Does playing shuttlecock hurt your knees?

Shuttlecock is a simple and easy exercise, and you can often see people exercising by playing it. Some people think that playing shuttlecock can affect their knees. So does playing shuttlecock hurt your knees?

Does playing shuttlecock hurt your knees?

Playing shuttlecock is a great way to exercise your lower body strength, move your knee joints, and increase knee flexibility. Generally speaking, playing shuttlecock correctly has little effect on your knees. However, because the knee joint carries the weight of the upper body when standing, when playing shuttlecock, one leg is off the ground and the other leg alone carries all the weight, plus the standing weight-bearing leg will move and rotate accordingly, making the whole body force increase. If the shuttlecock is overloaded for a long time, there will be greater damage to the knee.

Older people are more likely to hurt their knees when playing shuttlecock

Older people have more fragile joints than younger people. The knee joint is formed by the intersection of the femur of the thigh and the tibia of the lower leg. There is a 3-5 mm gap between the two joints where synovial fluid exists, a decompression pad - the meniscus - in the middle, two cruciate ligaments (cruciate ligaments) inside, the collateral ligaments on the outside, and the patellar ligaments in the front. These ligaments and cartilage hold the knee firmly in place and maintain the stability of the knee joint. Knee function is already on a "downhill" path after the age of 40, and if you don't pay attention to exercise patterns and subject your knee to excessive stress over time, you will advance the age of degenerative knee disease. In addition, the elderly usually play shuttlecock with one leg and the other leg as a support. This puts the weight of the body on the knee joint of the supporting leg. The moment you start kicking, the downward explosive force and the rotational force of the twisting waist will cause wear and tear on the knee joint of the supporting leg, causing "degenerative disease" over time. In addition, because of the single action of the shuttlecock, it is also easy to cause injury to the lateral collateral ligament of the knee joint of the leg that repeatedly kicks.

How to avoid hurting your knee by playing shuttlecock

Warm up before playing shuttlecock

Before playing shuttlecock, move your knee joints, such as doing knee wraps, ankle wraps, squats, etc., and let your body sweat slightly for 10-15 minutes.

Bring knee pads to play shuttlecock

Knee pads can use elastic bandages to limit the range of joint movement, reduce wear and tear on joint cartilage, and temporarily provide a little support for knee stability, which can protect the knee to some extent.

Choose to play shuttlecock on a flat, soft and hard surface

Because playing shuttlecock is also about jumping. If the ground is too hard, the impact on the knee will be greater during the shuttlecock kicking process and the chances of injuring the knee joint will be greatly increased. Therefore it is best to choose a venue with a moderately hard and soft ground for this.

Control the strength of the shuttlecock

Pay attention to control the time of playing shuttlecock, not too long, in 30 minutes is appropriate. Avoid burdening the knee for too long.

Who should not play shuttlecock

1, the elderly, because the elderly have degenerative knee disease, usually no symptoms, when the movement is not more prone to discomfort than ordinary people. Even if you want to play shuttlecock, you have to grasp the degree, scientific shuttlecock, do not play fancy shuttlecock. 2, obese people, prone to joint injury, because the heavier the weight the greater the load on the knee joint. 3, is a history of knee problems, such as bruises, falls, sprains, the chance of injury when playing shuttlecock is greater.