Barre & Bad Knees: What you need to know
I have been teaching barre for years now and I have learned a lot about bodies, movement, and safety. People often worry about their ankles, their lower backs, and their KNEES! The number one question I get asked about barre is: Is barre safe for someone with bad knees?
While I cannot say that every exercise is safe for every single person, I can say that barre is safer for bad knees than many other exercises. Here are a few reasons why.
Barre is Low Impact
Low impact workouts are usually suited for most levels and focus on more fluid movements that are less stressful on the joints. Barre is a low-impact workout. Despite the shapes that your body may make in a barre class, the range of motion keeps your joints protected. A traditional barre class does not include a lot of jumping or quick direction changes. You typically will not have both feet off the floor at any point in barre, unless you’re in a seated move.
Barre is Good for Alignment
One of the biggest things I stress in my barre class is alignment. Posture can be difficult for a lot of people and everyone has different things going on with their gate and their posture. Barre can help you build a better relationship with your posture and alignment which in turn can have positive impacts on your knees and other joints.
Barre strengthens your muscles
Whether you have had knee injuries in the past or feel you are someone with weak knees, barre can be helpful. A lot of the standing work in barre focuses on your thighs (quadriceps) and your calves. These muscles are directly surrounding your knees. Sometimes in your first few classes, it can feel like your knees are sorer. While this could be the case, it may also be related to the muscle surrounding your knees getting worked and becoming sore. If you begin to build strength in the muscle surrounding your knees you can help prevent future injuries.
If you're someone who has been considering trying a barre class but you're not quite sure your knees are up for it, maybe this information will help you.
Sign up for my email list for an invite to my next open Barre class:
You can also join my membership and have unlimited access to my live and recorded barre classes.