Functional Knee Exercises

Functional knee exercises improve the strength, endurance, reaction and stability of the tissues in your knee joint. The muscles which straighten and bend your knee must be able to control your body weight during your everyday activities. The tendons and ligaments need to remain injury free so you can maintain your balance in any given situation. Functional knee exercises are usually closed-chain exercises---or exercises in which your feet do not move---and are easily done at home.

Squats and Lunges

Build your knee strength with closed-chain exercises like squats and lunges, instead of open-chain exercises like leg extensions and leg curls. In your everyday activities, you are walking, standing, stair-climbing and running with your feet planted on the floor. Your quadriceps and hamstrings contract to move the proximal bone of your knees, or the bone closest to your trunk, the thigh bone. Additionally, squats mimic getting up and down from a sitting position while lunges are a more difficult form of walking. Complete a squat by standing with your feet at shoulder-width distance and lowering your pelvis until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Return to a standing position and repeat. Perform a lunge by stepping your right leg forward, bending both hips and knees to form 90-degrees at all joints. Lower your pelvis until your right thigh is parallel to the floor, then walk forward and switch legs.

Agility Drills

Complete a strengthening program with squats and lunges before you begin your agility training. Agility drills improve the reaction and endurance of your knee joints, especially during multi-directional movements. There are many types of drills you can do with items you find in your garage. Collect eight immovable objects and set them up in a zig-zag arrangement along your yard. Assume a semi-squat position at the beginning of the line. Step side to side between the objects while you maintain a forward-facing position. Increase the speed of your steps so you are quickly shuffling through the objects. You can also stretch out a tape measure to 12 feet and hop back and forth over the tape, keeping both feet together. Increase the speed of your hops as you approach the end of the line. The American College of Sports Medicine advises that agility training helps improve your performance of daily activities and reduce your risk of falls.

Balance Drills

When you walk or run, you are balancing on one leg. Improve your balance by standing only on your right foot for 30 seconds. Now, close your eyes. Step down with your left foot if you lose your balance. Switch legs and start with your eyes open. If you have a deflated ball with a little bit of air in it, stand on the ball with your right foot and your eyes open. Finally, step on the ball with your eyes closed. Ensure the area around you is cleared of debris to avoid tripping on items when you catch your balance.