Hey guys its JP and this time we are going go over exercises to improve patellar or knee
tendon strength and stiffness! Last week, I talked about how to decrease irritability
or pain in the patellar tendon; however, once you are no longer limited by significant patellar
tendon or knee pain, it may be important to consider strengthening the quads and patellar
tendon! This can both be done through HEAVY SLOW resistance training! To improve muscle
strength, you can incorporate heavy loads to make the QUADS work hard, which may provide
the stimulus for adaptations toward increasing strength. Now, if you make the quads work
hard, but in a way where it incorporates slower movements, this may provide enough pull or
strain on the patellar tendon to provide the stimulus for building tendon strength and
stiffness! Now that we covered these concepts, let's
go over some exercises you can try to build quad strength and patellar tendon stiffness
to improve your running performance. The first exercise we will go over is the Bulgarian
Split Squat. This is a simple way to load the quads and patellar tendon on one leg with
minimal equipment. This is great to consider, especially if you seem to have a patellar
tendon problem on only one leg and you don't have much access to gym equipment. Key things
to remember are to try to remember to do this at a slow and controlled tempo like 3 seconds
up and down, as well as challenging the area hard enough. If you want to make this harder,
you can simply hold heavier weights or objects. Another thing to keep in mind is to try to
keep the torso upright. By doing so, this biases more loads around the knee region instead
of the hip, which is what we are trying to achieve here.
The second exercise we will go over is the Step Up. Not only is it a simple, effective
way to load the quads and knee region, but if you watch closely, it also involves movements
that are similar to how the knee moves during running! Again, you can challenge the area
harder by holding more weights or holding a barbell on your back if it is available.
The tough part about this particular exercise is doing it slow and controlled, especially
during the descent. This is something you should not neglect as it helps challenge the
knee region more as well as training the muscles in a similar way to how they are used when
the leg first hits the ground as you run. The last exercise we will go over is the Leg
Extension Machine. If you have access to this kind of machine, I recommend incorporating
it when the intention is building strength in the quads and patellar tendon. This isolates
the quad and knee region to make sure they are being loaded adequately. A common problem
when dealing with a tendon problem is that the body may try to compensate in ways to
offload it. This is something to look out for when doing a compound movement like the
squat. While this is technically a great exercise to do....since multiple muscles and joints
are moving all at once, there can be a number of ways you can move to subconsciously offload
the region. An isolation exercise helps prevent compensatory strategies from occurring.
And those are some exercises you can try to work the quads and patellar tendon! I hope
you guys found this video useful. Just remember that this is for educational purposes. If
you have persistent pain in the region, you should consult a healthcare professional for
a proper assessment! Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well as any questions you
may have! And as always, thank you for watching!