Re: Re: Isolating the VMO (inner quad)

[Guest guest]

Re: Isolating the VMO (inner quad)

>To mix metaphors, I did VMO exercises until the cows came home before

>reaching the conclusion that I was beating a dead horse.

Love it! Keep on mixing!

<snip>

>Also take a look at the abstracts on the link I posted yesterday.

>Seems weak hip abductors and hip rotators can be a real factor. I

>don't know any exercises to strengthen the rotators but the abductors

>can be strengthened by

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/01_96/hip.htm or

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/HipAbductor/LVStandHipAbduction.ht

ml

Before I left my previous clinic, I was seeing a good PT guy, who had me doing

hip rotator exercises, thusly (all of these are 10-20 times, 3 reps):

1. Anchor a Theraband (I started out w/yellow & quickly moved to red) to

something near the floor and attach the other end to the distal (we're all

amateur doctors here, aren't we?) end of your shoelaces (I know this sounds like

the beginning of a joke, but read on). Stand far enough back to put tension on

the Theraband. MAKING SURE THAT YOU DON'T ROTATE YOUR TORSO OR PELVIS, do the

following all in one movement: keeping your knee striaght, pull your leg

straight back and rotate your foot outward. You don't have to pull your leg

back REAL far -- you'll know. NOTE: This exercise can irritate your other knee

if it's got things wrong with it. You can accomplish the same thing by lying on

your front & lifting the leg up while turning the foot out.

2. Sit in a chair that's perpendicular to the Theraband (which is lying on

the floor perdendicular to the wall -- or, if you prefer a simpler picture, sit

in a chair parallel to the wall your Theraband is attached to). The chair

should be high enough that your feet barely touch the floor (I put a pillow in

mine). Loop the Theraband around the ball of your foot (I highly recommend

wearing shoes for this). Put your foot a little more forward than the other one

(or alternatively, put the other one a little more back than the one you're

going to work with). WITHOUT RAISING YOUR THIGH OFF THE CHAIR, rotate your leg

so that your foot pulls the T-band away from the anchor point and kinda up

toward the knee of the other leg (not that far, though). The purpose of this

exercise is to use one of the rotator muscles in the hip joint (I don't know

which one), NOT to strengthen the adductors, so concentrate on feeling the work

in the hip joint.

3. This exercise was Rx'd by a previous very good PT: No Theraband required.

Lie on your side (the one opposite the " bad " leg) with both legs bent so hips

and knees are bent 90 degrees and feet line up with butt. Your torso should be

perpendicular to the floor and stay that way during the exercise (it'll tend to

lean forward or back, I forget which). Keeping the heels togethers, lift your

" bad " knee. This strengthens the gluteus minimus.

4. I don't know what this exercise strengthens, but it's somewhere in the hip

area. Stand with your " bad " foot on the NYC Yellow Pages (or equivalent) and

your good foot in the air to the side of it, alongside your " bad " foot. Making

sure you don't bend your body over to the side, lower your good foot by tilting

your pelvis down on the " good " side, then, using the muscles in the hip area of

the " bad " leg, raise your good foot back to where you started. This could

irritate your lower back.

Seems like there's more, but I can't think of any right now.

Ann

[Guest guest]

Re: Isolating the VMO (inner quad)

Ann,

Thanks for the exercises! A couple of questions in brackets down

below. (Interpreting verbal descriptions of exercises is always hard

**And then there's than thousand-word picture I can't draw with x's and o's!!

(8-)

>

>

> Before I left my previous clinic, I was seeing a good PT guy, who

had me doing hip rotator exercises, thusly (all of these are 10-20

times, 3 reps):

>

> 1. Anchor a Theraband (I started out w/yellow & quickly moved to

red) to something near the floor and attach the other end to the

distal (we're all amateur doctors here, aren't we?) end of your

shoelaces (I know this sounds like the beginning of a joke, but read

on). Stand far enough back to put tension on the Theraband. MAKING

SURE THAT YOU DON'T ROTATE YOUR TORSO OR PELVIS, do the following all

in one movement: keeping your knee striaght, pull your leg straight

back and rotate your foot outward. You don't have to pull your leg

back REAL far -- you'll know. NOTE: This exercise can irritate your

other knee if it's got things wrong with it. You can accomplish the

same thing by lying on your front & lifting the leg up while turning

the foot out.

[You stand facing the the theraband anchor, correct?]

**Yes. Sorry I left that out.

> 3. This exercise was Rx'd by a previous very good PT: No

Theraband required. Lie on your side (the one opposite the " bad "

leg) with both legs bent so hips and knees are bent 90 degrees and

feet line up with butt. Your torso should be perpendicular to the

floor and stay that way during the exercise (it'll tend to lean

forward or back, I forget which). Keeping the heels togethers, lift

your " bad " knee. This strengthens the gluteus minimus.

[so you lift both legs at the same time??? I'm having trouble

visualizing this...]

**No. You only lift the " bad " leg. You're lying on your " good " side, knees

bent, heels together, and all you lift is the " bad " knee, keeping the heels

together. The " good " leg stays on the floor. Any problems visualizing the

torso perpendicular to the floor? I thought that might give some people a bad

time. Your body is resting on the floor, on your side. I just meant don't lean

forward or backward.

Hope this helps. If not, ask. Ann

[Guest guest]

Verrrrrrrry interesting!

Depending on how much you want to pay, OPTP (www.optp.com) has one for $39.95.

Ann

Proprioception & Patella Tracking?

Over the last few months I have been rehab for plantar fascitus and

some

irritation it has caused to the knee joint of the same leg.

Among the many exercises they have given me for my heel and knee they

have given me several proprioception exercises.

These involve free hand balance exercises, balancing on weeble

boards,

wobble boards, and using wobble boards while doing leg presses.

A serendiptious effect for me has been massively improved knee

tracking

which I get trouble with every now and then.

What amazed me is how much faster, more effective, and more fun the

proprioception exercises straighten out knee tracking.

Has anyone heard of using this kind of therapy for knee tracking

issues?

Some of the balance boards look like equipment that has been around

for

awhile. Is this a new theory/regime behind old equipment?

Steve

=====

Completely anecdotal but also completely in line with my expectations.

I also found this:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=164303

Note this in the conclusion: " Subjects with good proprioception did

not benefit from patellar taping. However, in those healthy subjects

with poor proprioceptive ability as measured by active and passive

ankle reproduction, patellar taping provided proprioceptive

enhancement. "

Good proprioeption would seem to be a good thing to have...

> Also take a look at the abstracts on the link I posted yesterday.

> Seems weak hip abductors and hip rotators can be a real factor. I

> don't know any exercises to strengthen the rotators but the

abductors

> can be strengthened by

> http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/01_96/hip.htm or

>

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/HipAbductor/LVStandHipAbduction.ht

> ml

>

> A personal note: intially I was using ankle weights to exercise my

> abductors, adductors, extenders, and flexors as these are the

> exercises that staples to virtually all comprehensive knee

> rehabilitation programs. But after I decided that a stronger VMO

> was " The Answer, " all I did were the straight leg lifts (which

target

> the VMO). From this same logic, hip abductor exercises seemed bad

and

> something to be avoided, as they target the lateral (outside)

muscles

> of the leg. And now, it seems that weak hip abductors are probably

> more of a factor then a weak VMO! Oops!

>

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