Transcription
Knee pain can turn simple joys in life into challenges. You postpone walks, stop doing household chores, and delay exercising simply because you think your knees won't hold up. Some people come to me, getting worked up and imagining themselves in a wheelchair or using a cane.
But here’s what’s important to know: most of these fears are unfounded, and the solution is simpler than it seems. In this video, I will show you simple yet incredibly effective exercises. These are not just correct movements; they target a specific muscle that is often neglected. If you can effectively treat and restore this muscle, your knees will strengthen and serve you well, potentially for up to 100 years.
Dear friends, greetings! I am Dr. Artyom Pak. I specialize in restoring the spine, joints, and muscles without the use of pills or injections.
Now, on the front inner thigh, we have a muscle called the Vastus Medialis or the Vastus Inner Thigh Muscle. If there are areas of localized tension or trigger points in it, pain symptoms can arise. This pain may be located in the front part of the knee joint, the front inner part of the knee, or even along the front inner surface of the thigh.
Such pain usually intensifies during activities like walking, climbing stairs, getting out of bed, or standing up from a chair. This can lead to what are known as "start-up pains." When the front inner thigh is shortened, the knee tends to collapse inward, causing uneven stress on the knee joint. This can lead to faster cartilage deterioration, resulting in osteoarthritis and damage to the menisci, which are the cartilage pads in the knee joint.
In such cases, people often experience tendonitis, which is inflammation of the tendons in this region. Additionally, when this muscle is shortened, it can limit the mobility of the knee joint. Patients often describe their knee as feeling wooden, and the thigh as heavy, unable to fully bend.
Another common symptom is sudden weakness in the knee. Patients often come to me after a fall, saying, "I was walking, and suddenly my knee gave out." This also occurs when the Vastus Medialis is not functioning properly.
Let’s briefly discuss the anatomy of this muscle so we can perform the exercises effectively and, most importantly, safely. It starts here from the femur and gradually descends, filling the entire front inner surface of the thigh. It forms a bulge in the inner part of the kneecap and then connects to the bones of the lower leg via the common tendon of the quadriceps muscle.
So, it occupies a large area on the front inner thigh.
The first exercise is to effectively massage all the trigger points on the front inner surface of the thigh. Friends, I hope you can see where I’m demonstrating the self-massage.
First, locate your kneecap. Here it is. If we draw a line from the center of the kneecap, this front inner surface is the muscle we are targeting.
Before we start massaging it, I want to mention that there is a vascular nerve bundle here: the femoral artery, femoral vein, and nerve. If you feel a pulse under your fingers or a tingling sensation in your leg while self-massaging, it’s not a problem. Just shift your hand 1 cm to the left or right and continue.
The first technique we will use involves the pads of four fingers. We place them at the top of the femur and apply pressure with the other hand because this muscle is large and requires deep pressure.
We will work on the superficial layers first, making circular movements for 10 repetitions, then shift and do another 10 repetitions. This helps to increase blood flow through the muscle and prepare the muscle tissue by softening the trigger points.
Notice that I’m moving towards the knee area, around the kneecap. Some people neglect this area, thinking it’s just bone, but it’s essential to work deeply here.
You don’t need to massage the kneecap itself, but we must work on the area beside it, overlapping the kneecap. Then we return to the top of the thigh and perform circular movements for another 10 repetitions.
As you work on this area, you may encounter the most painful points or areas that radiate pain to the back of the knee or down the lower leg. These are chronic trigger points, and you can spend not just 10 movements but 30 on them, for example.
In this way, we work on the inner thigh for one minute.
The second exercise is similar, but we will apply deeper pressure. So, we change our working surface. Make a fist with your hand and use the knuckles to apply pressure.
Again, apply pressure with the other hand and perform circular movements. You will feel the pressure becoming deeper. The principle remains the same: we stop at the most painful points and work on these areas longer, also for one minute.
I pay special attention to the lower part of the thigh. Don’t be afraid to work deeply here, especially if you have pain in the front inner part of the knee or in the central part of the knee.
This self-massage takes one minute.
The third exercise will be the same, but we will change the working surface to achieve even deeper effects and work on the deeper layers.
We place the same forearm and elbow, apply pressure with the other hand on the elbow pit, and lean our body weight into it, performing pulling movements away from the body for 10 repetitions.
This is a very convenient technique that allows for deep tissue massage. We can even massage the Vastus Medialis better than a massage therapist because its anatomical position is very suitable for self-massage.
You can focus on the most painful points, especially around the kneecap, for those who have significant knee discomfort.
In this format, we also spend one minute massaging this muscle.
Now, after a quality self-massage, we will gently stretch this muscle.
A very simple exercise: we lie on our stomach, placing our head on the floor, grab the ankle, and try to touch the heel to the buttock to stretch the front surface of the thigh.
If the muscles are shortened, some people may not be able to touch the heel to the buttock. In that case, just grab your pant leg and pull your leg towards you as much as possible.
You need to hold this position for one minute.
Dear friends, if both knees hurt, do the exercises for the left leg one day and for the right leg the next day until the pain completely goes away.
If you have issues in one knee, you can work only on that leg every other day. Once the pain subsides, you can keep this exercise routine for prevention twice a week.
Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Stay healthy, and I am always happy to help you.
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