It can be difficult to immediately identify the source of pain in your knee, and unfortunately for many people, one knee injury can increase the likelihood of future knee injuries. The medial collateral ligament, or MCL, in the knee helps hold your tibia bone in place, and suffering an injury to this location can be painful and make walking difficult. Certain stretches can help you exercise the ligament, keep it healthy and help it recover after an injury. Remember to check with your doctor first, since not all exercises may be appropriate for you.
Step 1
Ride for as little as 10 or 15 minutes at a time on a stationery bike, once or twice a day. Increase your workload as the MCL allows, provided there is no pain or unwanted side effects developing. The rotation of the pedals as you exercise provides light stretching.
Step 2
Do hamstring stretches, quadriceps stretches and calf stretches to stretch your MCL, suggests the Massachusetts General Hospital website. The hamstring stretch is performed by placing your leg flat out in front of you and reaching for your toes. The quadriceps stretch is done by grabbing your foot and pulling it up and behind you to the buttocks. To do a calf stretch, place your foot flat on the floor and lean forward, keeping your leg straight.
Step 3
Perform light strength-training exercises such as leg curls, wall slides, chair squats, and hip flexor machines, among others. Although these exercises are intended to stress the muscles, they also apply pressure to your medial collateral ligament and well as other ligaments, stretching them through the stress of the exercise.
Tips and Warnings
- For all stretches, perform three to five repetitions lasting between 15 and 30 seconds each. When doing strength-training exercises, make sure the weight is low to prevent further injury. As you become comfortable with weight being applied to the ligament, consider increasing the weight.
- Some exercises and exercise equipment can create too much stress on your MCL, so avoid them. These include leg extension machines, stair-stepper machines, lunges, squats past a 90-degree bend in the knee, impact exercises and plyometric exercises.
