Rehabilitation Exercises For A Torn Mcl

The MCL, or medial collateral ligament, is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It attaches to the femur bone of your thigh, crosses the inside of your knee, and then reattaches to the tibia bone of your lower leg. It can tear when strained excessively due to a forceful blow to the outside of your knee or an outward rotation of the tibia, according to William Prentice, author of "Essentials of Athletic Injury Management." If you tear your MCL, after the pain and swelling subside, perform flexibility and strengthening exercises through knee extension and flexion ranges of motion to help rehabilitate the injury.

Chair Walk

The chair walk exercise strengthens and stretches the hamstrings, which cross the back of your knee joint, and strengthens the quadriceps on the front of your thigh. Sit upright on a rolling chair with your knees bent to 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. Extend your injured leg forward as far as possible and place your heel on the floor. Lift your opposite foot, and then pull the chair forward by flexing your injured knee until your foot is flat on the floor again. Do not flex your leg beyond 90 degrees. You can wear an ankle weight to make your quadriceps work harder during the extension phase of the exercise if desired.

Standing Knee Flexion

Standing knee flexion strengthens the hamstrings and stretches the quadriceps simultaneously. Stand upright in front of a table with your feet about 6 inches apart. Place your hands on the table for balance. Flex your injured knee as far as possible, arcing your foot toward the back of your thigh. Slowly lower back to the starting position and repeat. Keep your ankle tightly flexed throughout the movement. Wear an ankle weight for added resistance or have a partner provide manual resistance if desired. At the top of the movement, if you want to deepen the stretch through your quadriceps, grab the front of your ankle and pull gently to flex your knee slightly farther.

Lateral Step-Ups

Lateral step-ups strengthen the quadriceps, which are the primary knee extensors. Stand to the side of a step, with your injured leg closest to it. Keeping your toes directed forward, lift your injured knee and move your foot sideways on top of the step. Powerfully extend your injured knee, lifting your opposite foot off the floor, and then step back down to the starting position in reverse order. You can increase the intensity of the exercise by hopping a few inches off the step when you extend your injured leg, but be careful when you land so you don't turn your ankle.