It's vital that you take proper care in rehabilitating your knee after injury, especially if you want to regain the normal strength and flexibility of the tissues surrounding your joints. Your knees support much of your body weight and absorb the forces of your body when you stand, walk, run, jump and lift weights. An injured ligament, meniscus, bone, cartilage, bursa and tendon inside or around your knee affects nearby healthy tissue. Reduce the deleterious effects of the knee injury by following the guidance of your physical therapist as you stretch and strengthen your knees.
Step 1
Apply a heat pack over your knee injury for 10 minutes prior to beginning your knee rehabilitation stretches. Heat increases the temperature of your knee tissues and enhances blood flow, reducing pain and swelling so you are more likely to do your rehab stretches and exercises.
Step 2
Begin every rehab session with passive knee stretches including a prolonged extension stretch for the back of your knee. Lie flat on your tummy with your legs straight and a pillow underneath the thigh of the injured leg. Remain in this position for 10 to 15 minutes, using gravity to push down on your lower leg, stretching the back of your knee. Add a 3-lb. ankle weight for subsequent stretching sessions.
Step 3
Stretch the front of your knee by sitting down at the edge of a bench or chair. Put both feet flat on the floor. Place the foot of your uninjured leg over the top of your opposite foot then push your injured leg backward until you feel a stretch at the front of your injured knee. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds then repeat for three more repetitions, bending your knee just a little more each time to stretch the front of your knee.
Step 4
Secure a 3-lb. ankle weight around the ankle of your injured leg, then lie flat on your back on the floor with your injured leg straight. Bend your uninjured leg so the bottom of your foot is flat on the floor. Contract your quadriceps muscle of the injured knee, straightening your leg as much as possible, then lift your leg up about 8 inches, holding the contraction for five seconds. Repeat for three sets of 10 repetitions.
Step 5
Secure a 3-lb. ankle weight around the ankle of the injured leg. Stand near an immovable object, supporting your bodyweight on your uninjured leg with your uninjured knee slightly bent. Keep both knees close together, then bend your injured knee, contracting your hamstring muscles at the back of your knee to draw your lower leg upward until it is parallel to the floor -- hold the contraction for five seconds then repeat for three sets of 10 repetitions.
Tips and Warnings
- Apply a cold pack over your injured knee to help reduce any new swelling that results from your rehab exercises. Use progressively heavier ankle weights as your knee strength improves.
Things You'll Need
- Hot pack
- Towel
- 3 lb. ankle weight
- Ice pack
References
- "Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Sandra Shultz, Ph.D., Peggy Houglum, Ph.D., and David Perrin, Ph.D.; 2005
- "Therapeutic Exercise for Musculoskeletal Injuries"; Peggy Houglum, Ph.D.; 2005
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