Exercises for Older Adults to Ease Common Aches and Pains, Sore Knees

Vintage Fitness personal trainers work with clients to understand where they have pain and design exercise programs to help to ease the pain.  For the next 4 weeks I will focus on common aches and pains that our clients have.  If you have questions or would like me to cover a certain topic drop me a note erin@vintagefitness.ca.

Week 1: Sore Knees

Knee pain is one of the most common pain points for older adults.  It can be caused for a number of reasons and it is important that persistent pain gets assessed by your physiotherapist.  

A few things to consider if you have knee pain

1. Pay attention: Notice the patterns of your pain including when the pain happens, where it is and what makes it feel better or worse.
2. Shoe replacement: Are your shoes giving you enough cushioning? If you are walking regularly you should replace your shoes every 6 months even if the tread looks fine.  It is the first thing that you should if you start to feel knee pain.
3. Stretching: Are you stretching and using a foam roller to loosen up the tendons that support your knees?

Quad Stretch

• Use a towel or pant leg if you can’t reach your foot
• Keep the knees in line
• Hold for 30-60 seconds

---

Foam Roller IT band work

• Start with the foam roller placed just below the hip
• To make it less intense put more weight in the bent leg
• Roll down the side of the leg to just above the knee
• Do 4-5 rolls per leg and stop and hold for a few seconds when you hit a really tight spot

---

Walking Technique

Are you a loud walker/runner? If you hear you feet “slapping” the ground when you walk or run you are putting too much extra pressure into your feet, knees and hips.  Try to walk softly by landing on the heel and rolling through to the toes each time you step.

---

Squat

• Keep your shoulders relaxed
• Do 15 squats into a chair
• Try squeezing a soft ball between the knees when you do this exercise

---

Good Luck!

Erin

Vintage Fitness

Click to Call    416-951-7978

Vintage Fitness is an in home personal training company in Toronto, Canada.  We specialize in energizing the lives of people over 50 with exercise.