Secret Ingredient For Knee Health

Strengthen your Anterior Tibialis With this simple exercise

When it comes to treating your knee pain, you’re going to want to figure out what the root cause of the pain is. Most of the time, knee pain is a problem with either the ankle or the hip. For example, when there is limited ankle mobility we are at increased risk for anterior knee pain. You can read more about the causes of knee pain here.

Today, we’re coming at you with a simple exercise you can do to help with anterior knee pain (pain that you feel under the patella/knee cap or in the tendon below the patella).

The Benefits of Anterior Tibialis Raises

• Reducing knee pain – Anterior tibialis raises strengthen the muscle on the front of the shin, which can help reduce knee pain.
• Maintaining increased ankle mobility – After doing exercises to increase ankle mobility (foam rolling the calf, ankle dorsiflexion mobilization, calf raises), anterior tibialis raises can help lock that motion in.
• Improving balance and coordination – Working the muscles around the ankle can help improve balance and coordination, which can help prevent ankle sprains and improve performance.
• Reduce other injuries – Maintaining good ankle mobility is pivotal in preventing running injuries and improving running performance.

Below is a video of the basic anterior tibialis raise. We’ve also included some more advanced exercises to strengthen the anterior tibialis.

Toe Raises

For this exercise, try to keep the toes spread out and long (do the best you can). Also note whether the little toe side of your foot is coming up higher than the big toe side of your foot. You want to try and maintain your arch height, so the medial aspect of your foot should be lifting, rather than the outside part of your foot.

Moon Walk

Heel Drag

---