Knee Injury Prevention and Conditioning An estimated 50 million Americans have suffered or are suffering knee pain or injuries. Most of these pains, sprains, and strains could probably have been avoided with proper conditioning (Fox, 147). I have had knee pain since my freshmen year of high school and have finally taken the initiative to find some exercises that will help ease this pain, and build muscle strength in the surrounding areas to avoid another possible injury.Getting the support muscles of my legs in shape is one good way to lower the risk of knee injury. Therefore, a good conditioning program is needed. Exercises are certainly one answer, but all too often people consider exercise and activity as being synonymous. A good exercise regimen will provide overall muscular improvement. All muscles come in pairs, each one balanced by another that performs an opposite function. If either the hamstrings or the quadriceps become too strong, it can cause an inordinate pull on one side of the knee joint, predisposing the knee to stress and possible injury (Fox, 148). So, it is important to not overemphasis strength training at the expense of flexibility and specificity.Stretching must be part of the total regimen. Focusing on stretching the hamstring muscles very well is a good way to help prevent knee injuries. In particular, increasing hamstring flexibility takes some pressure off of the kneecap. Furthermore, the end-of-activity stretch has been shown to virtually eliminate postexercise muscle problems.Strengthening exercises are very important in preventing injury, especially to the knee. Most of the protection afforded the knee comes from the powerful quadriceps muscles, the hamstrings, and the calf muscles. These muscles control the movement of the knee. If they do not have proper tension, the control of the joint will be lost. When these muscles are weak, the knee is not only unprotected, it has to assume a much g...
