Weight Training With Knee Pain (Over 50)

My mind goes straight to squats when I think of knee pain and weight training, yet if we can sit in a chair, we can squat. But before we talk about how getting out of a chair can help us squat pain-free, let’s look at a couple of things that cause knee pain.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is when we have pain in the front of the knee around the knee cap. If you have this, you might feel discomfort walking down a flight of stairs. Another common source of pain is osteoarthritis. The good news is we can reduce pain from these sources through training.

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A 2015 systematic review found; “hip muscle strengthening is effective in reducing the intensity of pain and improving functional capabilities in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome.”

It turns out the old song, ”The Knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone,” rings true when it comes to knee pain.

One of the jobs of our glutes, the largest muscles of the hip, is to stabilize the leg. If they are weak, our knees can cave inwards.

This can happen when you squat; reminding yourself to push your legs outwards as you squat helps. But if weak glutes are causing it, we need to go to the source of the problem.

Before we get into the exercises, I should mention if you can’t put weight on your knee, you hear popping noises, it’s swollen up, deformed-looking, you have a greater range of motion than normal, or you’re unsure what’s wrong with your knee you need to see a doctor.

When I first think of glute exercises, I think of hip thrusts and Romanian deadlifts. Both are excellent choices, but you’ll get more glute activation when you train them unilaterally. A single-leg hip thrust works better to develop the glutes as a stabilizer.

A glute bridge is similar to a Romanian deadlift, except they’re done off the floor. They’re more stable and have a shorter range of motion, making them easier to do. Depending on what level you are at, they might be the better option

Romanian deadlifts aren’t just great for the glutes; they’re also a good hamstring builder, according to a study on “The treatment of knee, osteoarthritis in relation to hamstring and quadriceps strength.” “strengthening the hamstring muscles in addition to strengthening the quadricep muscles proved to be beneficial for perceived knee pain, range of motion, and decreasing the limitation of functional performance of patients with knee osteoarthritis.”

The next one we can do to help strengthen the glutes is a lateral step up. The step doesn’t have to be very high, and you can increase the height as you get stronger. The key with this movement is to keep your toes up so you can’t push up with the non-working leg and control the descent until the heel of your foot gently touches the floor

It’s important to only work in a pain-free range of motion; if you can get in and out of a chair pain-free, you can use this motion to help you begin to squat. I like to use my bench, but you can use a chair.

The key to this movement is to sit back as you lower down; this takes stress off the knees and engages the glutes and hamstrings more while still working the quads. As you get stronger, you can add weight.

Another exercise that works the quads and glutes while allowing you to limit yourself to a pain-free range of motion is the split squat.

When you start doing this exercise, you might need a chair to help stabilize yourself. As you get stronger, you can gradually increase the range of motion until you can lightly touch your back knee to the floor, then you can add weight.

A level up from split squats is the Bulgarian split squat. A study in the International Journal of Exercise Science found when comparing the “biomechanical differences between Bulgarian split squat and back squat” that “the Bulgarian split squat may best be used in circumstances to focus on hip extension while minimizing the knee joint demands such as the early phases of knee rehabilitation.”

You might be wondering about lunges.