How learning to slow down prevents pain and injury in your knees | CNN

If your knees ache on the way down a flight of stairs but not on the way up, the issue probably isn’t your knees. More likely, it’s your brakes. Most general exercise programs train your body to produce power through pushing, pressing, lifting and forward motion. Too few address the opposite ability: absorbing force and controlling movement as you slow down. When your body’s braking system is undertrained, the force generated by gravity and momentum puts unnecessary stress on your joints and connective tissue that can lead to chronic pain and injury. Working in professional sports, I’ve seen strength staffs in Major League Baseball and the National Football League devote entire training blocks to deceleration because they know most non-contact ACL injuries commonly occur while an athlete is landing, stopping or changing direction — not while accelerating. Lindsey Vonn’s ACL tear and the truth about exercising while injured While you may never need to slide into second base or catch a pass without stepping out of bounds, everyday life still demands braking control. When you descend stairs, walk downhill, sit in a chair, stop short to keep from tripping, or move out of th