Why Your Knees Ache When You Walk or Take the Stairs (It May Not Start in the Knee)
Many people with achy knees put all their attention on the knee itself. The creator of one home exercise routine argues that you should look higher up first.
If your knees bother you when you walk, climb stairs, or get up from a chair, you've probably tried the usual things: resting, a few stretches you found online, maybe some ice. When the ache keeps coming back, it's easy to assume the knee is simply worn out.
Former NBA player Jonathan Bender, who was told at 24 that he had the knees of someone over 50, came to a different view. His argument: the knee is often where the problem shows up, not where it starts. Here are the three ideas behind his routine.
1. One side is carrying more than its share
Watch how most people stand in line: weight shifted onto one leg, hip pushed out to the side. Over the years, this becomes the default. Bender's program puts it simply: when one side of your body carries more of your weight than the other, that knee takes extra load. The program calls this "loading the joint."
More load on one side, thousands of steps a day, and it's not hard to see why one knee may start to complain before the other.
2. The pelvis sets the angle
Your pelvis sits right above your thighs, and its position affects everything below it. When the pelvis is rotated forward, sometimes called an anterior tilt, it changes posture through the lower back, hips, and legs.
The program explains that this position puts more pressure on the lower back and changes how force travels down to the knees. In other words, the way you stand and sit can quietly add work for your knees all day long.
3. Tight hamstrings pull from both ends
The hamstrings run along the back of your thigh, from the pelvis to just below the knee. According to the program, shortened hamstrings cause knee problems by pulling on both ends: up at the pelvis and down at the knee.
That's one reason stretching only the front of the leg, or only the area around the knee, may not change much. The muscles behind the knee and the position of the pelvis are part of the same chain.
What unlocks it: muscle reactivation
If the knee is taking extra load because of what's happening above it, then the goal is to get the rest of the body to share the work again.
Bender calls his approach "muscle reactivation": short, guided exercises that wake up the muscles around the hips, pelvis, and legs, improve mobility in tight areas, and encourage both legs to share the load more evenly. As the program puts it, the goal is to place as little pressure as possible on your knees.
It isn't about intense workouts or heavy weights. It's about a consistent routine that targets the areas that set up the knee.
What the routine looks like
Bender used this approach on his own way back. After retiring from the NBA at 25, he returned to the league after a 4-year absence. He later turned the method into a video program called Knee Pain Relief Codes, published under his SoloPrehab brand. According to the producer's page:
- Follow-along exercise videos of about 10 minutes a day
- A focus on mobility, strengthening, and load balance between both legs
- Two bonus videos: walking and jogging, plus hydration and protein intake
- Digital access only, with a one-time payment of $47 and a 60-day refund policy from the producer
Before you start
Every body is different, and an article can't tell you what's going on with your knee. If you have swelling, sharp pain, a knee that locks or gives way, or pain after a fall, see a doctor first. Check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine, and stop any movement that doesn't feel right.
If the idea that your knee may be paying for what's happening above it makes sense to you, the producer's page explains the method in more detail.