Exercise Ideas for Knee Pain

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Treating the whole body, not just the hole in the body.

Often when a patient is experiencing knee pain, it’s because of issues (compensations, muscle weakness/tightness) in other areas. It’s important to look at the low back, hips/glutes, and ankles too. Here are 3 exercises that address the whole body.

* These exercises are not meant to diagnose or treat. It is always best to see at PT for customized care! While you may do these exercises in your therapy session, a PT will help ensure you are doing them correctly and will make adjustments based on your body and your progress.

 

Clamshells

  • Lay on your side with your hand on your hip and knees bent towards chest
  • Slowly lift knee up – keeping feet together – without rolling you back up. Apply pressure with the hand on your hip to ensure no compensation comes from the back. The work needs to be in the butt!

   

Quad Set 

  • Sit on flat surface with leg out in front of you.
  • Without moving the knee join, contract & engage your quad muscle which when done correctly will slide the knee cap up towards you.

   

Ankle Eversion 

  • Sit in chair with legs out in front of heels planted and toes up, hands on your thigh
  • Slowly rotate feet out and in with no knee or hip movement. You should feel this engage the muscle on your shin. (also great for plantar fasciitis.