Knee Strengthening Exercises For Arthritis

About 50 million American adults suffer from a form of arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Osteoarthritis and knee arthritis often affect the knees, leading to symptoms such as joint swelling, pain, stiffness and disability. Exercises can help to relieve these symptoms and improve joint function. In fact, the CDC reports that moderate physical activity three or more times a week can lower arthritis-related disability by 47 percent in older adults.

Starting

Before you begin any exercises for arthritis, consult a doctor who can devise a personalized exercise regimen for you. Dr. Robert Klapper, clinical chief or orthopaedics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and co-author of "Heal Your Knees," recommends that you give your doctor as much information about your knee condition as possible to your doctor including your medical history, how long you've been experiencing symptoms and the cause of the injury.

Benefit of Exercise

Strengthening exercises help build the muscles that support your knee, keep it stable and improve its mobility. Strengthening exercises help increase and maintain muscle strength and keep your joint more stable and comfortable.

Types of Exercise

According to the Arthritis Foundation, isometric exercises are good for people with arthritis because they allow you to tighten the muscles around the joint without moving it or putting more stress on it. Isotonic exercises require moving your joint in order to strengthen it. Isotonic exercises are more flexible, as you can make them simpler when your knee hurts or more challenging on days when your knee feels better.

Examples of Exercises

Straight-leg raises while lying on your back or on your side are types of isometric exercises that help to strengthen your knees. Squats and walking lunges are isotonic exercises your doctor may recommend. In some cases, you can also use equipment such as a leg-press machine, a leg-curl machine or an exercise ball to strengthen your knees, according to Dr. Brian Halpern, co-author of "The Knee Crisis Handbook." Ankle weights and a fitness ball can also be used during exercise.

Caution

Stop the exercises if you experience sharp pain in your knees, your knees buckle during the exercises, or your pain increases beyond a 4 out of 10 on a pain scale, with emergency room pain being a 10, Klapper recommends. Also, while you may experience pain after your exercise routine, Klapper notes that this isn't cause for alarm. You're simply reactivating your "rusty" knee. Keep doing your exercises and you will eventually see improvement.