How To Strengthen Weak Knees
Knee Strengthening Exercises To Do At Home
What Are Weak Knees?
‘Weak knees’ is a popular term that is used to describe a broad spectrum of problems with the knee. As any joint problem, the knee can be treated through surgery, if it is a serious problem, or through non-invasive procedures.
Knee problems, such as pain, puffiness, soreness, swelling, joint instability, etc, can be caused by various problems, and most often are the result of overuse, misuse, accidents, or just natural causes such as age.
Knee strengthening exercises are among the most popular methods of treating knees, and are the least invasive, and they have some of the best success rates.
What Are The Causes Of Knee Pain Or Weakness?
There are many causes for weak knees or painful knee joints. Sometimes we know what the causes are, but other times we don’t. The best way to diagnose a knee joint problem is to see your doctor. Your doctor will refer you to a physiotherapist, or for X rays or MRI, and if it is more serious, he/she will refer you to an orthopedist.
If you want to learn more about the cause of your knee pain, or knee soreness, here are some of the more common triggers of knee problems:
- Overuse or misuse
- Weak muscles
- Acute injuries
- Hormonal changes such as during pregnancy or during the teenage years.
- Aging (osteoarthritis)
- Uneven muscles or bones, or other physical abnormalities.
- Overweight.
The Best Supplements For Weak Knees & Joints
The best supplements for joints, and the safest, are those based on Glucosamine. If the right dosage is respected, and the ingredients are of high quality, and not the synthetic ones, it works great with virtually no side effects. The best selling glucosamine products, are combinations of two or three compounds. Although there is not enough research to establish the efficacy on MSM and Chondroitin on the joints’ health, a lot of people swear by it. It looks like the three are somehow synergistic, and they work better together.
Best Selling Glucosamine Supplement:
Invasive vs. Non-Invasive Knee Treatment
The non-invasive procedures are always the best when it comes to healing joints. The reason is the slow healing rate of joints. The human articulations, including the knee, have very poor blood flow, hence any injury, including surgery trauma, has very low healing chances. Even for athletes who are in the best shape and healing is way faster than for the rest of us, the recovery time is very long. One problem with a long recovery time is that during this period the knee is more exposed to another injury, if it’s not protected.
The limping for at least a couple of weeks, the lose of range of motion, the poor rest during recovery, and the very reduced physical activity during the recovery period are all serious deterrents to a surgical solution.
For this reason, surgeons and orthopedists will always try a non-surgical approach if possible, depending on the case.
In some cases though, a surgical intervention is absolutely necessary because without it, the affected tissue has no chances of healing at all. Sometimes the surgery is just removing the symptoms, but doesn’t fix the root of the problem. Some of these cases are: Meniscus tears and osteoarthritis. For torn meniscus’, the solution is to remove the torn piece of the meniscus which blocks the articulation from moving properly. For osteoarthritis, the cartilaginous side of the bone is reshaped so it moves freely, and it doesn’t stop the joint from moving properly.
Knee surgery is usually done with scopes, and this reduces the recovery time. The surgery is called arthroscopy (arthroscopic surgery), and is a day surgery, and the patient will generally go home the same day. The recovery time is different for the different procedures, from a few weeks for a meniscectomy to a few months for an ACL reconstruction.
Why Do We Need Exercises For Weak Knees?
Whether you are getting surgery or not, the best way to reduce the swelling and pain on a weak knee is to strengthen the muscles around it. Even if you are getting surgery, a knee in good shape with strong muscles will heal faster and will already be toned-up during the recovery period. It will significantly shorten your recovery time after the surgery, and it will heal faster because the strong and vigorous muscles will provide more blood flow in the joint. Sufficient blood flow is critical for good healing, especially for a poor vascularised zone such as the susceptible zones of the knee.
When you have a diagnostic of your knee problem, in most cases your doctor will start you on exercises to strengthen your knees. The surgery usually comes last, when no other method works. This basically means, that you should probably start your knee strengthening exercises now.
[Video] The Best Knee Strengthening Exercises
By Doctor Jo, a Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Read This Before Doing Any Exercises
Important Tips for Knee Exercises
There are a few things that you need to know before starting your knee strengthening exercising. Without these tips, you might fail to finish your strengthening program.
Wear a Knee Support
Wearing a knee support will give your knees more stability, and they wont swell up as easy. You definitely need to wear a knee brace when exercising.
Use Topical Anti-Inflammatory
The use of a topical anti-inflammatory is absolutely vital. You may think that it is not that important, but if your knee gets puffed-up, you won’t be able to do the exercises anymore, so you’ll stop.
Use an Exercise Bicycle (If Possible)
An exercise bicycle is the best and safest way to exercise your quads.
Use NSAIDs (When Needed)
These pills should always be the last resort. There are some serious side effects associated with oral NSAIDs.
Swimming For Strengthening The Knees
Swimming is another great option for your knee strengthening exercising. It has low impact on all joints, it’s fun, and it works-out the exact muscles that need reinforcement. The best swimming style for your knees is ‘crawl swimming’.
Crawl swimming is the perfect combination of low impact on the sensitive knees and a great workout for the muscles to reinforce. You could also use a swimming pad and swim only using your leg motions. This gives you a bit more control over your movement.
3 Basic Weak Knees Strengthening Exercises
Exercise #1
Side-Lying Hip Abduction
Lie on your side with your body forming a straight line. Lift the top leg sideways-up as much as you can. The move should be done in such a way that your upper body doesn’t move. If you do it properly, you will feel your gluteal-muscles working hard.
* Do this exercise 10 times for each side per set for a total of two or three sets.
Exercise #2
Office/Chair Exercises
Sit on a chair, without touching the backrest with your back, then straighten one leg so it forms a 90-degree angle with the rest of the body. The knee joint should be straight, so that you exercise the right muscles. If the knee is bent, you will use other muscles.
Hold the leg straight for about 30 seconds and then do the same with the other leg. Repeat three to four times.
In time, as your muscles become stronger, you can incrementally increase the time from 30 seconds to up to 60 seconds. But, don’t overdo it or you’ll probably get too tired the next day. Always keep a balance.
An alternative to this exercise is to hold the leg straight for 3 to 4 seconds, and then rest. Repeat this 10 times, for three or four cycles.
Exercise #3
Physical Therapy for Your Knees
Lie on your back on a firm surface, such as a mat, yoga mat, or similar. Tighten your thigh muscles from one leg, and keep the knee straight. Lift your leg from the floor off the mat about 40 degrees. Hold the leg in position for two to three seconds. Repeat the exercise ten times in a set and do three sets on each leg.
More Advanced Exercises For Stronger Muscles
Exercise #1
“Step-Ups”
These are advanced exercises for strengthening knees. They are meant for those who have strong muscles and want even more strength. If you haven’t done the basic exercises from earlier you may want to approach these with caution. For the best results use an anti-inflammatory cream such as ‘Penetrex’.
Forward Step-Ups
Using a 5 to 6-inch high stool, step forward up onto it, using a slow motion. The slower the motion the harder the exercise. Step down, returning to the starting position. Increase the height of the platform, and use a slower motion, as strength increases. Repeat ten times, three series.
Lateral Step-Ups
Standing on the side of a 6-inch high stool, make a lateral step-up onto the stool, leading with your weak knee leg. Step down, returning to the starting position. Repeat ten times, three series.
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Thanks for reading.
Jonny
