Try This Simple Stretch To Fight Knee Pain And Protect Your Knees

If you don’t experience knee pain already, chances are you will down the road. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that half of adults will have arthritis in their knees by age 85.

Now we have you thinking about that extra creakiness you heard getting out of bed this morning, right? That’s why Jill Miller, founder of Yoga Tune Up, developed this simple knee stretch. Even if you’re not feeling the aches quite yet, it’s a stretch may help to protect your knees so you never have to slow down during that morning jog.

As Miller explains in the video below, you’ll need hand or dish towel to start stretching. Then take the following steps:

1. Take a seat and place your heel on the edge of the chair or couch you’re sitting on.
2. Fold the towel and place it behind your knee as close to the joint as possible.
3. Next, put weight in your heel, then wrap your hands around your shin and give it a good tug while contracting your calf and hamstring muscles. Flex and release your leg muscles so that the knee squeezes, then releases, pressure onto the towel. Miller says this should help to stretch and “create space” in your knee.

Miller demonstrated this stretch on OWN, check it out below:

Doing this regularly will help to keep your knees loose and pain free. Share this stretch with your marathon buddies or those people in your life who always seem to be complaining about their bad knees.

Photo by erix!

[h/t TipHero]