Leg Extension for Hip Knee and Ankle Health

  A long time ago I would push away the idea of someone using leg extensions. Specifically I was and still am very biased against the leg extension machines. They are very flawed in design. With some actually placing the user in a slight angle, worsening the possible damage. Problems kick in at the point where a person lifts his lower legs through the motion. This action would cause a great deal of stress on the tibia (shin) and could cause knee shearing as the lower leg straightens. With the added seat angle, this tension and shearing is increased, along with a bonus of improper muscle recruitment (using the wrong muscles at the wrong time). Not good for anyone.

 These days I am open to the idea for using leg extensions (minus the machine). Mainly influenced by a great strength coach, Mike Boyle. From there, I looked even deeper to ideas of a great professor/therapist, Shirley Sahrmann. Leg extensions, when done properly, are a valuable asset to any stretching and conditioning program. The key component is true knee extension without use of machinery. Just a person and a chair. The movement is also a good way to assess issues of the structures (muscle, tendon, and cartilage) surrounding the lumbar spine, pelvis, hip, knee and ankle joints.

 A simple way to incorporate this exercise:
 Have a chair (preferably with a flat back to it) that allows 90 degree knee bend.
 Sit upright like your momma' used to tell you.
 Flex your toes up towards your knees (dorsiflexion).
 Slightly raise a knee up and extend (raise) your lower leg to your ability (where you feel a slight to medium stretch in the leg...not to be confused with attempting to rip your muscle off the bone with deep stretching).

 Very simple exercise. From this exercise you can easily assess any faults in your your bodies joints. Also, this literally would become a conditioning exercise to get the joint movements back to optimal performance.