Strengthening exercises can help to protect your knees from injury and keep them strong. They can also help you to recover from a knee injury. We should all look after our knees, but it’s particularly important if you run often.
How can exercises help to strengthen our knees?
Regular strengthening exercises can help to build up the muscles in and around our knees. This can help improve the support around them and prevent injury and pain.
When starting any new exercise, you should always begin slowly and gradually. Only do as much as you can manage without feeling any pain. Speak to your doctor or physiotherapist beforehand if you have an existing knee injury, or if:
- your knee pain is severe
- you feel that your knee is locked or ‘giving way’
- the pain lasts for a few weeks
What types of exercises can strengthen knees?
Below are five knee strengthening exercises that you can try at home or in the gym. It’s a good idea to spend five minutes warming up before performing these exercises. You could try 5 to 10 minutes of walking or cycling, for example.
1. Bodyweight squat
- Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart and your toes pointing forwards.
- With your back straight, chest out, and shoulders back and down, slowly squat downwards.
- Don’t let your knees move in towards each other.
- Squat downwards as far as you comfortably can, then straighten your legs to return to standing.
- Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
2. Single-leg squat
- Stand on one foot with your toes facing forwards.
- Lower your body by bending your standing leg at the knee. Keep your kneecap in line with your foot – try not to move it from side-to-side.
- Go as low as you can without any pain, then straighten your leg to return to standing.
- Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.
3. Stabilisation lunge
- Stand with your legs apart, with one foot in front of the other.
- Gradually bend one of your knees to a 90 degree angle, before slowly rising up.
- Keep your front knee in line with your foot.
- Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.
4. Glute bridge
- Lie on your back with both knees bent at about 90 degrees, with both feet flat on the floor.
- Slowly lift your bottom up by pushing through your heels and squeezing your glutes.
- Keep your knees in line with your feet.
- Try not to arch your back and slowly lower your bottom down towards the floor.
- Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
5. Sitting knee extension
- Sit on the floor with one leg straight and the other leg bent at about 90 degrees.
- Place a rolled-up towel under your knee on your straight leg for support.
- Keeping your toes pointing upwards, clench the muscle at the front of your thigh and push down on to the towel so your knee straightens and your heel lifts off the floor.
- Hold for 10 seconds and slowly lower.
- Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.
A physiotherapist will be able to give you more information on how often you should do these exercises, because it depends on your individual circumstances and knee health. Adults are generally recommended to take part in some form of activity to help strengthen their muscles at least twice a week.
I have a knee injury — how should I look after it?
If you’ve injured your knee, you should follow the ‘POLICE’ principles. These are a set of steps to help reduce your pain and help you recover.
- P – protect. Protect your injury from further damage. Rest immediately after the injury but not for long. Consider using some form of support or crutches.
- OL – optimal loading. Get active sooner rather than later. Start to put weight on your knee and build up your range of movement gradually, and only do what feels right for you.
- I – ice. Place a cold compress such as a bag of ice or frozen peas wrapped in a towel onto your knee for around 20 minutes every few hours for the first two to three days to help reduce swelling.
- C – compression. Compressing your knee with a bandage will also help to limit swelling.
- E – elevation. Elevate your knee above your heart to help reduce swelling. Sit or lie on a chair and use a cushion to raise your leg.
If your knee injury is serious, or isn’t getting better, seek immediate medical attention. This is especially important if you think you could have a broken bone (fracture).
What should I avoid doing with a knee injury?
For the first few days after hurting your knee, you can help to prevent further damage by avoiding ‘HARM’:
- Heat. Avoid hot baths, showers, saunas, heat rubs or heat packs.
- Alcohol. Don’t drink alcohol as it can slow down your recovery and increase your chances of hurting yourself again.
- Running. Don’t run or do other types of moderate activity as this may cause further damage.
- Massage. Massaging the area can cause more swelling and bruising, so avoid this for the first day or two.
Our knees are an important part of our bodies, so it’s important to take good care of them. Always follow your doctor or physiotherapist’s advice, and get checked out if you’re experiencing any knee pain or discomfort.
