At Naples Regenerative Institute in Naples, Florida, Glenn M. Flanagan, MD, helps athletes stay active in their sport using advanced strategies.
In our August blog, we’re exploring the topic of knees — one of the hardest-working joints for athletes. Your knees absorb repeated impact while relying on muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage to work together.
Although no injury is completely preventable, starting some smart training habits can significantly reduce your risk of knee pain both now and in the future. Here are six practical ways to help protect your knees during sports and exercise.
Strong muscles help absorb force before it reaches your joints. Although athletes often focus on strengthening their quadriceps, all the muscles surrounding your knees play an important role as well.
A balanced strengthening program should also target your:
When these muscle groups work together, they help stabilize your knees.
Jumping into intense activity too quickly increases stress on the knee’s support tissues, and they may not be primed for that high-impact movement.
Spend several minutes gradually increasing your heart rate before training. Dynamic warm-up exercises like walking lunges, leg swings, bodyweight squats, and light jogging prep your joints for movement while improving flexibility and coordination.
Research suggests that an appropriate dynamic warm-up can play a crucial role in reducing injury risk and preparing the body for activity.
Even strong athletes can develop knee pain if they move with poor form.
For instance, allowing your knees to collapse inward while squatting, landing awkwardly after jumps, or pivoting without careful control puts extra strain on important knee structures like the ACL and meniscus.
Working with a qualified coach or physical therapist to improve movement patterns can help you identify technique adjustments.
Accelerating a training schedule too fast is one of the most common causes of overuse injuries.
Whether you're training for a race, returning after time off, or starting a new sport, it’s important to increase your mileage, intensity, or weightlifting volume gradually.
Giving your body time to adapt allows muscles, tendons, and cartilage to recover between workouts. Building rest days into your schedule is just as important because it allows your body’s natural restorative mechanisms to kick in, rebuilding tissues.
The way your feet meet the ground affects how force travels through your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back.
Shoes that match your sport and provide appropriate support can improve alignment and help avoid unnecessary stress on your joints. Worn-out shoes lose their cushioning and stability long before damage is visible.
If you play a high-impact sport, replacing athletic shoes on a schedule may help protect your knees.
Some mild knee soreness can be normal after a challenging workout. Pain that continues for weeks, keeps returning, or disrupts training deserves professional evaluation.
Don’t try to tough it out or push through ongoing pain. Early treatment may help address tendon injuries, ligament strains, cartilage damage, or early arthritis before symptoms become more severe.
That’s where Dr. Flanagan can come in to develop personalized treatment plans for nagging knee pain.
Depending on your diagnosis, regenerative therapies such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), stem cell therapy, or MLS laser therapy may be a good fit for supporting your body’s healing response while reducing pain and amplifying function.
Call Naples Regenerative Institute office today or request an appointment online to learn whether regenerative treatment may be right for you.
