5 Best Home Exercises For Knee Strengthening

Knees are the largest joints in our body. We use our knees heavily everyday for walking, running, climbing or jumping. As a direct result of the workload our knees are prone to injuries which can be extremely painful. People of all ages can develop problems in the knees. In addition to being a common problem in athletes knee pain can be a problem for people who suffer from arthritis. While you may not look to exercise when you have knee pain, there are certain exercises which can be done at home to alleviate your knee pain. Knee strengthening exercises do not affect the knee joints directly but they develop and provide the requisite strength to the muscles surrounding your knees. The support from these muscles can help reduce the pain and reduce strain on your joints ultimately helping you to be more active. It is strongly recommended to warm up with light exercises prior to these strengthening exercises. Before we jump to the exercises let’s first look at the possible causes for your knee pain

Possible causes of knee pain

• Existing injury
• Overexertion of the knees
• Inflammation
• Degradation of the joints
• Arthritis
• Dislocation of the joints
• Bad posture
• Wrong exercises
• Ligament injuries
• Not stretching properly
• Improper or lack of warm up or cooling down
• Vitamin D or calcium deficiency

Let us know go over the exercises. It is recommended that these exercises be performed on both the legs even though you may have injury or pain in only one knee. This will allow equal strengthening and could actually help support the other knee better. If you experience any pain, stop performing these exercises and consult your doctor, physical therapist or trainer to ensure you’re doing these exercises correctly. Go slow at the beginning. Over time, you will get stronger. Take a large towel and roll it into a log shape.

Exercise 1 : Knee press

• Lie on your back or sit straight
• Keep the rolled towel under your knee, in the gap when you put your knee straight on the floor
• Press your knee on the towel
• Hold for 10 counts and then relax
• Continue with 10 repetitions

Exercise 2 : Knee squeezer

• Sit straight with your legs stretched out
• Place the rolled towel between the knees
• Squeeze the knees towards the towel you’re holding
• Hold for 10 seconds
• Release and repeat 10 times

Exercise 3 : Ankle press

• Place the rolled towel under your ankle
• Make sure your calf clears the floor
• Press your ankle on the towel
• Hold for 10 counts and then relax
• Continue with 10 repetitions

Exercise 4 : Knee extension stretch

• Sit up, extend one leg
• Use the towel to make grip
• Pull both ends of the towel towards yourself and stretch
• Hold the same position till the count of 10
• Do 10 repetitions

Exercise 5 : Legs extended lifts

• Sit on a chair
• Slowly lift one leg
• Hold for a few seconds
• Bring it back in slow motion
• Continue this for 10 repetitions