Top 3 Reasons Why You Suffer From Pain In The Back Of The Knee!

Here are some things you need to keep in mind if you ever experience pain behind the knee.


Possible Causes
 

1. Possible Arthritis This is one of the most common causes of pain in the knee. In fact, if you are over the age of 65 one in two of you has arthritis, with the knee being one of the most common joints involved.

The pain of arthritis is usually a dull tooth ache pain that is occasionally sharp with sudden movements. The pain is usually located over your joint line (where the tibia meets the femur) and in the front of the knee.

Mild and sometimes severe swelling is associated with this pain. The pain is worse when you exit a chair or car. It is also worse with any prolonged walking or standing. The pain is usually better with rest, heat (sometimes ice), wrapping the knee and pain medication.

Occasionally the knee may catch on the rough uneven surfaces of your cartilage. Patients often complain of grinding in the knee, and occasional popping.


Arthritis: The Six Most Frequently Asked Questions.
This article addresses the most frequently asked questions about exercise and arthritis. Find out about the six most common questions!


2. Minor Tear Of The Cartilage Surface

Rather than a cyst or fluid build-up, the causes of the pain behind the knee might simply be slight micro tears in the cartilage. This can be treated with the same solutions at the end of this article.

Tears, if minor, require no surgery and will heal on their own depending on the time allowed for healing and if the activity that aggravates it is avoided.


3. Baker's Cyst The cyst usually occurs due to some other problem in your knee such as arthritis or even a tear of your meniscus. The swelling from this problem causes fluid to build up in your knee. This fluid pushes out the weakest point of your joint capsule surrounding your knee.

This is usually to the back portion of your knee capsule, and a cyst forms. The cyst has a valve made out of your joint capsule tissue.

This valve can sometimes become clogged and the fluid becomes trapped in the cyst. Thus, even when the injury has resolved, you still have the swelling in the back of your knee. This is associated with pain and is usually described as dull and aching.

The pain is worse with prolonged walking or standing. It is sometimes improved with rest, elevation and taking pain medication.



Possible Remedies
 

Many people agree that when it comes to pain behind the knee, the best plan of action is Control, Avoid and Rehabilitate.

 Control: Cryotheraphy, which involves putting ice on the area for 5 minutes at a time. This will help reduce the pain. Do not continue to apply ice if a burning sensation is felt.

Heat from a heating pad for 10-20 minutes on a lower setting may help reduce pain. Alternative methods include creams that create a heating sensation like Icy-Hot or AST BioFreeze gel.

Bracing from a comfortable knee brace can provide some needed relief and stability to the area, reducing the pressure on the area and thus reducing the pain. There are many knee braces available that can be worn during activity or at any time when the area becomes bothersome.


Ice Or Heat For Faster Healing?
One question many athletes ask when they get injured, is which is the best to use, ice or heat? To answer that question we must first look at the physiology behind the healing process.
 Avoid:


 Rehabilitate: Talk to a doctor and make a plan of action to rehabilitate the knee through controlled motions. Rehabilitation includes motivation to do the prescribed exercises. The correct exercises as prescribed and the proper equipment to keep the motions controlled.


Conclusion
 

Pain behind the knee is common in so many sports that you can suffer from this by doing almost anything from snowboarding to racquetball. Taking precautions in your sports and understanding what might cause this, will allow not only enjoyable sports activities, but a lifetime of activity.

About The Author:

Marc David is an innovative fitness enthusiast and the creator of the "The Beginner's Guide to Fitness And Bodybuilding" method on www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com. He can show you how to reduce your body fat thru diet, how to gain weight or create more muscle through an abundance of workout tips by training LESS! Not more.

He dispels many "bodybuilding myths", tells you what most people never realize about nutrition, and what the drug companies DON'T WANT YOU to know. Go to: www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com to find out more about The Beginner's Guide to Fitness And Bodybuilding.

Marc David


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Surprising Reasons Why You're Tight and Weak

by Lee Boyce – 10/11/2011 Stretching for Strength


Tissue quality is paramount when it comes to building a strong, healthy body. For example, something as innocuous as weak scapular retractors or tight external rotators can stop a soaring bench press or shoulder press dead in its tracks.

The body seeks structural balance, and the quicker you accept this and adjust your programming, the more successful your lifting career will be. This means making time for some of the stuff we all hate, namely "sissy" pre-hab exercises and of course, stretching.

Most lifters won't admit how tight their muscles really are. Each week we make hundreds of loaded contractions; reps upon reps, sets upon sets. Then, when we're at work or at home "relaxing," we continue to make our muscles fire by holding all sorts of unnatural positions.

To help offset this, therapists and trainers advocate flexibility and soft tissue work, but oddly, consider someone who spends 15 minutes a day working at it to be doing a good job. That's not even two hours a week!

It's important to recognize the vital relationship between a muscle's quality and its potential to gain size. Rather than being strictly size-obsessed, as we bodybuilders naturally are, a more "outside-the-box" holistic standpoint is at times necessary.

Muscles, bones, tendons, fascia, and ligaments all play a role in your welfare in and out of the weight room. Throw off your skeleton, and you get a lack of structural balance. Throw off your structural balance, and you get muscles being overloaded. Overload muscles, and you're grieved with joint stress and connective tissue issues.

Let's start things with a simple rule of thumb:

When a Muscle Appears Deficient, the Answer is NOT Always to Give That Muscle Your Attention!

Take a pair of tight hamstrings, for example. Lifters often suffer from hamstrings that have the elasticity of ropes. Yet despite the time spent before and during exercise methodically stretching the snot out of them, they see no improvement in their flexibility or in the performance of their given lifts.

Frustrating as this may be, it makes perfect sense – the hamstrings have all the flexibility they need, it's the surrounding muscles that are causing the not-so-pretty deadlifts and squats.

Here are some things that could infringe on muscles' apparent flexibility or strength:

Stretching for Strength


In the case of tight, inflexible hamstrings, what often hinders ROM are tight hip flexors.

Stand up and try to touch your toes with stiff legs and a flat back. Take note of how close you get. Now, take 30 seconds and static stretch your hips. Now try the toe-touch again.

Notice an improvement? The hip flexors were acting against the hamstrings the first time around. Because they were tight, they inhibited the range of motion the hamstrings could achieve on the opposite site. A simple attention shift like this could be a make-or-break factor whether your muscles function the way you want them to.

Stretching for Strength

Your posture is important for more than just looking impressive to the ladies. When you have a head tilt, the corresponding discs of the vertebrae are often being compressed. Not only can this lead to discomfort and chronic muscle imbalance, it can also lower your muscles' involvement in many major upper body lifts.

Let's say you tirelessly hit your biceps in pursuit of Thibaudeau-esque guns. Many lifters will crane their necks forward during heavy curls, or even look down at their purty biceps rather than focusing straight ahead while digging in for their set.

This impinges the nerve and lowers the electrical stimulation the nerves can send the biceps from their point of origin. Straighten up!

If it's a true spinal postural issue and not just a bad gym habit, exercises such as neck bridges can strengthen the neck musculature, along with exercises like the trap-3 raise for the lower traps and thoracic extensions with a foam roller.

Stretching for Strength

Often with muscles that directly oppose one another (like the trap-3 and pec minor, or calves and tibialis muscle), one side can tighten up due to no contributing balance from its antagonistic.

Loose tibialis anterior muscles (the long muscle on the shin that allows you to raise your toes) are often responsible for extremely tight calves that inhibit proper technique. For lifters who suffer from this, it's as hard for them to drop their heels during squats and lunges as it is for Dennis Rodman to choose an outfit on awards night.

Your muscle fascia is often like a giant, connected chain. Releasing one link can unlock several others.

Try this: Do a standing calf stretch off the edge of a box or step. Now squeeze the glute on the same leg you're stretching. You'll feel the calf stretch intensify.

The contraction of the glute tugs slightly on the entire fascial chain, so the stretch is felt right along the back of the leg.

Knowing this, we can apply it to crusty chronic pain spots. Try taking a golf ball or lacrosse ball to your plantar fascia if you suffer from things like foot cramps, Achilles aggravations, or calf tightness.

It would do us well to first distinguish what we're doing all this stretching stuff for. Stretching work for basic flexibility in everyday life serves a very different purpose than stretching between sets of a 365-pound squat.

Regarding programming, we shouldn't be quick to focus on stretching as it isn't always the cure-all "remedy" for everything. Rather, it should be one of many tools in your toolbox to attack a pesky weak point. This way, when we do decide to prescribe stretching, it'll have the desired effect.

We all sit a lot. We also do tons of work using the muscles on the front of our body and minimal for the stuff we can't see in the mirror. Flexibility training for health and comfort should be a staple! This brings me to my next point.

Smart coaches preach that we should strive to achieve adequate levels of structural balance. That means the same rule applies for stretching, right?

Wrong.

Stretching both sides of the body evenly is not the answer. Think about it. If one side is tighter than the other side, and you proceed to loosen both sides up, you're simply maintaining the same imbalanced flexibility ratio, resulting in the same amount of strain and counter strain on the body.

Stretching for Strength


Here's a comprehensive breakdown of muscles to give less or more attention to when stretching.

Traps. Deserve more of your attention. They surround vital nerves that can be compressed, and tightness can lead to them overcompensating for rotator cuff muscles that aren't active.

Chest. Deserve more attention. Tight pecs pull the shoulders way out of position and contribute to joint stress in the shoulder capsule, and general posture problems.

Upper Back. Much less attention. Loosening upper back tissue will contribute to rounding of the upper back, and take away from stability of the shoulder capsule.

Hip Flexors. More attention. From sitting, walking, running, and training, chances are as a lifter you'll always have tighter than desired hips. They also attach to the low back, a common spot to strain, so you don't want them tight and tugging on your spine.

Lower Back. Much, much less attention. The last thing we want is to put the back into a less than ideal position by going into flexion.

Glutes and Hamstrings. Less attention. The glutes and hams are normally loose enough, and as direct antagonists to the hip flexors, loosening them can encourage shortening the hips.

Groin/Inner Thigh Musculature. More attention. Any bilateral imbalance that exists due to tightness in one side can lead to hip tilting.

Calves. More attention. The calves' flexibility will avoid problems like Achilles tendonitis, bursitis, and other inflammations surrounding the heel.

Sometimes we all need a tactful reminder – and a little help – to pinpoint the root cause of a given issue. If working the strength side of things hasn't been panning out, put some effort into the flexibility side of the equation. You'll be glad you did.


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5 Big Reasons Why All Men Should Train Like Athletes

5 Big Reasons Why Men Should Train Like Athletes




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If you're like me, you probably want nothing more than to feel like a 'super-stud' every time you take your shirt off in public. You want to have the confidence to say, 'Boy, this sweaty shirt is chaffin' me', then reach over your shoulder and tear your shirt off like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. When you know that your pecs look like two soup bowls inserted beneath your skin, and your abs are as hard the asphalt you stand on, it's tough to keep your shirt on!


Today you are gonna learn the top 5 training principles that you MUST implement in order to make your physique and performance goals... a reality. But, before I open the info-floodgates, there is something you've got to understand. Men... all men, should recognize that we are athletes and our training programs must reflect this.


Even if you're a 'pencil pusher' or a 'white collar crook', the essence of your being is athletic. In order to see any type of fitness results it is essential to recognize that Squats, Power Cleans, 40 Yard Dashes and Vertical Jumps are not only for NFL Combine participants... they are for you!


1. You're An Athlete By Design


The foundation principle of everything that I teach all begins with one extremely powerful phrase:
"We are primal beings living in a modern world"


Our physical bodies have been unchanged for thousands of years. In fact, today, our bodies are an exact expression of what our ancestors were over 100,000 years ago. It is believed that it takes about 100,000 years for 0.001percent of a genome to change... so yourself and Primal Man are for all intents and purposes... the same.


What has changed is how WE have chosen to live, if you can even call it that. As we have 'advanced' in technology we have regressed in physical strength and stature.


We function at a much lower capacity than were inherently capable of. This is analogous to those people who buy off-road vehicles that will never see anything but concrete! You've been given the ultimate athletic tool... use it.


2. Short, Hard and Intense Workouts Yield Lean, Hard and Muscular Bodies


When you spend over an hour in the gym sitting on useless 'fitness machines' while you're waiting to do your 'next set'...your nervous system's primal response is to release Cortisol and Glucocorticoids - which are stress hormones, (these make you sick, sad, fat and, stupid) in response to your body thinking... "Holy Cow, we've been training for over an hour... perhaps we're being chased by a tiger and need to preserve body fat", then it begins sacrificing muscle tissue for energy! This is called The Catabolic Effect. Also, workouts exceeding 1 hour have been shown to be associated with a rapid decrease in androgen levels.


This is why marathon runners look so emaciated... id much rather look like one of those Lock, Stock & Ready Sprinters with muscles rippling across their backs and abs.


3. Aerobics and Cardio Training Is Boring & Ineffective


Strength coach Charles Poliquin has coined the phrase "Chunky Aerobic Instructor Syndrome" (CAIS).
You've seen them, they do cardio all day long... don't you think that they would be a bit leaner? Well, there is a scientific reason as to why they are cubby even though they bounce up and down on those colorful blocks all day long. In fact research has shown that aerobic instructors who taught an average of 3 hours a day maintained a body fat of 22-24% - mind you, that Olympic athletes hover around 9%.


Especially with repetitive exercises like aerobics the body adapts quickly to the stimulus and ceases to respond to the stimulus. Also, you begin to become very fuel-efficient... Listen, think of a metabolism that has adapted to long treks of cardio as being a Honda... it burns very little fuel (i.e. fat) but can go miles and miles. Think of a metabolism that is roaring with increased mitochondria activity (as is present in someone who weight trains with circuits) as a Hummer, large fuel combusting metabolism!


Here's Why this is so important! You want a stronger heart, without the fat saving response of long boring cardio treks. That is why I teach my clients how to do work capacity sets.
We take 4-6 exercises and complete them back to back with no rest and aim to complete them all with in about 2 minutes... if your heart is not ready to pound out of your chest after that, then maybe you should visit your veterinarian!


Here's a simple circuit that you can do at home - first 20 squats, then 20 lunges, then 'step ups' on a bench 10 each leg, finally do 10 squat jumps and get it all done in less than 90 seconds! Kick-ass workout!


We begin every session with Plyometrics and then get right into 3-5 "work capacity" sets for upper and lower body.


4. Get High on Oxygen & Sunshine


Besides the fact that training on treadmills and 'sit down' exercise equipment is less effective than getting your feet on the ground and learning how to use your own bodyweight, training indoors can be detrimental to your performance and fitness results.


As 'primal beings' we are in need of several vital elements and forms of energy. The suns rays are nourishing to your mind as well as body. It is well documented that those who live in the cooler northern climates that enjoy less sunshine through out the year are several times more likely to suffer from depression.


Also, if you're like most Americans you work and live indoors (maybe). In fact, the average person spends 90% of their time indoors. Several health experts have propounded that our homes and workplace are the most toxic environments in our lives. Many studies have stated that toxic particles and fumes found in your home and workplace include: air fresheners, spray starch, paints, mothballs and even 'new car' smell kills more people every year than automobile accidents!


So, what do you do? Train in the great outdoors! When I train my Strength Camp clients at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg Florida, not only do we benefit from the sweet bay breeze but also the scenery is beautiful enough to give a nun spring fever!


5. It's Gotta Be Fun!


Drop out rates for exercise programs are almost as high as the drop out rate in my old middle school! The bottom line is, if you don't enjoy it - you wont do it. The most effective way to ensure that you stick with your training program is to change it often. This doesn't mean hop from one modality to the next before you get any results. It means stick with your weight-training program for a minimum of 90 day but change the exercises you use for each body part at least every 3 weeks.


This not only keeps you interested but also, your nervous system will be challenged with the new exercises and be forced to adapt. This yields fast and long-lasting results!


Coach Elliott Hulse CSCS is Tampa Bay’s most ‘in demand’ Strength Coach and Fitness Trainer. His programs get Athletes and “Tough Guys” fast, stronger, leaner and, meaner. Get Your FREE Audio Mp3 Report Men’s Fitness Secrets Revealed at [http://www.MensStrengthAndFitness.Com]


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