helping others live healthier, more active, and pain-free lives. He ran a successful physical therapy practice for decades, combining expert clinical care with entrepreneurial vision. Recognizing the power of digital outreach, he co-founded the YouTube channel “Bob and Brad,” which became one of the world’s leading resources for physical therapy education, reaching millions worldwide. Even after being diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia, Robert continued his mission with resilience, adapting his methods and platform to ensure his expertise remained accessible to all. His work influenced countless patients, healthcare professionals, and viewers across the globe, helping them prevent injury, recover from pain, and live more independently. Beyond his clinical and digital work, Robert was known for his quick humor, creative thinking, and constant drive to innovate. He found joy in developing new business ideas, mentoring others, and creating solutions that improved quality of life. His approach blended medical expertise with accessibility, making complex health information understandable and actionable. Robert’s children, supported by his dedicated team, will continue his work and mission on the “Bob and Brad” YouTube channel, carrying forward his vision of helping as many people as possible live healthier, more active, and pain-free lives. Robert was also a passionate advocate for the National Ataxia Foundation . His legacy endures through the thriving global community he inspired and the millions of lives improved by his knowledge, innovation, and generosity.

There are two common places where one may feel the pain coming from a blood clot in the deep veins of the legs. This sort of clot is known as a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The most common location we have seen for a DVT is in the calf. However, one may also develop a clot in the deep veins behind the thigh or knee. Common signs of a DVT: 1. Cramping or a throbbing pain in the calf, or behind the knee/thigh. This most often occurs in just one leg (not both). 2. Notable swelling in one leg (not both). (DVT) 3. The skin may feel warm around the painful area. 4. The skin may be red or discolored around the painful area. 5. Homan's Sign test is + if the clot occurs in the calf. How to Perform Homan’s Sign Test: 1. Person will need the help of an additional person. 2. The person with calf pain should lie on their back and straighten their knee. 3. The assistant should then raise the foot from the bed for about 6 inches and bend the foot toward the person’s head-while at the same time squeezing the person’s calf muscle (same leg). 4. Deep calf pain and tenderness may indicate that a clot is present. If you do feel pain, we recommend you see your doctor immediately for an ultrasonography or venography. Why is a DVT dangerous? A DVT (blood clot) can break loose, travel through your bloodstream, and get stuck in your lungs. This is a pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism can threaten your life and needs to be treated immediately. When are you more likely to get a DVT: 1. After an operation, you find yourself immobile 2. If you are on bed rest 3. If you are on a long trip by plane, car, or train (greater than 3 hours) 4. Are pregnant or have recently had a baby 5. If you are dehydrated Who is at increased odds for developing a DVT: 1. If you have had a previous DVT 2. If you have varicose veins 3. If you smoke 4. If you take a contraceptive pill 5. If you are on hormone replacement therapy 6. If you have heart failure 7. If you are overweight 8. If you have cancer Tips to prevent DVTs: 1. Do not sit still for long periods of time a. Get up and walk, at least every hour 2. Perform ankle pumps frequently a. Bend your ankles toward you and away (20 x/every 30 minutes) 3. Drink plenty of fluids a. DVT is more likely with dehydration 4. Do not cross your legs a. It can impede blood flow 5. Do not smoke 6. Do not drink lots of alcohol Treatment: Treatment will generally involve some type of anticoagulant (blood thinning) medicine. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8w8Oif1tk Brad: Ah, this knee pain is going upstairs. Mike: If your knee hurts every time you use the steps, there's a good chance that you can actually stop this pain. Brad: Whoa, it even hurts more going down the stairs. Wow. Anyways, what's the problem, Mike? Why, why the knee pain? Mike: Oftentimes, as people age, they start to develop arthritis in the knees, and it can lead to misalignment within their joints, causing that pain every time they go up and down the stairs. Brad: That's right, and we're going to cover a few other reasons that may be the problem as well. And then more importantly, show how you can do this properly so you eliminate the pain or at least bring it down so you can tolerate going up and down stairs safely. Mike: We're going to go through five tricks in a minute. Brad: Tricks, huh? Mike: Yeah, tricks are for kids. Brad: So I do want to throw in one quick note about knee pain. I've seen this personally in the clinic with a lot of patients, where they're going up and down stairs, and they complain of not this gross pain, but actually where the knee actually locks, and they say they can't move it, and at that point, it's painful. But then if they sit down and work it around a bit, it seems to free up, and then it's pain-free. That's a situation where I, as a therapist, say you need to go see an orthopedic doctor. I think you have a meniscus problem. Probably a meniscus tear. We don't know that until it's investigated a little more thoroughly. Therapists can do tests. Usually, they do an MRI to actually see the meniscus tear and go from that point on. Now we'll go on with how to get up and down steps without pain and do it well. Okay, so Mike is going to actually demonstrate how to get up and down steps if you just have one painful knee. It'll be very helpful. It'll make your life much more pain-free. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: So we're going to say my left knee is my painful side. So what I'm going to do when I ascend or go up the stairs is actually use the good leg. The good leg goes up, the bad leg follows, and we're going to do one step at a time. Good leg up, and then bad. Now, when we're going down the stairs, most people will commonly think, "Oh, I want my good leg to go down first 'cause it's my good leg." What they don't realize is that my bad left leg here is actually taking the brunt of the weight as I'm trying to go down, and this leads to a lot of pain, especially when I start getting to this range of motion. So what you're actually going to do is go down with your bad leg first because my good leg is keeping me holding up here as I'm descending. So to make this shorter, you go up with the good leg, and we go down with the bad leg. Brad: And we realize you're going to go slower because you're taking one step at a time. But you're going to find out it's not nearly as painful, if any pain, as long as you take your time. If you have a handrail, use it. If there are two handrails, even better yet, use two of them. We're going to talk about how you can compensate if there are not two handrails. Mike: Now, as Brad mentioned, another good way to take force off of your knees is to actually place it through your hands and arms. If you have two rails you can comfortably reach at home, use both rails. That's perfectly fine. If you only have one railing set up like this, a good option is to use a cane. So again, we're gonna do the same foot sequencing. Up with the good. But I'm going to put the cane up here at the same time, push with both arms, and then bring my bad leg up. My good leg is doing the brunt of the work. My bad leg is just kind of hanging out and following along. Brad: So your arms, both arms, with the cain and the rail, are taking force off the leg, reducing pain. This is a really good strategy if you have steps into your house, you have one rail. Just leave a cane. I've done this with patients. Just leave the cane outside when you leave, so when you come back, you can use the cane. You don't have to carry it with you if you don't want to. And then when you come down, you leave the cane, or when you get up to the top, put the cane inside the house. That way, when you leave, you can use it going down. This is also an excellent strategy if both knees are painful. This is probably the best way to alleviate pain when you have both knees painful. Make sure you have two rails or use a cane and one rail. Mike: Sequencing, you can choose what feels best for you. Most people typically will move the cane first, then the leg, and go down that way, just because they feel a little more sturdy doing it this way. Brad: Now, if stairs are your primary irritant to your knees, and you start doing this, taking stress and irritation off the knees, that alone gives the knees time to heal and can actually maybe get your knees in a better condition, so that they feel better overall. Mike: So we're going to go over one more tip you can certainly try as well. Brad: Okay, now, in this sample, sometimes the knee joint just does not articulate together properly, or the bones don't line up as a result of age, maybe arthritis. This can be a simple way to fix it without knowing which knee goes up first, like we just talked about. So if my right knee is painful when I go up, and I typically may keep my toes pointed forward, what you can try is actually rotating your lower leg and pointing your toes out, and then see if that makes a difference. This is a trial-and-error technique. If you go up that way, and the pain goes down 50% or more, that may be a good option for you. If it gets worse as a result of that or stays the same, then you're not going to use that technique. Then, on the other hand, you may want to try turning your toes inwards and see what happens as far as the pain when you weight bear and go up. And you do the same thing when you're going down. Go out like this or like this and see how it goes. Brad: Now me personally, my foot naturally goes out. Probably, if I had that problem, I would feel better with my toe going out. I don't know, I'd have to try it. But even so, going down the steps or up, if you feel awkward, make sure you use the cane if you only have one rail, so that you're stable and safe while you're trying this. So go ahead and try those tips. I have a feeling you're going to find that they will at least decrease your pain, if not get rid of it significantly. But Mike has another option of one of our Bob and Brad videos, and what is it, Mike? Mike: If you'd like to check it out, watch " Fast Fix for Knee Pain with Stairs or Walking! 55 and Older ." A few different tips because we talk about walking in this video as well. Brad: That's right. And the other thing, if you have a cane, and this is what I like to do with it, you do the Fred Astaire trick. Mike: And make sure no one's sitting next to you to get hit in the face. Brad: Yeah, you gotta be careful. But it does put a little enjoyment into the cane. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D5 Pro Plus Massage Gun (with heat) D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraHeat Knee Brace TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun ThermoRed Heated Back Belt Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Zero Pro Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/aTy2CjG60gc . Mike: You're walking funny. Brad: Yeah, well, it's a problem. I've got issues with waddling as well as my balance. So if you're having and feeling anything like this, we're going to show you a whole system of how you can improve your walking and your balance with similar exercises. Mike, you have more on how to put that together. My words are losing it. Mike: I guess. We have the three best exercises to help improve your coordination, your proprioception, which is a fancy word for balance essentially, and some neurological benefits with all these exercises to improve your walking and balance. Brad: Right, all in three exercises. Mike: All right, the first exercise we're going to do is actually to target and strengthen the glute max muscle. Brad's going to show it on the wall here in a second, as well as stretch out your hip flexor muscle at the same time, and you're going to get a little bit of balance in there as well. Brad: Right, this really focuses on if you know that you're hunched forward when you walk, this is going to help stretch out the right muscles, strengthen the ones that are going to get you up, and then a little balance. I'll show you that. So you just go up to any wall, both hands on the wall, feet about a shoulder width apart, and think about posture. So you're going to bring your shoulders back, head up, good posture, not rounded forward. And then with one leg, you're going to go straight back like this. You're going to feel that glute muscle. If you want to put one hand on it to feel it, you'll feel that glute muscle kick in. We really want to work on that. That also positions the hip and the socket properly for decreased chances of arthritis. Just a little benefit there. So we're going to do that 10 times on each leg, and I'm going to push up and back, stretching out that front, pulling the shoulders back if you have those rounded shoulders, good time to think about that. Brad: There's a lot to think about, but just think about bringing the chest forward and the leg back. Everything else takes care of itself. Now, to add a balance benefit to this, simply go to one hand. You can put the other hand down by your side and do this. If it still feels easy, go to two fingertips or to one fingertip and do it, and your balance will be challenged as well. And do 10 on each side, two or three sets of 10 of each will work. And I already feel the change in my posture from doing that. I feel like I'm up in this position, which is what you want to feel. Mike: So the second exercise we're going to do is called hip abduction. We're going to be doing this in a standing position. We'll show how beginners can do it to be more advanced. And what this exercise does is actually strengthen the outside of your hip muscles, known as your glute medius and minimus. They keep you upright when you're walking. If you have issues with the Trendelenberg gait or you really sidestep when you're walking, this can help those muscles out. Brad: All right. Mike: So, for beginners, hold onto something for support. It can be a cane, a countertop, a wall, etc. You're going to begin by standing on one leg. I have a slight bend in my knee, and I'm going to kick directly out to the side. When I'm doing this, my toe is pointing straight ahead, not rotating out to the side. I'm also not leaning over to the side to get more height. We want to target this muscle. You need to try to keep a nice neutral pelvis, tall posture throughout. Try to do 10, 15 repetitions of this. Once you do one leg, make sure to switch and work the other side. Mike: Your glute med. is actually firing to kick out to the side as well as keeping me in the upright position. If the right side is really weak and I kick out and lean way over, I probably have a really weak glute med. on the right side. Brad: That's right. Now, if you want to help incorporate and add a balance challenge to this, if you're using the wall and like I am here, it's working really well, it's keeping me upright and strengthening the right muscle. I'm doing it slowly, toes upward and forward. Simply go down to maybe one fingertip on the wall, and that's going to increase and challenge your balance. And you know, you may be able to try doing this hands at your hips. That really makes a difference. And again, I think Mike mentioned a slight bend in the knee of the leg that is weight-bearing. That makes a big difference, strengthens the right muscles, and works the balance a little bit more. Brad: Mike, if they need even more challenge with strength and resistance. Mike: You can add a resistance band . You could also use a cuff weight if you happen to have one to throw on your ankle at home. With bands, you want to make sure they are roughly under your arches so it doesn't fly out on you. To add more resistance, simply pull up more or get a harder band. Again, same exact positions, and I'm just kicking out to the side. You're gonna notice the bands may be harder, so maybe start with eight to 10 repetitions to begin with, work up to 15 over time. Once you do one side, switch to the other, you may notice a difference from side to side, so maybe work a little bit more on the weaker issues. Brad: That's right. If you have loop bands, they work really well. Okay, let's go to number three. All right, now the last exercise focuses on the ankle range of motion and the strength of your ankle. Particularly if you find yourself when you swing through, and you get what we call foot drop or toe drag is a really good way to have a stumble or a fall. So we want to make sure we have enough ankle range of motion or dorsiflexion. Brad: That muscle must be tight enough; the muscles in the back need to be stretched out enough. This exercise specifically hits that and strengthens the ankle at the same time. It all works together for a great balance and walking. Show them how to do it, Mike. Mike: So the first one is going to target the front shin muscles, known as your tibialis anterior. With this one, place your back flat against the wall, bring your feet out a little bit. With this one, you actually want to have straight knees; do not bend them, and we're simply going to do toe raises. So I'm going to raise my toes up towards my knees. For this, I would recommend wearing shoes personally. Socks, you might slip out, and it gets kind of hard on your heels because you're specifically pushing on them so hard. Again, do 10, 15 repetitions of this if this feels easy. Mike: Now we need to work the opposite side, so our calf muscles here. To do that, we're going to face the opposite way, hold onto a wall. For beginners, definitely start with both legs. Try to go up as high as you comfortably can and then slow and controlled back down. Don't just drop down. Brad: Look at those calves on that guy. Holy cow, you've been doing something with them. Mike: They moo a little bit. So, what we're going to do is just go up to 10, 15 repetitions. If you feel strong and this is easy, you can certainly try it on one leg. Brad: Right. Now, if you want to go to even a more advanced balance aspect of this is do it without, maybe just a cane or a stick, and go up on your toes and then back. Brad: Word of warning, this backwards motion is really good to do, but it challenges your balance, and you could fall backwards. So have a chair or a bed behind you so that if you do do this and you get like this, the worst that happens is you sit down. Be very careful. That is not necessary to do. There may be some people who want to challenge themself, but even then, be safe. You know, I've always learned the hard way, and anyway, we don't want to get into that. So, anything else, Mike? Mike: We like to make things hard on ourselves. Brad: All right, very good. Let's get on with the outro. Is that what we're going to do? Mike: Well, yeah, if you want to check out more videos on how to improve your walking, check out our video, " How To Stop Walking Hunched Over! 5 Best Fixes ." Brad: Yes. Mike: So, if you feel like you're stuck forward and you can't get out of that habit, this video could help. Brad: That's right. It's kind of interesting because you probably don't know you're hunched over; only a family member or a rude stranger will say you're looking pretty hunched over when you walk or you see yourself in a video. Mike: I know some people that way. I should be rude, I guess, and tell them. Brad: That's right. It's for their benefit. Mike: Yeah. Brad: Take care. Have a good day. For this week’s Giveaway, visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: A2 Pro Massage Gun A7 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy Back Massager C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat C2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun D5 Pro Plus Massage Gun (with heat) D6 Pro Massage Gun D6 Plus Massage Gun with Heated Head D6 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote EyeOasis 3 Eye Massager Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling EZBack Massager   EZBack Massager With Remote Fit Glide Foot Massager G100 Pro Vibration Therapy Massager Hand Massager HandSpa Pro Hand Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   iNeck Pro Neck and Shoulder Massager Knee Glide   Lite Foot Massager M7 Plus Mini Massage Gun with Heat Therapy Posture Pad Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Q2 Plus Mini Massage Gun  Q2 Max Massage Gun with Metal Head sWAVE Massage Gun with Belt T2 Massage Gun  T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head T2 Pro Max Massage Gun with Metal Head TheraHeat Knee Brace TheraPanel 4 -Headed Massage Gun ThermoRed Heated Back Belt Weighted Heating Pad for Back Weighted Heating Pad For Neck and Shoulders Weighted Heating Pad-Long X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Max Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head Zero Pro Eye Massager with Heating and Cooling Fitness: Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Pull Up System Resistance Bands​   Wall Anchor​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

Pain on the outside of your knee is often Iliotibial band syndrome. Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is one of the most common knee injuries. It is caused by friction between the iliotibial band (band on side of hip) and the lateral epicondyle of the femur (bony bump on the outside of the knee). The pain is most intense when the knee is at 30 degrees of flexion. (Lateral Epicondyle of Femur) The syndrome often appears with endurance sports such as cycling and long-distance running or hiking. Weight training with heavy weights may also bring on the pain. The thought process used to be that the IT band had tightened up, causing increased friction at the knee. However, the more common belief now is that weakness in the Gluteus Medius and Maximus results in the leg internally rotating, causing the knee to draw inward. This deviation overworks the IT band, causing pain. (Gluteus Medius) The two primary muscles that attach to the iliotibial band are the Tensor Fascia Lata and the Gluteus Maximus. However, other muscles also have attachments to it, including the Gluteus Medius. So, our goal is to strengthen the Gluteus Medius and Maximus and restore the proper biomechanics. (Tensor Fascia Lata) In addition, we recommend mobilizing the Tensor Fascia Lata muscle. You cannot stretch the Iliotibial band. It is too thick (you could tow a car with it). However, by foam rolling the IT band, you may be breaking up adhesions that lie underneath. Suggested Strengthening: 1. Strengthening of the Gluteus Medius a. Lie on your side, painful leg side up b. Stack your legs with the knees straight c. Abduct the leg while having the hip slightly extended 2. Abduction with bands 3. Squats with bands 4. Clam shells 5. Bridging with band 6. Side stepping with bands. 7. Massage/Mobilize Tensor Fascia Lata. Suggested standing stretch: While standing, cross nonpainful leg over painful leg. Have your arm on the painful side lean against a stable object and begin to lower your painful hip to the floor. You should feel the stretch on the painful hip side. Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/UAD4fDySvFA Mike: There's a walking mistake most people make and they're not even aware of, and it can increase your pain in your ankles, knees, hips, SI joint, and low back. Brad: Now this can actually contribute to one of these problems or all of them, so we're going to discuss what the problem is and how to fix it. Mike: Now, the big mistake most people make when walking is actually landing with a heel strike and a locked-out knee, just like this. Brad: That's right. Now, what this also causes is something we call gluteal amnesia. In other words, the glute maximus muscle does not fire, which changes the mechanics of the hip and can contribute to hip pain. And then the impact of actually the heel strike puts impact forces through the ankle joint, the knee joint, the hip, as well as the back, which can cause pain in one or all of the above. Mike: So what we want to try to do instead is land with a bent knee like this and not with your heel straight out in front of you. Mike: Most people, when they walk, put their foot out in front of them, come over the top, and then maybe go behind a little bit. What we want to do is take a shorter step, landing with a bent knee and then engaging your glute to fire and push back behind you when you are walking. We'll get into a little more detail about how you can do this, especially if you're new to it. So, a good reminder not to lock your knee out when you initially start is to actually place some tape behind your knee. We have K tape here; you can certainly use other tapes as well. Just make sure not to leave it on too long if you have sensitive skin. When you're doing this, you're going to want to keep your leg slightly bent. That way, when I go to straighten my knee out like that, if my old habit kicks in, the tape will remind me and pull on the back of my leg, cueing me to have a bent knee. So Brad will put it on me quickly. Brad: Right. So if you're not sure what K tape is, it's Kinesio tape ; it actually stretches, and it works quite well for this. But you can use pretty much any tape, even if it doesn't stretch. It's really important that the knee is slightly flexed. Flex there about 10 degrees. I like to start at the top, and then we're going to pull it, not really tight, but get the slack out, and with the, if you do kinesio tape, you can stretch it probably about 50%. Get it on there, make sure it's stuck well. If you have hairy legs, well, it'll be more fun when you take them off, and it'll actually remind you that your knee is straight, so it actually works a little better. Go ahead, Mike. Mike: If you're doing this by yourself, I typically would long sit when I first started doing this, and then tape it on the back or the knee. It has a slight bend in it as well. Brad: All right, so then you just simply leave it on and walk all day, which will remind you to keep the weight on the forefoot and avoid an impactful heel strike. Mike: Now, we do want to mention, you want to tape up both knees, not just one side versus the other. And all of this actually came from a physical therapist named Rick Olderman , whom we often work with. If you want to find his work, you can go to RickOlderman.com . Now, the next thing we're going to talk about is how to initially start walking with a soft or bent knee because it often feels odd if you've been walking your whole life with your leg out in front of you and heel striking. So for beginners, what we commonly recommend if you're able to, start on your tippy toes; if you can't, it's okay if you have to be flat on your feet. But when you're walking, try walking your normal way, but place your hands on your buttocks. We suggest doing this in your house so you don't look weird around your neighbors. Brad: It is weird, and it looks weird, so do it in your house, yeah. Mike: So if you're walking with a normal heel strike, we also recommend doing this either barefoot or with slippers on. Because most shoes have elevated heels, which will naturally make you want to heel plant. Brad: But why are we grabbing our buttocks, Mike? Mike: We are grabbing our buttocks to begin because you can see maybe your glutes firing a little bit, but you're not noticing a whole lot. Now, if you try going on your tippy toes and you start walking and landing, you'll notice your glutes are engaging much more, and you should feel the muscles contracting. That's why your hands are on your butt. Brad: Right. If you haven't done that before, it takes a little bit, but you'll get to know when those muscles kick in, and it becomes second nature, and you say, "Oh, I get it now". Mike: Now you don't have to walk on tiptoes the rest of your life, just take 20, 30 steps in your house. Or if you can't get on your tiptoes, you can certainly just land with a flat foot; that is perfectly fine. You just don't want to get your foot way out in front of you with that heel strike. Brad: Right. I think this is really obvious. I know myself, if I'm barefoot and I'm walking on a tile or concrete surface, it's very clear when I heel strike versus forefoot strike, it's probably the best way to teach yourself, in my opinion. Mike: Now, another important component to walking is having strong glute muscles. You have three glute muscles on each side: your glute medius and minimus on the outside of your hip, and you have your glute maximus. We already addressed the glute max with walking; however, we will show an exercise on how to do that after this one. This exercise is going to strengthen your glute medius and minimus. This is important because these muscles keep you upright when you walk. If they did not function properly, you would sway. Mike: That's the extreme version, but it can happen to some people. So we're going to strengthen the glute medius muscles right now. For beginners, you don't need any resistance; you can certainly hold onto a chair, countertop, or stick if you need support. I'm just going to pull up my shorts a little bit here so you can see. I'm standing with a bent knee here. I'm going to kick one leg out to the side and back in. We're going to aim for 10 to 15 repetitions. Notice I'm not swaying over to the side, keeping my pelvis nice and neutral as I do this. I'm not trying to rest my right leg as I'm kicking it out on the ground. So, working on your balance and strength a little bit. Once you do one side, make sure to do the other. You can do this two to three times a day. Again, good posture, slow, controlled movement. No turning your leg out to the side. Brad: Okay, now if you want to have some resistance because going without any is too easy, working some resistance bands like this really helps, where Mike is using a loop band, either one works very well. Simply stand on the band, keeping your feet about a foot apart, and you can change your resistance simply by stretching the band more or changing where you put your feet in the band. You'll figure that out with some practice. And again, good posture, out to the side, toe pointed forward. Brad: With the band, if you turn your toe to the side, the band simply comes off, and you know your mechanics are wrong. If you're losing your balance, simply go up against the wall, and that'll be very helpful. There we go. Anything else, Mike, with the loop band? Was it any different? Mike: Oh yeah, it's harder, it's more resistance. So start with the easy bands, progress to the harder bands. Once you can do 15 reps easily without a band or with the easy band, then progress to the next step. Brad: Right. And again, emphasis on good posture and slow, controlled movement. Mike: Okay, next, we're going to get into glute pumps, how to strengthen your glute max. Brad: Glute pumps. Mike: Now, for glute strengthening, we're going to show two variations, because we realize some people are not comfortable getting on their hands and knees. So I'm going to be on my forearms in this position. I'm going to work my left leg here. We're not going to do a full glute pump all the way up to the ceiling; we're going to go kind of halfway in between, and we're going to do little oscillating movements. Shoot for 30 repetitions total. You need three sets of 10, two sets of 15, and one set of 30. Whatever works for you. If you're not feeling your glute engaging much and maybe your hamstring's kicking in too much or your lower back, try to turn your foot in like this. Mike: This will help isolate the glute max a little bit more. And you can begin like this. Make sure to do this on both legs. If this becomes easy over time, you can take a cuff weight. You're going to put it around your thigh region. Put it on your thigh region like this, and then again, you're going to do the same option, and you should definitely feel more resistance this way. Brad: Now Mike's demonstrating it on this plinth, which would be kind of like a bed. You can do it on your bed, probably best on a carpeted floor or with a mat. Now, if being on your hands and knees like that is not comfortable, you can do this in a standing position, up by a cupboard or a table, something that's solid you can put your hands on or to your forearms. I'm going to use my hands, because this is a little bit lower than a typical cupboard. Bend the knee at 90 degrees. And again, the same motion that Mike talked about, not way up to way down, in that mid-range and working repetitive motions, not too fast. Rotate in like this to get more isolation of that glute maximus. Go 30 seconds or 30 to 40 reps. You can count it. And make sure you do both legs. And there you go. Mike: So make sure to do that exercise as well, two to three times a day, 30 reps total each time. And if you would like to check out more videos on how to improve your walking, or you're still having some discomfort, you can check out the video, " #1 Reason You Should Walk Backwards 1x / day (15 min). " Brad: Now that is interesting. Mike: It is very interesting. You have to watch it, we're not telling you anymore. Brad: No, it is a very excellent video with good ideas. Mike: I wasn't going to tell them anymore. Too late. Brad: Yep, yep, yep, yep. 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