As explained in Chapter Six of Rethink Your Position, tight quadriceps muscles pull the kneecaps deeper into the knee joint. OUCH!
These stiff bits need to release to fix the issue—you might even have been told the importance of stretching your quads—but how can you stretch when getting onto the knees or deeply bending the knees further presses the kneecaps deep into the joint causing MORE OUCH?
Try this No-Load Lunge!
A simple lunge is a great way to start lengthening the iliacus, psoas and the four muscles that make up your quadriceps and, if you mind your pelvis and keep it neutral, a lunge can really move the one quad muscle that’s often problematic: the rectus femoris.
Grab a chair—an armless chair, a low stool, or something like a piano bench works best—and follow this video for instructions!
You can give your knees some BIG LOVE and pair this with our other low-load exercises. Some moves to check out are the Patella Release, Patella Centering, Iliacus Release and Psoas Release. Grab a copy of Move Your DNA from the library, or check out my video course Nutritious Movement Improvement to get instruction in all of these moves.
VSM members, you can find an entire class featuring this move in the virtual studio, called "No-Load Lunge" in the Quickie Classes section. Not a VSM member? Find more details here.