Eliminate Knee Pain!!
Weak leg muscles cause deterioration of the knee joint resulting in knee pain. Conversely, strengthening the legs has been shown to actually increase knee cartilage volume (thickness) when done properly.
Strengthening the leg muscles is the most important thing you can do to prevent knee pain from osteoarthritis and all other causes. It also raises the “breaking point” of the knee joint so that knee injury is less likely to occur! 
According to Dr. Henry Lodge, nationally known gerontologist and the best-selling author of Younger Next Year, “Whenever I see a patient who has been recommended for knee replacement (they are “bone on bone”), I get them on those machines (leg extension and leg curl machines) and 60% of the time they never have the surgery!”
The quadriceps muscles, which are located on the front of the thigh, are the primary muscle group that supports the knee. The Leg Extension machine is the best way to strengthen them. Leg extensions work the quads through a full range of motion, as opposed to the leg press or barbell squats which only work the quads through a limited range and have zero resistance at the all important point of full contraction. The MedX Leg Extension machines that we have at each club are best Leg Extension machines ever built! They utilize a number of innovations but most importantly, they incorporate a new technology that nearly eliminates the friction that is inherent in weight machines.
A common mistake is to skip leg strengthening exercises because "I already worked my legs on the bike or treadmill.” Without specific strengthening exercises, the legs get weaker every year no matter how much aerobic (CV) exercise you perform. The MedX leg extension combined with the MedX leg curl machine simply prevent muscle loss in the legs. These two machines strengthen the quadriceps faster and more efficiently than any other method
Leg extensions, like all strengthening exercises, should be started at an easy level and very gradually moved to more challenging levels, where the weight can only be lifted slowly no more than 7 to 10 times. One set on the leg extensions and one on the leg curl is all you need when done correctly. The movement should be slow, at least four full seconds to raise the weight, a full second hold on top and four full seconds to lower it. The slower the weight is moved, the less momentum you use and the more you stimulate the muscle involved. Slow movement also prevents injury, even when working very hard.
Double check your speed with this self test! Watch the top of weight stack and see if when you lift the weight to the top, you can hold it at its high point for a full second without dropping at all. If it drops even slightly you have too much weight and you are using momentum to raise it. (You are moving it to fast and throwing it.)
The exercise should be performed through as broad a pain-free range of motion as possible. If pain develops at any time, the resistance and the range of motion should immediately be decreased to a pain-free level. Continue at that level for at least a few weeks before small increases are again attempted. Generally as strength increases, the pain-free range also slowly increases. Patience is the key to successful rehabilitation.
When recovering from a knee injury, the body heals faster with movement, whenever it is possible. Although there are occasionally situations when immobilization for knee injuries may be appropriate, generally it is avoided because it causes rapid muscle loss along with other deterioration. Muscle loss is devastating to a knee injury because the muscles are the essential support system for the knee. In addition, as the muscles atrophy (get weaker and smaller), the bones and all the connective tissue deteriorate, getting thinner and weaker, slowing the healing process.
If an injury has occurred, once the doctor has ok’d exercise, you should work with one of our trainers to find what pain-free range of motion you can perform for the muscles that surround the knee. Each exercise should be started at a very easy level. As you get stronger, the pain and discomfort will slowly recede , and often vanish in time. In addition, the stronger the muscles are, the less likely you are to re-injure the area.
Keep your knees healthy and make sure to include Leg Extensions and Leg Curl twice a week, for life!
Mike Arteaga
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