You Kneed This – Part 6
When addressing knee pain, you have to have a “strong core” — but let’s reframe that again and say “connected core” that is able to use the structure to connect to the forces that enter through your f
Welcome back to the series! Sixth part — here we go!
So, we’re rolling off the understanding that the ability to hip extend prior to knee extension is a BIG part of the problem. But I have to state here that knee extension before hip extension isn’t a bad thing, as it’s also an important function for utility.
Now that that’s clear, let’s get back onto the task of the hip extending before the knees. Let’s go right back to the top (hips being engaged in the pressure system to coordinate with the ribcage). Again, it now loops back to the beginning: the hips need to extend. The longer the connection through the spine from the hips, the longer the lever becomes.
Let’s think of it like a crowbar (please tell me you know what that is and how it works). Okay, I’ll give another example… using a mop with the stick attached and using it at the end (guys, please tell me you’ve used a mop before). See what I did there?
Back on task… now imagine using the mop with a really short stick, or a crowbar that was really short. You would get no leverage. The hip sockets are the fulcrum of the hinge. The longer the lever (let’s frame the length of the spine as the vehicle of lever length), the more effective the hinge to flex or extend will be. If you have to read that twice… please do. Take as loooooong as you need to really digest that concept. And if you don’t quite get it… go mop with the two examples, then come back.
Now… within that frame of the spine being the lever, it needs the hips and the ribcage to be congruent with creating pressure and the right tension for the spine to serve as the utility of that lever. (You feel me?) So the pressure system is essential not just for knee health, but for the connection to have the spine become an active engine to move with and through the hips. (Kabooooom!) That has to travel all the way from the base of the hips through to the top of the ribs (1st rib) as a bare minimum.
In this part of the series, I will refrain from turning up the “tism” dial on spine-mechanio dynamics and save that for another post in the stack in the near future (I’ll link it here when I have done so for those wanting to go a bit deeper). This is one side of the “hinge.” This is the crossover point of how the spine integrates into the hips and up/down through the leg chains (which now has your knees brought back into the picture).
Back to the Feet
As mentioned in past posts, the feet will be framed as the “primary” and only connection to the ground when you are walking, running, standing, throwing (many more, but let’s keep it in the frame of what everyone does and out of “specialism” of movement discipline).
Feet make contact and, ideally, the foot diaphragm distorts to load the ankle and connective tissues up through the knee and back into the hips. This is how that chain loads. So imagine the loading of a trampoline: it’s loaded with force before you actually time your jump. The principle is the same—it loads, then in the right timing you jump, and you get a higher jump on the tramp.
The foot is like the tramp. The frame around the tramp holds the structure while the diaphragm and springs handle the dynamic loading and recoil. In the leg, the bones are that structure, and the diaphragm is in the connective tissues from the bottom of the foot to your hips.
So, if you’re now with me, it is essential for the feet to be in proper contact to enable this utility. Or else it’s like you’re jumping on the tramp and landing on the frame, missing the canvas. No spring, no recoil, just jarring and shock. Into? … the kneeeees. (And if you’ve again been a step ahead, you’ll realize it runs much further up the chain, but let’s keep the dial low for now haha).
Timing and Force Efficiency
So, staying on the concept of the trampoline, try and jump with your knees and you don’t go very far. Use your spine and torso to jump once you’re out of the hole, and your whole body mass has started moving, and you go much higher.
This is force efficiency and timing. That is what hip extension prior to knee extension does in dynamic movement.
Quick Summary
In quick summary, the torso connection to the hip allows this origin or genesis of stability to be expressed. So, when addressing knee pain, you have to have a “strong core” — but let’s reframe that again and say “connected core” that is able to use the structure to connect to the forces that enter through your feet.
Let’s leave that here for now, and I’ll dive into it further in the next part.
Regards,
Maz.M