3 Exercises For Pain-Free Knees

There’s often a catch-22 with regard to knees:

1. to have pain-free knees, one must make them strong
2. making them strong is difficult when they already hurt

So, how to get past this? Rehab expert Marina Sarenac explains:

Ease for your knees

These three exercises should get your knees to where they need to be:

• Single-leg extension: use one leg at a time with your toes pointed up; extend your leg to roughly 45–60°. You should feel the effort in your quadriceps and patellar tendon, but without pain. Hold the top position for about 45 seconds.
  • Note that while she does it on a machine in the video, you can start with just your own weight (e.g. sit on a kitchen counter, extend your leg with no additional weight yet) if that’s more appropriate for the current state of your knees, and then add weight later when you are able.
• Spanish squat hold: loop a resistance band behind your knees (just above your shins). Step backwards until there’s good tension in the band, then lower yourself to about 60°. Keep your shoulders, hips, and knees in a straight line, and ensure your knees stay behind your toes. Hold for 45 seconds; if it feels too easy, step further back. The goal is to feel your lower quads working with no pain in your patellar tendon.
• Goblet box squat: choose a surface to sit on that lets your knees form a 90° angle when sitting. Hold a small weight at your chest, keep your shoulders down and your upper back locked. As you lower yourself down, push your hips slightly back while maintaining a straight spine; pause briefly, then drive upwards.

For more on each of these plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

For a much deeper understanding of treating knee pain, here’s a great book that we reviewed a little while back:

Treat Your Own Knee – by Robin McKenzie ← he’s a physiotherapist and not a doctor, but with 40 years of practice to his name and 33 letters after his name (CNZM OBE FCSP (Hon) FNZSP (Hon) Dip MDT Dip MT), he seems to know his stuff. His work is very well-respected, and almost any English-speaking physiotherapist will have read his books.

Take care!