Exercises to Protect Your Knees
Your knees have been taking a pounding for years, and for years, they never complained. But one day, you walk down a flight of stairs wincing, or you twist to grab something and feel a stabbing pain. Whether it’s a degenerative condition of aging, like osteoarthritis, or a sudden injury, like a meniscus tear, pain wakes us up to the fact that as you get older, you need to take action to keep your knees strong and pain-free.
I was surprised to learn just how much specific exercises designed to protect knees could keep pain at bay. A regular walker and yoga enthusiast, I thought my activity would keep my knees functioning with ease. But they weren’t enough.
Both stretching and strengthening exercises are crucial for healthy knees. When my hamstrings and quadriceps (the big muscles on the back and front of your thighs) get too tight, that alone can cause pain bending or going down stairs because of added pressure on the kneecap. When muscles that stabilize the joint are too weak or imbalanced, it’s easier for injuries to occur.
Protecting your knees doesn’t take a lot of time, and the pay off is big—in my case, pain-free days of walking, bending and stair climbing. Here are some simple, essential, exercises to protect your knees. If you have pain, check with your doctor first to know what’s causing it and that these exercises are appropriate for you. I went from having to hobble down staircases gingerly to hardly knowing I’d ever had knee pain!
Stretches to Protect Your Knees
Start with the stretches to limber up your joint and restore mobility. It’s best if you stretch after you’ve warmed up with 5-10 minutes of easy walking. Go slowly, don’t bounce or push, but ease into the stretch. If you feel pain, back off. Enjoy these moves. It’s okay to do them several times and feel the tightness in your muscles melt away.
1. Hamstring Stretch
Standing, place the right foot forward, resting on the heel. You may need to rest one hand on a wall or kitchen counter for stability. Bend the left knee slightly and lean forward from the hips, toward the ground, just enough to feel the stretch in the back of your thigh. Breathe deeply and evenly into the stretch and return to standing. Repeat on the other side.
2. Quadriceps Stretch
Standing, with one hand resting on a support, grab your foot or the heel of your shoe and pull it up towards your buttock. Stand tall, don’t bend forward. Hold for a few breaths and release. Repeat on the other side. If this is too difficult, try lying on the floor on one side, bottom leg straight and top leg bent. Use a strap or towel to grab your foot and pull towards your buttock. You should feel the stretch in the front of your thigh. Repeat on the opposite side.
Strengthening Exercises to Protect Your Knees
Strong quadriceps muscles (the front of your thigh) and hamstrings are essential for stabilizing and protecting the knee joint. But they need to be in balance so it’s important to strengthen both. Quads can be up to 25% stronger than the hamstrings but more than that and they can pull the kneecap out of alignment. So if you find quad exercises much easier to do, concentrate more on the hamstrings for a while.
1. Strengthening Exercises for Quadriceps
- Standing Squat: Stand in front of a chair, feet under hips, knees and toes pointing forward. Bend your knees and aim your butt towards the chair, keeping your knees over your toes. Bend as far as is comfortable without sitting, and then push up, using the strength of your thighs. Repeat until you feel tired, from 8-12 times.
- Wall Slide: If your knees hurt doing the traditional squat, you may find this move more comfortable. Stand with your back against the wall. Step your feet out and slide your back down the wall, coming as close as possible to a seated position. Hold until your legs begin to tremble slightly, then push back up. If you’d like to work your core at the same time, use an exercise ball behind your back. Keep the ball stable will work your abdominal muscles harder, too.
2. Strengthening Exercises for Hamstrings
- Leg Lift: Stand with hands on the back of a chair or on a counter. Lift on leg behind you as high as you can and squeeze and hold for a few seconds, and slowly lower. Repeat 8-12 times. Do the same with the opposite leg.
- Ball Lift: Targeting your core as well as your hamstrings, this is a great exercise for those who have pretty good balance and enjoy the challenge of working more muscles at once.
Lie on the floor, bend your knees and place your feet on the ball. The ball should be close to your buttocks. Lift your butt off the floor as your push the ball away and straighten your legs, then pull the ball back as you bend your knees again. Repeat several times until fatigued. Work up to 8-12 repetitions.
Note: Riding a bicycle, either outdoors or stationary, is also an excellent exercise for strengthening the knees. Just make sure you fit the bike, with the knee still slightly bent when in the extended position on the pedals.
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: Doing exercises to protect your knees doesn’t take a lot of time, and the rewards can mean years of pain-free knees! The effects of performing simple stretching and strengthening exercises can be far greater than those that any pharmaceutical drug could ever provide. Take action now to ensure that you will be able to stay as active as you want to be as you get older, and so you won’t have to suffer from knee pain.
