Your knees play an integral role in holding up your bodyweight as well as absorbing a great amount of shock, especially during activities like sports or exercise. This constant stress can contribute to knee problems such as overuse injuries, arthritis or other knee ailments. When looking for ways to reduce knee pain and prevent further injury, a treadmill may be an important piece of your treatment plan.
Supporting Muscles
One of the main ways that a treadmill can help reduce your knee pain is by increasing the fiber strength of the muscles surrounding your knee, such as the vastus lateralis and the vastus medialis. As you extend and move your knee joint while walking on the treadmill, you place resistance on these muscles, activating the muscle-building process. As you strengthen the muscles around the knee, you increase the stability of the joint, which in turn helps reduce knee pain -- even pain associated with inflammation, such as with arthritis, suggests the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Unlike running or walking outdoors, treadmills provide a padded and flat surface, which also helps reduce the impact on your joints, while still building muscle.
Range of Motion
Pain in your knees may be associated with joint stiffness. Joint stiffness develops with inactivity, whether from a lack of movement and exercise or from the effects of pain on the joint. When you start exercising slowly on the treadmill, the increased movement of the joint helps reduce stiffness. Along with a reduction in stiffness, you may also see a reduction in the associated pain as well as an increase in your overall range of motion. Greater range of motion makes movements of the joint easier as you make exercise a regular habit.
Treadmill Speed
When using a treadmill with bad knees, it's important to control your speed. As you move from a walking speed to a jogging or running speed, you increase the stress being placed on the knee joint each time your feet impact the treadmill track. Keep your speed to a comfortable walking pace to limit the overall impact to the knee joint and surrounding tissues.
Alternatives
Treadmills are one of many options now available to help increase the strength and stability of the knee joint while decreasing the overall impact and pain of the knees. Consider alternating your treadmill use with other low-impact exercise equipment, such as stationary bikes or an elliptical. Both bikes and ellipticals utilize a circular motion for exercise, which removes the impact of your feet against the surface, reducing impact on the knee joint. Water aerobics may also be beneficial for building knee strength and stability; the natural buoyancy of the water reduces impact on the knees.
References
- American College of Sports Medicine: Selecting and Effectively Using a Home Treadmill
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Exercise -- Exercise's Effects on Bones and Muscles; May 2009
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Arthritis of the Knee; October 2007
- NBC New York; Good Exercises for Bad Knees; Eric Sabo; August 2008
