The knee is a vital joint that's prone to injury. It's held together by four main ligaments that keep your femur, tibia and knee cap in place. Exercises and sports tend to make you overuse the knee joint -- constant flexing causes common injuries. Strengthening and stretching the muscles and tendons that support the knee can protect it.
An Exercise for Strengthening
The quadriceps are a group of four muscles in the front of your thigh that are key to keeping your knee healthy. They stabilize the knee cap and absorb the pressure you place on your knee. Strengthen them with straight leg lifts. Lie on the floor on your back with your arms at your sides. Bend your left knee so your foot is close to your buttocks. Now keep your right leg straight, squeeze the thigh muscles and raise your right left a few inches off the floor. Hold it for a few seconds and lower the leg. Switch legs and repeat the exercise. Do two sets of 10 repetitions.
An Exercise for Stretching
It's not enough to strengthen your quadriceps. You must also stretch them. Stretching them keeps the muscles long and flexible and prevents injury. To stretch the quads, stand behind a chair with your legs together. Grab your right ankle and raise it behind you toward your back. When you feel a burn in the front of your thigh, hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat the stretch. By stretching the quads you are also stretching the collateral ligaments on the inside and outside of your knee. These control the knee's sideways motion.
Warning Signs
Pain while your are exercising your knee can signal a serious condition. If you hear a popping sound in your knee it can mean a tear in your anterior cruciate ligament, one of the ligaments that holds the knee together. If you feel a lateral pain across your knee it can be the result of an irritated iliotibial band, a thick fibrous tissue that crosses the knee cap. If you feel a pain behind or around your knee cap, it's a sign of patellofemoral pain syndrome, when the knee cap is not tracking properly along the groove in your femur. Get to your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment if these symptoms persist.
Considerations
Doing an exercise for your knee is good for your knee health, but it's only part of the picture. For great knee health you should do a series of knee exercises to keep the joint strong. Stretch and strengthen all of the muscles that support the knee, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus medias and hip flexors. The stronger your knee muscles, the more stress they'll relieve from your knee joint -- and the longer you'll enjoy use of this vital part of the body.
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