Knee pads have two functions, one is braking, and the other is thermal insulation. Not much to say about heat preservation. The knee is very easy to catch cold. Many knee joint diseases are related to the cold knee. Cycling often causes the leg muscles to feel very hot because they have been exercising, while the knees have no muscle movement, so It is not hot. When people feel that the legs are very comfortable to dissipate heat, the knees are actually getting cold. At this time, if you wear knee pads, the thermal insulation effect of the knee pads can be reflected.
Mainly talk about the braking effect of the knee pads. The knee joint is the place where the upper and lower leg bones meet, with the meniscus in the middle and the patella in the front. The patella is stretched by two muscles and suspended before the junction of the leg bones. It is very easy to slide. In normal life, it is not affected by external forces. There is no strenuous exercise, so the patella can move in a normal small range in the knee area.
Because the cycling exercise puts too much pressure on the knee, coupled with the strenuous exercise during cycling, it is easy to cause the patella to be pulled away from the original position, thereby causing diseases of the knee joint. Wearing knee pads can fix the patella in a relatively stable position to ensure that it is not easily injured.
The above mentioned is the mild braking effect of the knee pad when the knee joint is not injured. After the knee joint is injured, using the knee pad with heavy braking can reduce the bending of the knee, maintain a straight line from the thigh to the calf, and reduce the knee joint. Bend, thus protecting the knee joint from aggravating the condition.
Some riders wear knee pads on long trips, but not on short trips. Everyone knows that "three feet of freezing is not a day's cold", the number of short rides is more, and the knee joint will still get sick after a long time, so remind cyclists to protect your knee joint from 0 kilometers, starting if the knee joint It is too late to wear knee pads after a disease has occurred.
Some riders think that wearing knee pads is a matter of winter and can not be worn in summer. This view is wrong. Because of the high temperature in summer, the pores of the skin expand much larger than in winter. If you do not wear knee pads, your knee joints will be more vulnerable to high-speed wind, and the chance of the disease will be greater.
Should you wear knee pads when exercising?
Wearing knee pads can protect your knee from injury to a certain extent. Knee injuries are caused by injury or damage to tissues that are not easy to regenerate, such as cartilage and meniscus. These tissues are not like muscles that can grow quickly. If you want to help cartilage Long includes eating a lot of Glucosamine (the salt of the amino grape salt, not calcium), and eating a lot has only a very limited effect. These tissues can be considered non-renewable for a few years or even longer. Targeted muscle training does help, but the effect is only "help", and even if it is practiced correctly, the result is far from "prevention". In fact, people who like to carry a large backpack and abuse themselves can easily break through the bearing capacity of their well-maintained knees within a few days, and fall down on the root of the disease that cannot be cured for many years.
In order to protect the knee from injury, a variety of knee pads are on the market, and we most commonly include two types: ordinary knee pads with straight sleeves and professional knee pads with reinforcing bars on both sides. Knee pads are not required for general exercise. Because ordinary knee pads usually have a warm effect, and after wearing, it will form a certain pressure on the patella in front of the knee, affecting the effect of sports. If you are climbing, you need to use it intermittently, not the whole time. Put it on when the knee feels uncomfortable, and take it off when the knee is in good condition, otherwise it will affect the normal training of the muscles. In the choice of knee pads, there is no need for knee pads with particularly strong functions, because the more functional knee pads, the better the protection and support effect, the greater the range of affecting the exercise effect, and the long-term use will greatly reduce the effect of muscle training. Professional knee pads are generally used by people who have suffered knee injuries. Because their knees have been injured, their strength is insufficient, and they need to use the reinforcement bars on both sides for strength support during exercise.
Related articles : Are knee pads necessary for outdoor climbing? Are knee pads useful for outdoor sports?
How to brace your knees on a long ride
1. Use high speed (90~100 rpm) and choose light gear (low gear) to pedal
If you use a high cadence, the force on your knees will be reduced each time you pedal, which can effectively protect your knees. Some friends believe that their physical strength is good, and in order to gain speed when climbing a hill, they use their right to pedal down a bicycle. After all, the strength of the human knee joint is limited, and it is not surprising that such a large force has an impact on the knee joint. Therefore, those with severe knee damage are generally those with better physical strength.
2. Adjust the seat cushion to the appropriate position
The more bent the knee is when riding a bicycle, the greater the pressure. Therefore, for a sense of security, most people adjust the seat very low when riding a bicycle, so that they can support the ground with their feet when there is a problem, but the low riding posture directly causes the Because of the huge pressure on the knees, it can be said that if you always choose this riding position, the knee joint will soon have problems, that is for sure. The correct seat height is this: when you ride a bicycle, after your legs are fully on the pedals, your legs are almost straight, but there is a slight bend to allow for swinging.
3. When stepping, the knee should move vertically on a horizontal plane
The movement of the knee is not a single plane movement like a hinge, but a slight rotation during the movement. For example, pay attention to your kneecap when riding a bicycle. If it moves vertically up and down without Shaking back and forth, the pressure on the knee is very small, but your kneecap is in a figure-8 or S-shaped movement (viewed from the side), then it may cause knee injury.
4. Build strong and supple muscles
Do more leg muscle exercises on a regular basis to minimize the stress on your knees. To prevent sports injuries of the knee joint, you can do stretching exercises and weight training for a long time to exercise the quadriceps, the flexing muscles on the back of the thigh. If the quadriceps are strong, the knee will be stronger and it will not be easily injured. Deliberately strengthening the quadriceps (front thigh) and cruciate ligaments, strengthening the inner quadriceps and thigh muscles (for example, weighted squats), combined with stretching, walking, stomping or sticking Wall exercises and other methods pave the way for the smooth movement of the patella in the femoral canal.
Muscles are like rubber bands. If they are elastic, they will never break; if they are stiff, they may break as soon as they are pulled. The higher the temperature, the softer the muscles will be, and they will be easily stretched. Therefore, you should pay attention to keeping warm when riding a bicycle, otherwise the cold air will make the muscles stiff, which will easily cause injury. Usually, you can rub the lower edge of the knee with the fingers of both hands to promote the protection of the knee at night.