Once a person has suffered from a knee injury or undergone a knee surgery, it is very painful to see it happen twice. Getting your knee injured for the first time itself is a very frustrating process but if your knee gets injured again, it’s definitely a depressing process. Dr. Preetesh Choudhary, best knee replacement surgeon in Indore is helping raise awareness about about how one should be careful, and prevent knee reinjury. Here are a few knee injury exercises, which will make your knee stronger and more stabilised. 

Understanding knee injuries and their recovery-

Knee injuries are common among athletes, older adults, and individuals with an active lifestyle. Some of the common knee injury causes are-

• Sudden twists

• Sudden movements

• Direct trauma 

• Accidents

• Overuse from repetitive motion

• Weak muscles

• Poor flexibility

Common knee injury symptoms include swelling, pain, instability, and difficulty in movement. The actual knee injury treatment involves rest, medication, physical therapy, and in severe cases surgery as well.

Best Knee Injury Exercises to prevent re injury-

Building strength through exercise is vital for knee health. Check out these knee injury exercises to avoid reinjury and regain stability.

• Quadriceps Sets-

Quadriceps sets help strengthen your quadricep muscles which is essential for knee stability. Benefits of doing Quadriceps Sets are improved balance, increased muscle strength, more stability,  improved joint mobility and better posture. 

How to perform-

• Sit with your legs stretched out.
• Tighten your thigh muscles and push your knee down toward the floor.
• Hold for 5-10 seconds and release.
• Repeat 10-15 times on each leg.

• Hamstring Curls-

Hamstring curls strengthen the hamstring muscles which provide better support to the knee, improving overall knee health by balancing strength in the quadriceps as well.

How to perform-

• Stand and hold onto a support.
• Bend your knee to bring your foot towards your buttocks.
• Hold for 5 seconds and straighten slowly.
• Perform 10-15 reps.

• Step-Ups-

Step-ups are simple and effective exercises which improves balance, improves coordination, strengthens the muscles which support the knee, improves endurance, enhances mobility and reduces the risk of reinjury. 

How to perform-

• Step onto a stepper with one foot.
• Bring the other leg up and then step back down fast.
• Repeat 10-15 times on each leg.

• Clamshell Exercises-

Clamshell exercise strengthens the abductor muscles, adductor muscles and glutes. This exercise corrects the imbalances and promotes proper alignment in the lower body.

How to perform-

• Lie on your side with knees bent.
• Keep both the feets together and lift the upper knee.
• Lower down the upper knee slowly 
• Repeat the same 10-15 times on each side.

• Single leg balance-

Single leg balance is one of the exercises to strengthen knee and improve the injured leg’s weight bearing capacity. The more the injured leg will have capacity to bear heavy weight, the lesser the chances of reinjury will be. 

How to perform-

• Stand on the injured leg for 20-30 seconds.
• Increase difficulty by closing your eyes or standing on a soft surface.
• If you feel at ease then increase the time gradually.

• Mini Squats-

Mini squats help your injured knee regain its strength gradually and reduce the chances of strain. It also increases the range of motion, weight bearing capacity and flexibility of the knee.

How to perform-

• Stand with feet hip-width apart.
• Lower yourself slightly by bending your knees.
• Hold for 10 seconds and stand back up.
• Perform 10-15 reps

Conclusion-

Recovering from a knee injury requires a lot of patience to live a normal life again. If someone suffering from any kind of knee injury hurries to do those activities which are not prescribed or the activities before prescribed time period then there will be higher chances of him getting reinjured due to lack of required strength and stability in the knee. By performing these top knee injury exercises one can prevent the chances of injuring their knee again. Even after performing all these knee injury exercises you are still suffering from consistent knee pain than consult Dr. Preetesh Choudhary, best knee specialist in Indore for the best medical advice.