Common Injuries Part 1 – Weak Hips Leading To Knee Pain

The saying goes something like this: ‘The leg bone connects to the knee bone’. While this phrase is not anatomically correct, the principle itself is. In our bodies, everything is connected and everything we do has a ripple effect on other body parts. You could for example have shoulder pain caused by an imbalance in your foot. Any time something is not functioning properly in our bodies, a diagnosed injury or not, surrounding muscles and joints have to pick up the slack by working in ways they were not designed for. This can lead to secondary problems. That is exactly what we will examine in the next few issues of this newsletter.

This month, you will learn how weak hips may be the real reason for your knee pain.

Whenever you walk, and especially when you jog or run, your foot rolls inward upon contact with the ground. In order to maintain alignment and keep your balance, you knee and lower leg roll too. That is considered normal body mechanics. However, how much your foot rolls is dependent on the strength of your hips. If the muscles surrounding your hips are weak, they cannot stabilize your leg which results in greater rolling of the foot. As miraculous as our bodies are though, not being able to stabilize is not an option. Therefore in this situation, since the hips muscles are too weak, other areas of the leg have to take over to try to regain the alignment of the lower leg. The next joint down is your knee. Since the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the knee were not designed to handle such stress, patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS or also known as “runner’s knee”) and stress fractures are soon to follow. Typical symptoms include pain/aching near the kneecap and the back of the knee. Studies have revealed stunning data that 92% of the time, knee pain in runners has nothing to do with the knee itself but rather with weak hips. To test your hip strength, perform a one leg squat. If your knee collapses further inside than your big toe, your hip abductors and flexors need strengthening. Studies have shown a 89% decrease in knee pain within patients who focused on strengthening their hips in just 4 to 6 weeks.