Knee Pain: Inevitable, or Preventable?

Women of the Wild
Oct 22, 2024
4 min read

In this post I go into detail of the exercises I do to strengthen my knees, where I got them from and why you should consider doing them, too! There's even links to video tutorials at the bottom.

The hike that destroyed my knees: Mount Macfarlane

In one of our community discussions in the broadcast channel, I spotted a theme: knee problems. So I asked if you all wanted to know what I do for my knees, and the answers I received were a resounding "yes!"

My knee history:

Growing up, I was a competitive gymnast from ages 5-14 and a competitive All Star cheerleader ages 10-16. So, need I say more? My body's got some problems. The biggest knee injury I sustained was while dismounting off the high bar during a competition when I was 11. I landed with straight legs and hyperextended both knees, after which my coach and the judges carried me off the mat. I taped my knees as per physio recommendations for years after that, up until the time I quit gymnastics. After quitting, through day-to-day use I didn't have much for knee pain, nothing notable at least.

Fast forward to 4 years ago, having already been an arborist for a year and having taken up hiking a few years prior, my knees were starting to have some minor aches and pains again. After the drive home from a hike in North Vancouver in July, while there was no incident I could pin the injury to aside from perhaps the slipping and sliding down the mountain in mud and snow, I tried to get out of my Jeep and suddenly couldn't stand. My knees were in so much pain that I couldn't put weight on them, and it hit me instantly as I tried to get out of my vehicle. My knees must have seized up during the hour-long drive home, and now I was clinging to the side of my Jeep and side of the house to get inside.

I took a month off work, and when I went back I was on light duties. I was put in a bucket truck and worked out of it - no climbing, and no dragging brush to the chipper. While still in pain, I couldn't afford to not work any longer, so I took a 2-month contract to climb for a new company starting late September. I figured, the pay was good, and I would climb for the contract and would have to find a new job afterward, because my knees were not okay.

My Knee Rehab

Then I discovered "Knees Over Toes Guy," Ben Patrick. The concept is so simple, yet seemed so backward to me after growing up and training with the old-school mentality of "never let your knees pass your toes." Turns out, that mentality shouldn't have been taken so seriously!

When your knees go past your toes during exercises such as squats, it puts load on the knees. Because of this, the idea of "never let your knees pass your toes" became widespread. Reduce the load on the knees and reduce knee pain, right? Wrong. By restricting your range of motion you're actually allowing certain muscles to get weaker, which may lead to injury and pain. So the Knees Over Toes (KoT) program aims to strengthen all the muscles that have been neglected over the years, thus reducing pain and helping to prevent injury.

Note that I have no affiliation with Ben Patrick or KoT, I just use the program and swear by it.

I know so many people who can't do things because of knee pain and think that's how the rest of their life will be, and I want you to know that there are things you can do to reduce that pain and strengthen your knees to reduce the chance of injury. Yes, everyone's body, pain and injury is different. Also yes, we're all humans; our physiology is the same, and we can all benefit from strengthening the muscles in our bodies that get neglected.

If you want to go all-out there's a program you can purchase which takes you through three levels of the KoT program, and has ATG (Athletic Truth Group) coaches who are always available to you. The first level is all body weight exercises, things you can do at home. The second level requires some equipment and adds weights, and the third goes even further. The ATG coaches recommend you do each level for 3 months, and they have you film yourself doing the exercise and submit the video. They respond to your submissions within 24 hours with feedback and fixes for your form and technique.

I paid for level one of the program for 6 months, then paid for level two just to see what it was about. I then canceled my membership, because I knew the exercises and my technique was locked in - I no longer needed the feedback from the ATG coaches. I never went up in levels because I didn't have the equipment they require, and I continue to do level one every second day and it only takes me 15 minutes to complete them.

3 years later, I'm still an arborist and still climbing - my knees are no longer an issue! That is, until I neglect to do the exercises for multiple months and then do an absolutely grueling hike that destroys them again. That was my reminder that even when my knees feel good, I need to keep doing the exercises and strengthening them.

To make it super easy and straightforward for you, I have listed below the level one program, and included video tutorials on how to do each exercise.

If you want to check out the ATG website and learn more about their app and program, click here.

Warm-up:

Walk backward 10 minutes

You can walk around the block, or backward on a treadmill (with it off)

When my knees were REAL bad, I couldn't do any of the exercises without pain. So I started walking backwards for 10 minutes/day, and within 2 weeks my knees were strengthened enough to start doing the first 4 exercises.