The Slow Sit Down - Great for Preventing Knee Pain

Do you want to reduce your risk for knee pain as you get older? The Slow Sit Down is one of the most effective leg exercises for preventing knee pain that you will ever do.   Many of you may have heard of the squat exercise. The slow sit down is a cousin of the squat.  Squats often scare people because they think they are bad for your knees or will end up hurting your knees.  This exercise is a modified less stressful version of the squat.  During the slow sit down, you are controlling your body weight against gravity which is challenging, but less stressful on your knees.  The stressful part of a squat is the transition and the rise back up.  This exercise is less stressful for two reasons.  The first is when you descend to the chair you actually sit for a second or two. Believe it or not, the 1-2 second rest period makes a difference.  The upward motion of the squat can aggravate the knees of some people because of weaknesses in various parts of your legs.  Strong muscles allow your joints to move freely, when we have limitations in strength our joints can become irritated if the load is too high.  This is why some people with knee pain will use momentum to go up stairs or sit very quickly avoiding the muscle contraction while sitting.  If you fall into a chair gravity does all the work for you.  This is efficient and less tiresome/stressful, but it does the lack of using your leg muscles will lead to continued weakness and the greater possibility for more joint pain in the future.

Below is a description of how to do the slow sit down.

It is pretty simple.  Stand in front of a chair and lower yourself into the seat of the chair as slow as you can.  This very important.  Use your hands to help push you up.  The key is to save your strength for the slow sit down and to avoid stressing or over working your muscles rising up from the chair.  Do them as slow as possible, and if you feel like you can’t control yourself into the seat, take a break or end the session for the day. 

Reduce your chances of knee pain by doing the slow sit down every time you sit in a chair.

Your goal should be to perform this exercise daily for 1 set of 10 repetitions.  In addition to your exercise session, you should concentrate on sitting in a chair this way every time you sit down.