Whether you’re a competitive athlete, a weekend warrior, or a daily walker, dealing with knee pain can put a kink in your favorite activities.
Knee pain is a common issue. In fact, according to the Cleveland Clinic, 18 million people see a doctor for knee pain each year. This includes pain caused by:
The good news is there are several ways to treat knee pain, including stretching and strengthening exercises that you can do on your own.
In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the most effective exercises you can do to strengthen your knee and reduce knee pain.
If your knee pain is due to an injury, surgery, or arthritis, gentle stretching and strengthening exercises may help ease the pain while also improving your flexibility and range of motion.
Exercising a knee that’s injured or arthritic may seem counterintuitive, but in fact, exercise is better for your knee than keeping it still. Not moving your knee can cause it to stiffen, and this may worsen the pain and make it harder to go about your daily activities.
Gentle stretching and strengthening exercises can strengthen the muscles that support your knee joint. Having stronger muscles can reduce the impact and stress on your knee, and help your knee joint move more easily.
Before you start an exercise program for knee pain, be sure to talk to your doctor or physical therapist to make sure the exercises are safe for you. Depending on your situation, they may recommend some modifications.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, performing lower body stretching exercises may help improve the range of motion and flexibility in your knee joint. This can make it easier to move your knee.
Before you start stretching, it’s important to spend at least 5 to 10 minutes warming up. Low-impact activities like cycling on a stationary bike, walking, or using an elliptical machine are good warmup options.
Once you’re warmed up, do the following three stretches, and then repeat them once you’ve completed the knee strengthening exercises.
Try to do these stretches and exercises at least four to five times a week.
This stretch targets the muscles in your lower leg, specifically your calf muscles.
To do this stretch:
This stretch specifically targets your quadriceps, the muscles at the front of your thighs. Performing this move can help improve the flexibility in your hip flexors and quadricep muscles.
To do this stretch:
This stretch targets your hamstrings, the muscles in the back of your thigh.
You should feel this stretch in the back of your leg and up to the base of your glutes. If you flex your foot, you may also feel the stretch in your calves.
To do this stretch:
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, you can help reduce the stress on your knee joint by regularly working the muscles around your knee.
To help strengthen your knees, focus on moves that work your hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, and hip muscles.
Half squats are an excellent way to strengthen your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings without straining your knees.
To do this exercise:
This exercise strengthens the back of your lower legs, which includes your calf muscles.
To do this exercise:
The standing hamstring curl targets your hamstrings and glutes. It also requires good core strength to keep your upper body and hips steady.
To do this exercise:
Using your own body weight, rather than a weighted machine, to strengthen your quadriceps helps keep added pressure off your knees.
To do this exercise:
The straight leg raise strengthens your quadriceps as well as your hip flexor muscles. If you flex your foot at the end of the move, you should also feel your shins tighten.
As this exercise gets easier to do, you can add a 5-pound ankle weight and gradually work up to a heavier weight as you build strength in your legs.
To do this exercise:
This exercise works your hip abductor muscles as well as your glutes. Your hip abductor muscles, located on the outside of your hips, help you to stand, walk, and rotate your legs with ease. Strengthening these muscles can help prevent and treat pain in the hips and knees.
As this exercise gets easier to do, you can add a 5-pound ankle weight and gradually work up to a heavier weight as you build strength in your leg muscles.
To do this exercise:
This exercise works your hamstrings as well as your glutes. As this exercise gets easier to do, you can add a 5-pound ankle weight and gradually work up to a heavier weight as you build strength in your legs muscles.
To do this exercise:
Once you’ve built up the strength in your knees, you may want to consider adding low-impact exercises to your routine. Low-impact exercises typically put less stress on your joints than high-impact exercises, like running or jumping.
Some good examples of low-impact exercises include:
Finding relief from knee pain depends on the cause or issue that’s making it difficult for you to go about your daily activities. Carrying excess weight puts extra stress on your knees, which may lead to osteoarthritis.
In this case, the most effective treatment, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is weight loss. Your doctor may recommend a combination of diet and exercise to help you lose weight and strengthen the muscles in your lower body, especially around your knees.
A 2013 studyTrusted Source found that adults with overweight and knee osteoarthritis experienced a reduction in weight and knee pain after 18 months of a diet and exercise program.
But if overuse is the culprit, your doctor will likely suggest RICE — which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation — and physical therapy. A physical therapist can work with you to develop a program that includes range of motion exercises, stretches, and muscle strengthening movements.
Knee pain is a common ailment that affects over 18 million adults each year. Performing stretching and strengthening exercises that target the muscles that support your knees may help ease pain, improve range of motion and flexibility, and reduce the risk of future injuries.
With any type of joint pain, it’s best to talk to your doctor or physical therapist before starting an exercise program. They can help you select the exercises that are safest for you. They can also recommend modifications based on your knee pain and the underlying cause.