The amount of hip and knee related injuries we see with people over 40 is becoming increasingly common. We know that exercise can be a great way to prevent the onset of these injuries but being able to train when you have hip and knee injury or stiffness can be very painful. Doing nothing is not a solution either as the joint will become weaker and more unstable resulting in a much bigger problem and a continuation of more pain. In one of our previous articles we provided some great ideas for training with severe knee pain (see best exercises for severe knee pain) which prompted many emails asking about the relevance of these exercises if you had a hip problem. There is a direct link with hip dysfunction to knee pain. For many surgery may seem like the best solution, yet I have met several people in their late 40's and early 50's who have had knee replacements only to be left in more pain than they had before the operation. Or worse still, developed other injuries and complications as a result of the surgery! This article we look at the reasons behind chronic problems at the hip and the knee and what you can do about it and try to avoid surgery if you can. Sometimes it may be all you can do, but it should be the last resort and the only option left after all alternatives have been tried first.

If there is one thing that really changes the quality of life with older adults it is the loss of balance and fear of falling. Statistics in the US show that one adult over the age of 65 is treated in the emergency room for a fall every 18 seconds (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Quite an alarming statistic and even more scary when you consider that hip fractures are the most common injury from a fall and the number one cause of nursing home admission. Approximately 50% of those who suffer a hip fracture never fully regain their mobility and independence, and 50% of those die within the first year! Falling for an older adult is a very serious matter, and a life-threatening situation. The good news is it can be easily prevented by adopting exercise strategies that utilize the skills of reflex stability, balance, agility, and even speed. This article we will explain exercises and methods you can use to prevent falls and provide several real-life examples of these in action.

The big toe is a very underestimated joint in providing us with the stability and strength for movement. I would be the first to tell you that I was ignorant to this for a very long time, even considering I know exactly what happens if you injure your big toe as I have broken mine before. It left me on crutches for several weeks and unable to walk or run correctly for months. It was not this however that led me to appreciate foot stability a lot more, it was more to do with my frustration at not being able to help some people with walking difficulty. Back in 2015 we started working with several tricky cases of people who had severe walking impairments from car accidents, disease and spinal injury. Working closely with these clients several times per week our typical training was helping a lot but not providing the improvement we really wanted. I knew we were missing something and I could see that in every case there was huge problems at the feet, even though none of these people had pain at the feet. We have covered the role of Foot Stability before but today I want to share more insight into the big toe for as you will soon see there is a correlation between big toe dysfunction and injury elsewhere in the body.