The Best Exercise To Fix Knee Pain in 2024

We've become slaves to our sedentary lives, trading our hunter-gatherer heritage for a desk chair and a screen.

For years, we've been plagued by the tyranny of the knee – the aching, grinding, snapping sensation that marks the slow decay of our ability to move freely.

Traditional leg exercises – the squats, lunges, and leg presses – are great and are the foundation of strong legs.

But if you have knee pain these exercises can feel like a cruel joke, further injuring your already delicate joints.

Enter the hand-supported skater squat.

It's a seemingly unassuming exercise that might just be the key to restoring your knee health.

According to a study conducted by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, skater squats resulted in a 32% increase in knee joint stability after just six weeks of consistent practice. And if that's not enough to convince you, another study by the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that skater squats significantly reduced knee pain in 79% of participants.

Now, you may be wondering, what is this magical movement that promises salvation for your aching joints?

The hand-supported skater squat is a single-leg squat variation that requires you to squat down on one leg while the other leg extends behind you, mimicking the movement of a speed skater.

The added support of your hands on a surface such as a countertop or a sturdy chair helps to maintain balance, minimizing the risk of injury and allowing you to focus on perfecting your form.

The benefits of this exercise don't stop at just your knees.

As a single limb movement, the skater squat demands the engagement of your entire lower body, including your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps.

This full engagement helps improve overall stability and proprioception, making you more resistant to injury in the future.

Additionally, as the American Council on Exercise (ACE) points out, unilateral exercises like the skater squat can help correct muscle imbalances and promote better alignment in the body.

You might be thinking, "Sure, this exercise sounds great, but how can I be sure it's safe for my delicate knees?"

The secret lies in the eccentric phase of the movement – the slow, controlled descent into the squat position. By emphasizing the eccentric phase, you're essentially training your muscles to act as shock absorbers, taking the load off your knee joint and reducing the risk of injury.

It's this eccentric focus that sets the skater squat apart from its more traditional counterparts, and it's the reason why it's so effective at rehabilitating damaged knees.

With consistent practice and proper form, you can reclaim your mobility and reignite the fire of your inner athlete.

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