Knee Injury Exercises

Knee injuries can be very painful and it can prevent us from doing a lot of the things we can enjoy. Recovery from knee injuries can be slow however there are many ways in which we can speed up the recovery process and one of these is by doing knee injury exercises – which we shall look at today.

Purpose of Knee Injury Exercises

Knee exercises are an important part of the rehab process for any type of knee injury.

The main purpose of knee injury exercises is to prevent the muscles surrounding the knee from weakening. It is also important to build strength in those muscles to minimize the stress put on the knee itself.

The weaker the muscles surrounding the knee the more pressure is put on the knee making it much more susceptible to damage and further injury. If you do exercises to build up these muscles then the knee will be provided with better support to facilitate the recovery process.

Stretching the Knee

Stretching is one of the most important parts of any knee injury exercise regime. Stretching should be done immediately before and after any exercises that you do. This allows the muscles to warm up and loosen to avoid injuring them during the exercises.

Stretches are very simple; however it is important that before you begin any knee injury regime that you speak to a physical therapist who can advise you on the best stretches to do to maximize the benefits of your regime.

How to Exercise the Muscles Surrounding the Knee

There are several muscles surrounding the knee that you should exercise when you have a knee injury. These include the hamstring, calf muscles and quadriceps.

There are all sorts of exercises you can do to strengthen these muscles including straight leg rises that help work on several different muscle groups.

Straight leg rises are very simple. You simply lie on your back on a flat surface and then bend the knee that isn’t injured to a 90 degree angle. You should then lift the injured leg straight upwards without bending to a height of approximately 6 inches. Hold for five seconds then repeat up to 10 times.

Another type of exercise you can use to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee includes the Quad Press. This involves lying on your back and trying to press the back of your knee flat against the floor. You should hold this for 10 seconds before releasing and repeating several times.

Knee Injury Exercises to Increase Muscle Endurance

Although the strength of the muscles surrounding the knee is very important in the rehabilitation process, the muscle endurance is also just as important. So you should ensure that as part of your knee injury exercise regime that muscle endurance exercises are included. If the muscles cannot withstand endurance then they will quickly fatigue no matter how strong they are.

The best way to build the endurance of your muscles is by adding some low-impact cardiovascular activities to your regime. One of the best activities for this is riding a stationary exercise bike. Swimming and other pool exercises are also very good for increasing muscle endurance without causing more injury.

Where to Find Knee Injury Exercises

The internet is a fantastic resource for finding information about knee injury exercises. There are dozens of websites that can provide you with specific knee injury exercises to help you recover quickly and successfully from your injury.

You may also wish to speak to your physician or physiotherapist who will be able to give you more personalized exercises to help with your recovery. It is always important to make sure that whatever knee injury exercise regime you begin will not cause more harm than good. And always remember to stretch!