The knee is one of the most important, most delicate and most injured parts of the body, especially during sports. Many finely trained and conditioned athletes, as well as weekend warriors, suffer traumatic knee injuries through no fault of their own. Once the surgery or initial treatment is completed, you'll need to perform a variety of exercises to rehabilitate your knee so you can get back on the field, court, track or course.
Stretching Exercises
Dr. Warren D. King of Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation recommends stretching exercises which do not cause swelling or discomfort, even the next day. Start slowly, performing 20 repetitions per set, with three complete sets during each rehab session. Take the stretch only to the first point of discomfort.
Stretches for knee rehabilitation include hamstring stretches, done lying on the floor and raising your leg straight up. Quadriceps stretches are done with one arm supporting you against a wall, slowly pulling your ankle back to your buttocks with your other arm. Another non-weight-bearing exercise is the leg extension, which can be done from sitting and lying positions. Sit on a chair with your leg resting on a stool or Ottoman, and slowly raise and lower your leg. Do the same movement lying or siting on the floor. To perform a buttocks tuck, lie on your back with your knees up, then slowly raise your buttocks and midsection off the floor, keeping your torso straight, then lower back to the floor. Finally, try step-ups, using a calf-height, stable stool or box to step up and then down.
Squats
Use bodyweight squats to gradually ease back in to weight-bearing exercise on the knee. A bodyweight exercise uses only your body's weight and no dumbbells, resistance bands or free weights. Bodyweight squats will cause some compression of the knee joint, but these will be moderate and allow the injured person to perform them comfortably, according to Raphael Brandon, a sports conditioning and fitness specialist and strength and conditioning coach for the English Institute of Sport. It's important that you perform squats with good posture, balance and alignment of the knee and leg, Brandon said.
From bodyweight squats, progress to squats with light weights, like dumbbells, adding weight until the full rehabilitation of the knee allows you to get back to your previous work-out weight.
Machine Exercises
If you have access to a gym or fitness center, use leg exercise machines to work your knee. Lying on your stomach, perform hamstring raises by placing your ankles under the weighted bar of a machine and slowly raising your ankles toward your buttocks. A leg press has you seated, beginning with your legs straight. Bend your knees up, as your buttocks slides toward your feet. As you push yourself away from your feet, back toward the straight-leg position, you will put weight on your knees; gauge your level of discomfort to decide whether or not you are ready to do this exercise.
Cycling and Swimming
Cycling and swimming provide continuous, non-weight bearing exercise for knees. Depending on the gear level or resistance setting you use for your bicycle or exercise machine, the exercise may be too difficult or uncomfortable for you, so consider starting with no or little resistance until you see how your knee reacts to the continual pedaling.
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