Arthritis Knee Exercise
Health Improvement Tool

Although many exercises aren't at all difficult for a healthy person, for someone with arthritis in the knee joint, they can be challenging.

A second major benefit for exercise is that it can greatly help with weight control. Every pound of extra weight you carry adds a greater burden on your weight bearing joints, so losing weight could be considered a valuable exercise in its own right.

Arthritis Knee Exercise
Desired Results

Ten repetitions of each exercise form a set, and you should try to work up until you can do at least two sets a day, prefereable three, of each exercise given. Don't do them quickly, and work for smooth fluid movements rather than jerky forced movements. Use muscle tension to control your movements rather than gravity to get the most benefits from the exercises.

• Range of Motion/Flexibility -These exercises are designed to improve or maintain the degrees of motion you have in your knees, and to make the joints more flexible.
  1. Sitting Foot Shuffle - Sit in a straight chair with your legs bent at a 90 degree angle. Move your right foot forward a few inched without lifting it entirely off the floor, then move it a few inches back under the chair. Begin slowly and increase repetitions and the degree you move your leg forward and backwards as you can.
     
  2. Sitting Leg Raise -Continue sitting in a straight chair with legs bent at a 90 degree angle. Raise one leg until the calf is parallel to the floor, then lower it slowly until your foot touches the floor again. Begin with as many as you can comfortably do, and work to build up to two or three sets. Alternate lifting between legs, so you don't tire out too quickly.
     
  3. Heel Raise - Stand in front of a wall with your hands on the wall about shoulder width apart to keep your balance. Lift both heels off the floor and stand on the balls of your feet.

     Hold for a count of two or three seconds, and then come back down slowly. Hold longer each time until you can stand with your heels off the ground to a full count of ten.

     Work up to several sets as you can comfortably do so.



• Strength Building Exercises -These exercises should build the strength of the muscles that support your knees.
  1. Ball Squeeze - Use a small rubber ball like a tennis ball, or a rubber baseball. Sit in a chair with the ball between your knees. Squeeze the ball to a count of five, counting 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000, and so on. Build up if necessary until you can do two or three sets a day.
     
  2. Knee Bends -Stand with your feet shoulder width apart facing forward. Lower your body as though you were going to sit down in a chair.

     Keep your back straight. You can stretch your arms out in front of you, if needed, to help keep your balance. Hold to a count of five, and then return to a standing position. Work up until you can do two sets.

     If you're leg muscles aren't very strong, you'll want to do this in front of a chair so if your knees give out the chair is there to catch you and you don't fall. Keep working to go lower until you are almost to chair level each time you go down.
     

  3. Sitting Leg Lift with Ankle Weights -Do the exercise as given above, but add an ankle weight of 1 to five pounds to the leg you are lifting. Switch the weight when you switch legs.


• Conditioning, or Endurance Exercises -These exercises build overall body conditioning so you can accomplish work without wearing out.
  1. Water Exercise -The best form of exercise for those struggling with arthritis is frequently any that you can do in water. The water takes the stress off your joints, and frequently improves your comfort level while exercising. If you are a swimmer, swimming works well, but if not, just walking in water, or any type of water aerobics will work as well.
     
  2. Cycling -Since there isn't a lot of strain put on any one joint, cycling is a good form of exercise for those with arthritis.
     
  3. Walking -Most people with arthritis can't run, but they can walk if they will start off slowly and easily, and build up their ability with regular practice. The more physically fit you are, overall, the less pain and stiffness you're likely to have in your joints.

Arthritis Knee Exercise
Conclusions

This list of arthritis knee exercises isn't intended to be exhaustive, but it will give you ideas of the types of exercises you can do to help your knee as well as other arthritic joints.

When your joints hurt it is easier not to exercise, but in the long run it is definitely counter-productive, since an arthritis knee exercise will help lubricate your joint by moving the synovial fluid in and out of the joint. So these exercises when done in moderation can help your knees improve.

However, an arthritis knee exercise alone, won't solve your arthritis problem entirely. For that you'll need to add supplements or foods to your diet that will enable your joints to heal.

If you'd like the details on which we've found to be most effective, please read the previously written page onjoint health supplements as well.

Return from Arthritis Knee Exercise to Prevent Arthritis

Return from Arthritis Knee Exercise to Effective Health Supplements





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