Physical Therapy Exercises for Knee Pain
Have you been having knee pain and are looking for some stretches or exercises to help relieve it?
We've once again collaborated with a physical therapist to come up with and produce amazing stretches and exercises that will help alleviate knee pain. Please remember you should consult with your physician or other healthcare professionals before starting this or any other fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs.
For some of the exercises today, a stretching strap will be used. However, if you don't have one, you can also use a yoga strap, a belt, a rope, a long towel, or a long sheet.
5 Exercises to Help Reduce or Prevent Knee Pain:
Heel Slide
The first exercise is going to be a heel slide. Depending on what surface you're on, you may want to take your shoes off just so you can slide easier. Then place that strap, or whatever you have around one foot and lie onto your back in the supine position.
You should now be laying down with the legs straight. You then want to flex your foot of the leg that we're working, and then slowly slide that heel in, as we bend the knee. When you can't go any farther you can use your strap to help pull that foot in even closer to get more flection in the knee, and then slowly slide it back out until it's completely straight.
This specific exercise is working on flexion range of motion and working on getting more of a bend-in movement from that knee joint. As we age, or as we have any pain in the knees we start to get a limited range of motion, and then the knee doesn't bend as well.
When you're done with that leg, make sure you do the other leg as well. For this exercise aim for doing about three sets of 10 on each leg.
2. Supine Hamstring Stretch
Our second exercise is a supine hamstring stretch using the strap. If you don't have a strap, you could use your hands and just grab the thigh, as well.
For this exercise, place the strap around one foot. You then want to hold that leg up in the air, the other leg is just bent, and you're going to slowly bring the straight leg toward you until you feel a stretch in the back of the leg, in the back of the hamstring region, and back of the knee.
This is a static stretch that you're going to pull and then hold for 30 seconds, keeping that foot flexed. The leg should be in line with the rest of the body. Don't let the leg come out or in too much. Your goal is to keep that knee completely straight so you can get a good, deep stretch in the back of the leg. Maintaining good flexibility is so important for your knee health, and that's what this stretch is doing here.
A 30-second hold on each leg is the goal. Don't forget to do the other leg as well.
3. Prone Quadricep Stretch
Our third exercise today is a prone quadricep stretch.
For this exercise, we'll begin lying on our stomach and we're going to be stretching those thigh muscles. When they're tight they attach onto the knee cap and they can pull on that knee cap, or the patella, and cause some knee pain and restrictions. We want to stretch these muscles out.
You're going to lie down on your stomach and place the strap around one foot, and then just lie down completely holding the strap up over the shoulder. You can hold it with one hand or both, it's up to you.
Relax your head and slowly pull your foot in toward your bottom until you feel a stretch in the front of the thigh region. Be sure to squeeze the glutes, push the hips down into the ground to maintain hip extension. From that hip extension position, you can flex the knee to get a great, thigh stretch.
If you don't have a strap for this stretch, you can also reach back with your hand and just pull with the ankle or the foot. Be sure to pull inward.
After the 30 seconds is up, you'll want to do that on the other leg as well. One rep for 30 seconds on each leg.
4. Quadricep Set
For this fourth exercise, we're going to do what's called a quadricep set, or quad set.
It's an isometric hold to strengthen the thigh muscles that are so important at keeping the knees strong and healthy.
Start out with lying on your back with the legs bent, and you are going to do one leg at a time. We're going to straighten that leg out with the foot flexed.
Next, you're going to squeeze those thigh muscles for five seconds. You're going to squeeze and tighten them as you are trying to push your knee down into the ground for a five-second hold and then relax.
Make sure you do the other leg as well. One leg is bent, one leg is straight, and then do those five-second isometric holds.
For this exercise, I suggest doing three sets of 10 on each leg.
5. Straight Leg Raise
Our fifth and final exercise is called a straight leg raise.
We're going to build upon that quad set that we just did and progress a little further now.
What you want you to do is straighten one leg out with your arms down, and you're going to do your quad sets. Tighten those quad muscles, and then lift the leg, raise the leg up off the ground until it's leveled with the other thigh, and then slowly lower it down.
Once again, do your quad set, straighten the leg completely, then raise it up, keeping it straight, and lower it down. As you do this exercise, keep your core engaged and your back relatively flat as you don't want to arch and have the back off the ground.
Another thing is, as you raise the leg, don't let it bend, keep that leg completely straight the entire time.
This exercise is really great at strengthening the knees especially the quadriceps and the hip flexors.
Make sure that you do three sets of 10 on each leg.
We hope these stretches helped in relieving your knee pain! We'd love to hear your feedback, so be sure to let us know in the comment section of our YouTube video or our Facebook page.
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Sincerely,
Baljinder Bathla, M.D.
