Best way to strenthen knees or surrounding muscles?

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1223345
1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I admit, I am not an expert here. I have a bad knee that has been taken with a grain of salt by my doctor. I cannot afford to go doctor hopping until someone listens to me. If you have ever had a bad knee, what exercises did you do to gain strength or support in that whole area? I have a hard time getting any real exercise because of this.
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  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    When I was in physical therapy for knee pain they had me doing a lot of squats and lunges. I switched over to the brazil butt lift program so it wasn't boring and it's been my trusty stand by ever sense.
  • FUELERDUDE
    FUELERDUDE Posts: 150 Member
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    I try to do squats, lunges, exercises to try to strengthen the arches of my feet, and pay attention to foot placement when walking/jogging.
  • psfr
    psfr Posts: 25 Member
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    Bicycling did wonders for both of my knees. Not anything extreme, I just sold my car and commuted by bike (maybe 1-3 miles per day) instead. Sometimes I'd go on longer leisurely (flat, slow pace) rides because I enjoyed it. Really strengthened my knees to the point where they never bother me anymore.
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
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    I went to physical therapy for my knee issues. You can't get a referral out of your doctor? Depending on the injury, the exercises would be different, so I don't think it would be right to share the exercises I was prescribed.

    That said, you might want to check out The Running Doc's Guide to Healthy Running. I picked it up to see if I could learn anything about how to avoid a repeat injury (I did), and I found my previous injury perfectly described perfectly along with exercises to combat it. The exercises were *exactly* the ones my physical therapist gave me. I have to say I was impressed.

    It's worth a shot, anyway, especially since it suggests strengthening exercises to prevent injury. In the meantime, keep harrassing your doctor for a referral and take it easy -- you don't want to make things worse. :)
  • fight_for_fit
    fight_for_fit Posts: 137
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    Try some mobility exercises. I use to have so many issues with my knee but doing a bunch of mobility work has helped me.
    Just youtube some knee mobility exercises.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    I healed a problem shoulder with this advice, so I'm just assuming it will also work for a knee.

    Do scalable bodyweight exercises that involve the problem joint.

    So for legs that would be squats, lunges and jumps (if you can handle them), and standing yoga poses (warrior series, tree, eagle).

    If you're doing squats and lunges, do as many as you can until you feel pain. If you do the yoga poses, hold them and count the time for as long as you can until you feel pain. Track your progress by writing down those numbers, you should see improvement week-to-week.

    If you don't notice any improvement, or you can't do these exercises at all without pain I think it's worth trying to doctor hop a bit until you can get a referral for PT.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
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    I healed a problem shoulder with this advice, so I'm just assuming it will also work for a knee.

    Do scalable bodyweight exercises that involve the problem joint.

    So for legs that would be squats, lunges and jumps (if you can handle them), and standing yoga poses (warrior series, tree, eagle).

    If you're doing squats and lunges, do as many as you can until you feel pain. If you do the yoga poses, hold them and count the time for as long as you can until you feel pain. Track your progress by writing down those numbers, you should see improvement week-to-week.

    If you don't notice any improvement, or you can't do these exercises at all without pain I think it's worth trying to doctor hop a bit until you can get a referral for PT.
    This sounds good. I love yoga anyway, I just never thought of trying it this way. I did take gelatine for a while for this reason and It did help. I can't remember why I stopped taking it though.... Thanks!
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Try some mobility exercises. I use to have so many issues with my knee but doing a bunch of mobility work has helped me.
    Just youtube some knee mobility exercises.
    I dan't know why I didn't think of this. I'll do this too. Thank you.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Thanks for the good responses everyone. I appreciate it!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    Lunges and squats are good for strengthening your knee, but please make sure you are doing them correctly, because bad form can do more damage. One of the exercises my PT gave me after my knee surgery were leg lifts, its something you can do while watching tv or sitting at a desk, if you have an ankle weight, even better. I'm doing them right now.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    This is something i know all too well. Anything thast works you quads will help your knees. wall squats, leg presses, etc. google leg exercises.
  • twelfty
    twelfty Posts: 576 Member
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    mine always used to pop out or if i sat funny they would feel like they're about to pop out, since i've been power walking i can actually see the muscles popping up around the area and haven't had any problems since (touches wood)
  • vb4evr
    vb4evr Posts: 615 Member
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    So many different things that can be going on with your knee which a physio with the diagnosis can help with.

    I've got two bad knees (torn acl in the left, and a myriad of different issues in right..meniscal damage, partially torn acl, and severe arthirtis in two knee compartments)

    While a lot of the exercises are the same, what you can do and what you start with and how much is the issue. Certain movements will aggravate them worst and others will help.

    I know when I started my exercises were simple like squats on a ball, bridges, clam shells, ball squeezes.

    Please let me know if you'd like to hear more.
  • F0xt0ber
    F0xt0ber Posts: 3 Member
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    with your good knee held up in front, raised several inches , bend the bad knee ,lowering the good leg until heel touches the floor. slowly, 20 times. change position of the good knee to the back, repeat.then to the center, repeat. these are from my physical therapist
  • itsmeterrih
    itsmeterrih Posts: 10 Member
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    after my ACL surgery I did a lot of leg lifts. At first just lifts, then added weight later. I mean a LOT of leg lifts. Squats with a ball behind my back, leaning on a wall. Bicycling. no jumps. But, he said I did a really good job injuring my knee too. So my excersizes were very basic to begin with.
  • marisqa
    marisqa Posts: 1
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    That sounds wonderful! About the biking. Man I miss my bike. I need to move to somewhere where I can keep a bike and bike again.
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
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    I strengthened my legs with squats, lunges, deadlifts, stepups, hip thrusts, etc. and I have ZERO knee pain now. I can even run with no pain which I've never been able to do. Good luck and make sure you have good form :)
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    Anything thast works you quads will help your knees.

    This. Strengthen your quads, and your knees will take care of themselves.
  • Amazon_Who
    Amazon_Who Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Knee extensions with or without ankle weights or weight machine.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VJNa2VyGyE

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/knee-extension/MM00747
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
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    So much helpful stuff here. I really appreciate it. The quads seem to be the center of what I am hearing. I used to see a chiropractor who did mention my arches. They are uneven, and even arch supports have not helped much in that, also I have one leg longer than the other and he seems to believe that can create problems as well, but I could never get any consistency out of him as far as what to do so I became leery of his advice for that reason. I have ankle weights. I think I'll start there and work in the other stuff as my day allows.

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