Knee Pain Exercises Especially for Women

A young lady in a baseball uniform recently came to see me in the emergency room. She had pain in her knees that had been increasing over the last few weeks. It had gotten to the point that she was actually limping. What to do?

A brief exam and a couple of x-rays later and we knew what the problem was. There was inflammation of the joint between the knee cap (patella) and the knee (distal femur).

Many women suffer from the same ailment. The reason is that because of the wider pelvis that women have, the muscles of the thigh tend to pull the knee cap off to the side. The result is that it gets increasingly inflamed and painful.

The pain from this type of problem is normally just in the front of the knee. It will be painful to straighten out your leg when you are sitting. It will be tender on the side of the knee cap.

If you have this problem, the good news is that normally you can completely relieve your pain with a few simple exercises.

The goal of these exercises is to strengthen the mucles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps muscle) that will pull the knee cap straight.

To strenghten the quadriceps, simply lie down on your bed and do straight leg raises. Don't bend the knee. It is already inflamed and you don't need to make that worse. Just repeatedly raise your leg. This will strengthen the quadriceps.

If you get a bit tired from doing this ten times, just keep doing it. But, if you are in pretty good shape already and this does not make you tired at all, it is time to step things up a bit.

When you are ready, the next step is to do the same exercise with weights. To do this just get an old purse and put a can of food in it and repeat the straight leg raises. Pretty easy eh? As you get stronger, gradually increase the weight in the old purse.

During this time, if you can take them, a good anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen will help get rid of the inflammation and aleviate the pain you are having in your knee.

However, by doing these exercises regularly, you should not need to use the medication for more than a few days.

Physiotherapy Exercises for Muscle Injuries

Physiotherapy exercises to do at home are great for minor muscle injuries. I've had my (un)fair share of injuries, building up a wealth of unfortunate experience with these exercises. The most commonly injured body parts are the knee and back, so I'll focus on them.

Physiotherapists (physical therapists) are usually very busy. If your injury isn't major, you may have to wait weeks to be seen.

In that time you could develop stiffness and lose muscle tone, making the injury worse and prolonging your recovery. Doing these simple physiotherapy exercises helps keep the muscles moving.

You probably already have some sort of pain from the injury, which you'll have to monitor. There are two types of pain you need to watch out for:

Pain due to stiffness. Bearable during your physiotherapy exercises, eases off soon after. This type of pain is OK to carry on.

Pain due to damage. Unbearable at any point, won't ease for several days. Stop any exercise immediately. Your muscles aren't ready for exercise yet. Continue with R.I.C.E.

The best course of action when doing physiotherapy exercises is to write a plan. Record the pain response after each exercise. Either increase or decrease the amount of exercises you do, depending on how bad the pain was.

Your muscles are in a delicate state, so really focus on the quality of each movement. Go slow and steady, visualizing the muscle as you exercise.

Physiotherapy exercises for your back:

1. Lie on your back, both knees bent (feet flat on floor). Tilt hips backward and slightly arch your back. The first movement leads to the second, don't force the arching. Relax, then tilt hips forward, keeping your bottom on the floor. Your lower back will push into the floor.

2. Lie on your back, both legs straight. Bend your left knee up towards your chest, holding your thigh or the top of the knee. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds, slowly relax. Repeat with right knee.

3. Lie on your front, chin resting on the floor. Bend your arms with hands resting beside your head, palms on the floor and elbows tucked in to your body. Look straight ahead and slowly lift your head up, keep your hips on the floor so that your back arches. Let your arms take the weight. Relax back down slowly.

4. Stand up, arms by your side. Bend down to the right, sliding your right hand down your leg. Come back up slowly and relax. Repeat on your left side.

Physiotherapy exercises for your knee:

1. Sit on the floor, legs straight out in front of you. Place your left hand under your left knee. Contract your quads so your knee pushes down on your hand (lifting your heel into the air). Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat with your right knee.

2. If the above exercise is too hard, then start off with a folded pillow under your knee (slightly bent). Lift your heel up as before, keeping your knee on the pillow.

3. Lie flat on your front with both legs straight. Slowly bend your left knee as much as possible. Hold for 5 seconds. Slowly straighten the knee returning to the start position. Repeat with your right knee.

4. Lie on your back. One knee bent up (foot flat on floor), the other straight. Lift the straight leg up (about 1 foot). Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

These physiotherapy exercises should be used with professional care, or as preventative measures. If you're in pain from an injury, please see your doctor first.

If you're not injured, you can still do these physiotherapy exercises. Prevent common injuries in certain parts of your body. Add the specific exercise to your normal workout at least once a week.

Be pro-active with your recovery, quickly return to a pain-free active life.

Please visit here to see more physiotherapy exercises for your foot, knee, back, shoulder and neck. You'll also find more advice about the types of pain.

From the author and creator of this website dedicated to helping you be happy and healthy. Find exercise, diet and equipment tips. With added focus on pilates, swimming and physiotherapy advice.

Exercises for Knee Pain - 2 Simple Effective Exercises To Ease Pain On Your Knee

Exercises for Knee Pain are always recommended by doctors to help ease the pain and strengthen the knee. These poor parts of our body spend their entire lives bearing our weight, walking, running, skipping, jumping, turning, twisting and so many more actions. Is it any wonder then that it cracks up sometimes! This is the largest joint in the body and the most complicated, but probably the most at risk as well.

The causes for knee pain are truly varied and stem from injury, arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, gout and other conditions that are more complicated in nature. When you tear a ligament or cartilage, it can give rise to pain to this largest joint and these injuries may require surgery.

It is universally agreed that exercises for knee pain are parts of the cure and we will look at some of the exercises that can be done to strengthen this part of our body.

The one thing you should never overlook is a warm up before beginning your exercise routine. This can be just 5 minutes of low impact aerobics like walking to increase the blood supply to the muscles and remove stiffness.

These are 2 simple effective exercises for knee pain that can you do:

Quads strengthening leg lifts- lie flat on your back, and bend your left knee at a 90 degrees angle. The foot should be flat on the floor. With right leg straight, raise it to the height of your left one, and hold for a count of 3. Repeat it 10 times and then change legs and repeat it again as before.

Hamstring strengthening curls - lie on your stomach, and put your left foot on the back of your right heel. The idea is to pull the heel to your buttocks and your left leg will resist. Hold for a count of 10 for contracting your hamstrings. Repeat 10 times with each leg.

If you do these 2 things persistently, I think you will gain result. However, it’s necessary if you also support your knee with the specific supplement to repair the damage faster. One of the best supplements for joint health will be Wobenzyme. This natural pain reliever seems to address the pain itself and speed up the recovery process.

How to Strengthen Knees

Our knees are perhaps, one of the most used body parts. We use them when we walk, run, climb stairs, indulge in sports, basically for carrying on all the physical activities. Due to this regular wear and tear, our knees become very prone to injuries, often resulting in knee pain. That's why, it becomes important that we take certain measures to maintain their health. So, for all those people, whether exercisers, non-exercisers, runners or sports persons, who want to know, "how to strengthen knees?", given below are some effective knee exercises to maintain the health, flexibility and balance of knees.

Tips on How to Strengthen Knees

In order to avoid injuries to the knees, make sure that you wear good quality shoes. Also, start with warming-up your leg and knee muscles and then move onto the knee exercises in order to avoid injuries. As a warm-up, simply walk for about five to ten minutes.

Knee Stretches
For those wondering, "how to strengthen your knees?", this exercise is most suitable. Sit on a chair and keep your back straight. Next, keeping your one foot firmly on the ground and bending your other knee, bring your leg as near to your upper body as you can. Remain in this position for about ten seconds and then lower your leg. Repeat this exercise ten times on both the legs.

Knee Bends
Another of the effective knee strengthening exercises is knee bends. To perform this exercise, lie down on your stomach on an exercise mat. Next, keeping your one leg straight, bend your other leg from behind the knee and try to touch your hips with your foot. If you are feeling a tightening in your quadriceps, it means that you are performing knee bends correctly. Hold on for five seconds and then come back to the starting position. Repeat this exercise for knee pain ten times on both legs.

Quadriceps Stretches
For those who are thinking, "how to strengthen knee ligaments?", this exercise is the solution. To perform this exercise, sit straight on a chair. Now, extend the legs in such a way that your heels touch the ground. Make sure that your knees are straight in this position. Next, tighten your thigh muscles and remain in this position for ten seconds. Relax and then repeat the same. Do this exercise ten times.

Knee Circling
One of the most useful of exercises to strengthen knees is knee circling. To do this exercise, stand straight. Next, bend your knees and take a position as if you are squatting in the air. Cup your kneecaps with your hands and start circling your knees clockwise. When you do this exercise, make sure that your toes and feet do not move at all. Repeat clockwise circling and anti-clockwise circling on both knees ten times.

Squats
Squats are very effective in strengthening the knee muscles. To perform this exercise, stand straight with your feet at shoulder width distance. Next, lower your hips as if you are going to sit on a chair. At any point of time, while lowering your hips, your knees should not come as forward as your toes. Hold on this squat position for ten seconds and then, placing your weight on your heels, stand straight. Do ten repetitions of this exercise.

Leg Raises
If you want to know, "how to strengthen knees for running?", the answer lies in leg raises. To perform this exercise, lie on your back on an exercise mat. Bend and lift your left knee, placing your left foot flat on the ground. Next, keeping your right knee straight, lift your right leg off the ground, about six inches. Hold on for a few seconds and then bring it back to the ground. Again raise the right leg in the same manner, however this time it should be slightly more than six inches away from the ground. Repeat this knee exercise for runners, ten times on both legs.

Here's hoping that now you know how to strengthen knees. Along with these exercises, taking a healthy diet is important too as it fastens the tissue repair and healing. So, eat lots of fruits, vegetables and dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese every day. Vitamin C and vitamin E are especially known to aid in the healing of joints so take vitamin C rich foods like oranges, pineapples and grapefruits as well as vitamin E rich foods like peanuts, mango, spinach and broccoli, a part of your everyday diet. A combination of the knee exercises given above and a well balanced diet, will ensure that your knees remain healthy, strong and flexible.

Knee Strengthening Exercises for Torn Meniscus

A tear in the meniscus, simply put, is when there is a tear in the cartilage of the knee. This occurrence is oft seen when there is a sudden stop and jerking action applied to that area. Stopping suddenly on the spot while in full motion or jerking and twisting the part can lead to a tear in the meniscus and lead to a lot of knee pain and agony. A meniscus tear is a common occurrence in athletes who make a lot of use of their knees, but it can affect any of us if there is ever an occurrence that involves applying a sudden jerk to the knees like an accident or a fall. That is why knee strengthening exercises, and in particular knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus become extremely important so that you do not cause further harm to the knee and help it to recuperate faster by aiding it through exercises. In the following article we will look into some of the most effective knee strengthening exercises that there are.

Meniscus Knee Strengthening Exercises

It becomes important that you take immediate steps when it comes to a torn meniscus and a sore knee or else the pain will just build up and the injury might turn into a permanent one. In order to avoid that, try doing some of the knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus and help it recover faster. Here are some of the basic knee exercises for torn meniscus given below.

Knee Circles
This knee exercise is a light one as it should be after an injury, because you should not be putting any pressure on it in any way initially. Take it slow and make sure that there is no pain while doing them. Here's how you go about it:

   1. Stand with your feet together and bend your knees so that they do not cross the toes. Cover your kneecaps with your palms and keep your peripheral vision to the ground.
   2. With a slow, gentle motion, move your knees in a circle. First in the clockwise direction and then in the opposite direction.
   3. Make absolutely sure that the circles are not too wide.
   4. Do about 20-30 circles in both directions.

Chair Balance
This simple exercise to strengthen knees allows for building strength in the knees and thighs, such that it can support the knees better. Here is how you go about it:

   1. Take a sturdy chair and place it firmly against the ground.
   2. Now stand behind it and place both your hands on it.
   3. Lift one leg and keep it suspended so that the weight is on the other foot.
   4. Make sure that there is no pressure though. If you feel any pain, you should stop immediately.
   5. Stand in this position for a count of 15 and then shift legs to repeat on the other side.
   6. When you start feeling that you're regaining your strength, try and place only one hand on the chair, while the other is placed on your waist.

Leg Curls
This is one other effective knee and leg exercise that'll help to regain the strength once again and help you recuperate:

   1. Sleep on your stomach with your legs extended straight out.
   2. Now bend your knees and try to get them as far back as possible.
   3. Hold for a count of 15 and lower.
   4. You can add ankle weights to introduce intensity to the exercise.

Straight Leg Raises
This knee pain exercise will help in strengthening both the knees and the thighs. Here is how you go about it:

   1. Lie on your back with your legs extended straight out.
   2. Now bend one leg at the knee while the other one remains straight.
   3. Slowly lift the leg (which is not bent) from the hips into the air.
   4. The leg should be about 5 inches above the ground. The lower to the ground, the better.
   5. Hold for 6-8 seconds and slowly lower it.
   6. Alternate the leg and repeat on both sides 10 times.

All these are simple knee strengthening exercises that will not exert the knee in any way. When you feel like the strength of the knee has regained a little, you can move on to the more intense exercises like squats, hamstring curls, lunges and leg extensions.

These were some of the knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus that you can start including in your routine as soon as possible. This will allow for the knees to regain their flexibility and strength and thereby be able to carry forth all the normal actions and sports activities without any hindrance.