The knee joint is the largest joint in the human body. It is
used in every locomotive activity. This makes it very prone to injury and pain.
Weak knee joints make it more painful. In this article, you can know more about
Knee pain causes, medical conditions, and relief.
According to WHO osteoarthritis will be the fourth leading
cause of disability by 2020 in the world. This article will present some of the
best knee joint muscle and strengthening exercises. But first, as in my every
article I say we need to understand some of its anatomy.
It is very simple to understand that to train the joint you
have to train the muscles. Keeping in this mind we will start with:
The upper part of the leg
QUADRICEPS (Thigh Muscles)
Quadriceps are four major muscles Vastus Lateralis, Vastus
medialis, Vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris. Attached to the knees and
helps in various motions of knee joint mainly extension.
In a study published in the Journal of the Annals of the
Rheumatic Diseases concluded that walking improved after the addition of hip
strengthening and quads strengthening exercises.
Another study in the Clinical Journal of Sports medicine
suggests that isolated hip and quadriceps strengthening exercise programs seem
to improve pain knee pain relief and functions in patients.
Another muscle called
Sartorius which originates from the pelvis region and inserts in the medial
tibia it also performs a role in various knee movements. So to train these,
here are the following exercises which can help you in the strengthening of
these muscles:
1.
Leg extensions
(a)
Sit on a chair with thighs parallel to the
ground
(b)
Slowly extend your knees (raise your leg)
straight or till the point where the pain is felt. Hold for 1 second.
(c)
Bring your leg back to the initial position.
Same with the other leg
(d)
To add resistance, you can use stretching bands.
2.
Step-Ups
(a)
Take a step up or perform it on the ground at a
height of not more than 6 inches.
(b)
Place one foot on the platform other hanging or
placed on the ground.
(c)
Push with your leg on the platform without
taking support from the foot on the ground. Slowly come back to the initial
position.
(d)
To make it a little bit advanced touch your heel
first and then your toe.
3.
Leg lifts
(a)
Lie supine on the floor (chest upward). Knees
straight. Hands-on side of the body.
(b)
Raise your leg, keeping the knee straight for
about 40-50 cm from the ground and hold it for few seconds.
(c)
Bring it back to the initial position.
(d)
In this, you can use stretching bands to add
resistance or you can do one set with single-leg continuously without keeping
it on the ground.
4.
Wall Squats- This technique is advance in
comparison to others. DO NOT USE IT IF YOU HAVE ANY SWELLING IN KNEES OR PAIN.
(a)
Place your back to the wall. Feet shoulder-width
apart. Adjust the distance of your feet from the wall according to your height.
(b)
Go down, keeping your back straight, toes facing
slightly outside with knees traveling outside your body aligned with your toes.
(c)
Hold it down for 1 second. Get back to the
initial position.
Hamstrings (Back of the thigh muscles)
Hamstrings
are complex and powerful muscles located at the back of the thigh. These
muscles are mainly responsible for your flexion of the knee joint. Hamstrings
include the muscles semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris
muscles.
According
to research published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science concluded
that addition of hamstring muscles strengthening with quadriceps shows greater
pain relief in knee pain and better ROM.
Another important muscle that originates from the pelvis and inserts in the tibia. Its main function is to thigh abduction and
rotation. Many times, weak hamstrings are also responsible for muscle cramps
and knee pain. Here are the exercises which can help you in the strengthening
of hamstrings
1.
Standing
Leg curls- One of the simplest exercises.
(a)
Hold
some kind of support. Start raising your heel part behind the body while
contracting your hamstrings or back of the thigh.
(b)
Bring
back the leg to the ground. Continue it with other leg.
(c)
Feeling
the contraction is the key to this exercise. Try to do it as slow as you can
while maintaining the contraction in the hamstrings.
2.
Lying
Buttock kicks
(a)
The
difference between the lying buttocks and hamstring curl is the range of
motion. Buttock kicks allow you to flexed knee in greater ROM in comparison to
the standing curls but both are important.
(b)
Lie
down in prone position (belly on the ground). Raise your leg and touch your
heel with your butt. Generally, people do it at too much pace, ending up in
pain.
3.
Prone
leg raises
(a)
Lie
in the prone position. With knees straight. Steadily raise your foot above the
ground and hold it for 2-3 secs.
(b)
Slowly
get back to the initial position.
(c)
Try
to keep your knees as straight as possible
4.
Leg
Press
(a)
Grab
a towel or stretching band. Place it on the arch of the foot. Be careful with
stretching bands.
(b)
Bend
your knee, while maintaining resistance with band or towel slowly press your
legs straight.
(c)
Be
cautious about not to exert too much pressure while pressing.
The
most underestimated and underrated muscle when talking about knee pain. The
Gastrocnemius muscle from the lower leg attaches to the knee joint. It acts as
an antagonist to the ACL and acts as a knee flexor with hamstrings. So, for
strengthening and stretching of the calf muscles you can perform the following
exercises and stretch:
1.
Calf
raise
(a) Another simple exercise to
perform. Stand straight, slightly bend your knees and then press up from your
toes. Feel the contraction in the calf muscle.
(b) Come back to the initial position.
(c) To increase the resistance, you
can perform it on higher ground to get more stretch on the muscle.
Gluteus Muscles
The next region of muscle is the gluteus. There are several
muscles in the Gluteus region, but here we will talk about a few which will
help in strengthening of muscles. Gluteus Maximus, gluteus minus, and muscles
responsible for hip adductor and abductor.
So, why the gluteus region is added?
So Hip joint is a ball and socket, weight bearer joint
responsible for many leg movements. The gluteus Medius in the hip region is
responsible for the abduction of thighs and hips which means it is responsible
for pulling out leg and hips and inside rotation of foot when you are sitting.
It also balances, keeping the hip in level. Weakness in gluteus muscles can be
a reason for your knee pain. It allows your knee joint to rotate inwards. This
is one of the reasons why you can see an increase in a huge number of people
performing monster walks.
In research published in the Journal of Orthopedic and
Sports Physical Therapy, a comparison of extremities was done to analyze the
hip strength after knee surgery. There was a relevant hip muscle weakness in
the surgical extremity when compared with the other. It was suggested to
include hip muscle strengthening exercises in rehabilitation.
Research published in the Journal of Athletic Training a comparative study was done between the hip strengthening protocol and knee
joint muscle strengthening. Both protocols resulted in knee pain relief. But The hip strengthening group recovers 1 week earlier than the knee strengthening
group.
1.
1.
Side Leg raises (Hip Abduction) - According to
the study published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science strengthening of
gluteus medius and is important to include in the early stage of the rehabilitation
programs.
(a) Lie on your side
(b) Raise your leg 50-60 cm above the ground. Hold it for 2-3 secs.
(c) Slowly bring it back to the initial position.
BONUS
What to do in extreme pain situations?
In the situation of extreme pain, our first concern will be
to watch closely for any sign of swelling as exercises can lead to more swelling
around the joint area. In extreme pain conditions, it is suggested to do only
light walking, avoid stairs climbing, and not to sit with folded knees all
these can lead to irritation in the knee joint.
Do bend your knee when you do any jumping movement it helps the knee in distributing the impact force from the ground.
STOP THE EXERCISE IF YOU FEEL PAIN.
REFERENCE:
Excellent Brijesh
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