Simple Exercises to Increase Balance
The is an increasingly high number of knee injuries in youth athletes today. Youth athletes are playing too many hours of their sport and no dedicating a sufficient amount of time developing their athletic foundation. This includes build strength, improving mobility and mitigating injuries.
Quick look inside the knee:
The knee joint is located at the ends of the thigh bone ( femur ) and the shin bone (tibia). The patella serves to protect this area. The back of this area is covered in articular cartilage, which acts as a cushion to keep the femur, patella, and tibia from grinding against each other. On the top of the tibia, extra pads of cartilage called menisci help absorb the body’s weight. Each knee has two menisci — the inside (medial) meniscus and the outside (lateral) meniscus.
Here is a look at some simple exercises you can add to your program, workout, team warm up or P.E. class. The goal is to enhance balance. As a bi-product of improving balance you are also improving the stability of the knee and ankle.