Archive for the ‘ Knee Rehabilitation and Exercises ’ Category

ACL Rehab

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 posted by admin 9:09 pm

ACL rehab – If you have recently suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear or acl knee  injury  these exercises could assist you in your acl rehabilitation.

Please note – Check with your orthopedic surgeon before commencing these exercises and if pain or swelling increases cease them and consult your orthopedist. 

These knee injury exercises may assist in your recovery, however, commence them only if they can be endured without discomfort.

1  Isometrical muscular contraction of the Quads :While sitting on the floor extend your injured knee out in front of you and bend your other leg. Tighten the quads of the injured knee without moving your leg. (Try pushing down against the floor with the top of your leg). Hold this position for about ten seconds. Relax. Do this exercise 10 times.

2  Heel slips: Sit down on the floor with your legs extended outwards. Slowly bend the damaged knee and keeping while your heel on the floor, move your foot towards you. Repeat this ten times.

3  Prone knee flexures: Lay face down on the floor. Your legs should be straight and together. While bending your knee bring your heel back towards your buttocks. Hold for five seconds. Relax. Repeat ten times.

When you can stand on both legs and can place equal weight on each leg without any discomfort to the injured knee and any swelling has decreased you could try the following knee rehabilitation exercises.

4  Heel lifts: Stand up and place your hand on a chair to help balance. Keep your toes on the floor raise your heel and hold for five seconds. Lower your heel slowly to the floor.  Repeat ten times.

5  Half squats: Stand up facing a table and hold the table with both hands and place your feet about a shoulder’s width apart.  Slowly bend your knees and squat into the half squat position. Hold this position for about ten seconds. Slowly stand up and return to the original position.  Do this ten times.

6  Passive knee extensions: Sit in a chair and put your heel on another chair.  Ensure this chair is the same height. Relax your leg and straighten your leg. Hold this position initially for 1 minute an slowly increase the time to 2 minutes.  Do this a few times a day.  This exercise will stretch the hamstrings.

7  Knee extensions: tie one end of Theraband or elastic exercise tubing around one leg of a table and the other end around the ankle of your injured leg.  Face the tableand bend your knee to around 45 degrees against the resistance of the tubing and then relax and return to the starting position.  Repeat 10 times.

8  Standing on one leg: Only do this exercise when the swelling and pain in your injured knee has diminished and the your leg has regained some strength.  Stand unaided on the injured leg for ten seconds.

These exercises can be part of your acl physical therapy regimen and could assist in your ACL rehab.

ACL Knee Surgery Rehabilitation

An anterior cruciate ligament tear is a common sports injury that generally requires reconstructive knee surgery. A proper ACL injury rehabilitation program is vital.

ACL Reconstruction Rehabilitation

Since these publications, Kevin and I have continued to advance our ACL rehabilitation protocol.

ACL Rehab

hi guys! ive torn my front acl and the surgery is now 8 weeks ago. any experiences with it?

How to get through acl rehab

maybe some of his travel photography can inspire you to make no little plans when your acl is back and kicking.

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Category : Knee Rehabilitation and Exercises

More Knee Strengthening Exercises

Friday, October 16, 2009 posted by admin 7:01 am

If you need to get fitter but are being held back because of problems with your knees then take a look are the simple knee strengthening exercises below.

This first exercise is really good for those who suffer from conditions such as chondromalacia patella. This is an inflammation of the cartilage beneath the patella ‘knee cap’. This sometimes results because the bones and muscles on the knee are out of alignment.

Sit comfortably in a chair, you need to be relaxed. Bend your legs as you would normally sit on a chair with your feet on the ground and your legs bent at 90 degrees, tense your thigh and hold this position for 5 seconds the release, change legs are repeat. You need to do ten reps on each leg. I told you it was easy!
It is very important to remember to breath whilst doing these exercises.

  strengthening hamstring

The second exercise is a little more tricky but it does help build up the strength in your knee.
Sit in a chair again, then cross your bent legs at the ankle. Push your legs forward with the rear leg then push them back using the front leg. (At first this can seem a little tricky but it is really easy once you get used to it!).
Switch the position of your legs by changing the direction of the cross. If the right leg was in front, move it to the back. Repeat this exercise ten times for each position.

Calf Burns
Would you like to move onto to something a little more challenging?
For this next exercise avoid standing on a concrete or metal floor. If your balance is not to good you may be better to do the following exercise on a mat or carpet.
Making sure you are well balanced, stand up straight, toes a little apart, heels together.
Lift the heels, balancing on the balls of your feet. Imagine a string attached to the centre of your head pulling you up. Hold for 5 seconds, then lower slowly. Repeat 10 times. Over time, as you build strength and balance, increase the length of time you’re on the balls of the feet.
To change this exercise a little try bending your knees a little once you have raised your heels and are standing on the balls of your feet. This will also work your bottom as well as your hamstrings and quads. Again hold for 5 seconds then straighten your legs and lower your heels. Repeat for 10 reps.

If you can make sure you carry out these knee strengthening exercises a couple of days a week or better still daily, you will have strong, healthy knees in to time at all.

By: Lyndsay Whittaker

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Knee Strengthening Exercise

Many people end up having knee problems, especially as they get older. Why? Well, for many people, it is because they don’t have the muscular support that they.Knee Strengthening Exercises After Arthroscopic Surgery

How to Do Knee Strengthening Exercises After Arthroscopic Surgery at Home. After arthroscopic knee surgery, you have to re-strengthen your muscles around the knee. Knee Strengthening Exercises

The secret of knee protection revealed. Simple and easy to perform knee strengthening exercises. Knee Strengthening Exercises

Exercise your knees. Get strong and healthy knees for the rest of your life! 

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Category : Knee Rehabilitation and Exercises

Knee Strengthening Exercises

Sunday, September 13, 2009 posted by admin 6:36 am

Knee Strengthening Exercises - If you have a bad knee then knee physical therapy is very important.  This article outlines knee rehabilitation exercises that can be used to strengthen and reduce pain in the knee.

Exercises for a Bad Knee

Knee pain can occur for various reasons. Read on for some basic exercises for a bad knee.

Physical exercises are very important and should be incorporated in our everyday life to have a healthy mind and a healthy body. One can choose from many fitness activities that will help to keep a body fit and active. Well, a person may suffer from a bad knee due to a variety of reasons. It can be because of an injury or it may happen even with age. Here, we can take a quick look at some basic exercises for a bad knee.

Exercises for a Bad Knee:
There are many exercises that help to strengthen muscles around the knee area. These exercises also help to strengthen muscles and ligaments even around the buttock. Take a look at some of the examples.

knee injury exercises
Lie on your back and bend your knees. Feet should be flat on the floor. Then, suck your belly button inside and clench your bottom. Now, you would need to lift the body off from the floor and point it towards the ceiling. Remain in the position for 2 seconds and then slowly lower yourself halfway towards the floor. Remember one thing whilst you do this step – keep the tummy and the bottom squeezed towards the inside. Now, repeat the process. Avoid lowering the body completely on the floor with the repetition of each step. Begin with small sets and increase them during the week.

A lunge is a very easy exercise for a bad knee. Put one leg forward and bend both knees. You must keep the body straight. After bending, come up slowly. Repeat the process by putting the other leg forward. This will stretch the thighs as well.

Here is another exercise for a bad knee. You first need to lie on the floor. Then, place a towel underneath the thighs. This will act as a support. Now, keep the leg straight and then raise the foot to a height of 6 inches. Hold the leg in this position for a few seconds. Then, lower the foot by bending the knee. Repeat at least 10 times. You need to try alternate sides for this exercise.

You can read more about knee strengthening exercises. Yoga exercises also prove to be very helpful in the long run. A basic exercise routine is thus so important for physical fitness.

By Kashmira Lad
Published: 10/20/2008

 

Exercises for Knee Pain

Hey everybody, Knee&l fef t;/b> pain sucks. It makes you feel like you can’t exercise, when in reality, there’s so much you can do. Knee Pain Exercises – Knee.

Arthritis Knee Exercises

Knee arthritis exercises are very important if one is experiencing arthritis in the knee joints. 

Knee (ACL) Exercises

Passive knee extension: Do this exercise if you are unable to fully extend your knee. While lying on your back, place a rolled up towel underneath the heel of you injured leg so it is about 6 inches off the ground.

Knee Exercises

Patellar Tendonitis (Jumper’s Knee) Rehabilitation Exercises. You can do the hamstring stretch right away. When the pain in your knee has decreased, you can do the quadriceps stretch and start strengthening the thigh muscles

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Total Knee Replacement Recovery -Advanced Knee Exercises

Friday, September 4, 2009 posted by admin 8:56 pm

Total knee replacement recovery exercises play a major part in your recovery following knee surgery.  Remember that your knee replacement procedure was a major operation and full recovery will take time. 

It is imperative that a regular exercise regime is commenced as soon as possible to help restore the mobility and strength to your knee.  This will help speed up your recovery so that you can return to your normal activities as quickly as possible.

Your orthopedic surgeon will recommend the knee exercises that you should do.  These will generally start off fairly light and gradually increase in intensity.  It is important to follow your surgeon’s instructions on this physical therapy.
As you gain more strength and confidence your knee therapy can consist of more advanced exercises.  Here are some which can be useful.  Before starting on these exercises please run them past your orthopedic surgeon or physical therapist.  These advanced exercises should be started until at least 4 weeks after your knee surgery.

AdvancedKnee Exercises

Standing Knee Bends

Stand up and using a walker or crutches to steady yourself, lift your thigh while bending your knee as much as you can.  Hold this position for between 5 to 10 seconds and then straighten your knee making sure that your heel touches the floor first.  Repeat this a few times but do not over do it.

Advanced Knee Bends

Lie on your back and bend your knee to about 45 degrees.  Place a rolled up towel over your ankle and take hold of each end.  Gently pull back on the towel to increase the angle of bend.  Hold for around 5 – 10 seconds.  Repeat this exercise several times.

Resistance Knee Exercises

Using light weights, repeat the above exercises with the weights wrapped around your ankle.

These resistance exercises should not be started until at least 4 – 6 weeks after your knee replacement surgery. 

You will need some light weights that can be tied around your ankle.  These can be obtained from most sports stores.  Start with one or 2 pound weights and slowly increase the weight as you regain strength in the knee joint.

Exercise Bike

Using an exercise bike is great way to increase mobility in your knee and muscle strength.

Make sure you set the bike up properly.  Adjust the height of the seat so that with your knee almost straight the bottom of your foot touched the pedal.  Keep the tension of the exercise bike fairly low so it is easy to pedal.

First of all pedal backwards.  When you achieve a pedalling motion that does not give you any discomfort then start pedalling forwards.  Do this twice a day for about 15 minutes and slowly increase the time.  When you feel comfortable in doing so, increase the tension.

Precautions

It is not uncommon for you to feel knee pain or swelling after knee physical therapy like this.  This can be relieved by applying ice to your knee and elevating your leg.  If you feel the pain or swelling is extreme, cease the exercises and consult your health specialist.

These exercises should be an integral part of your total knee replacement recovery regimen 

Written by Kerry N  

Knee Rehab Exercises – Bill Starr

“There’s no doubt in my mind that a lot of major knee injuries have been prevented because the joint was extra strong. The controlled up -and-down movement of the squat is the best rehab exercise. 

Speeding Up Your Recovery After Knee Arthroscopy

… this is unusual with arthroscopic knee surgery. Usually, you will be able to walk without assistance. You will need to take care about bearing weight at first, but as time passes and you persist with your postoperative exercises

How to strengthen your Knees

Here’s a great video which includes a detailed analysis of knee function anatomy, common injuries, potentially dangerous exercises and causes of pain, useful rehab exercises and protocols. 

Knee (ACL) Exercises

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury Rehabilitation Exercises. 

Physical Therapy Knee Exercises: Knee Rehabilitation Exercises

What knee exercises do you do/have you done to help strengthen your muscles? Have you worn a brace while running? If so, do you have an brands/types you can recommend over others? Is running on specific terrain easier on your knee?

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Category : Knee Rehabilitation and Exercises

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery Recovery Exercises

Saturday, July 4, 2009 posted by admin 4:21 pm

To prevent complications of post operative knee surgery it is important to get the knee working as soon as practical and so rehabilitation after arthroscopic knee surgery is a citical step in recovery . This article examines exercises that can be used in arthroscopy knee surgery recovery.

Following arthroscopic knee surgery, it is imperative that you start knee exercises immediately.  The aim of the exercises is to not only restore strength to the knee joint but to also help restore a full range of motion to the knee.

Listed below are four knee rehabilitation exercises that you can start with.  These are non-weight bearing exercises and will assist in restoring the range of motion to the knee as well as gently strengthening the muscles around the knee.

partial knee replacement problems
Remember, however,  that any exercise regimen should first of all be discussed with your orthopedic surgeon before commencement.  It is most likely that you will be given similar exercises by your surgeon.  An early start to exercising is usually recommended by most surgeons but some may suggest waiting a few days after the knee surgery before commencing an exercise routine.

In the early stages following your knee arthroscopy surgery you may feel some discomfort in the knee joint and possibly some swelling.   This isn’t unusual and antiflammatory medication is usually prescribed to help relieve these symptoms.

When doing these exercises you should not experience any pain.  If you do then you should cease them immediately and rest the knee joint.  You may, however, feel a gentle stretching sensation when you first begin but should not feel any real pain.  Afterwards it is good practice to elevate your leg and apply ice to help reduce any swelling that may occur.

Here are the four exercises that can be used, subject to confirmation by your orthopaedic surgeon, immediately after your knee arthroscopy.  When doing these exercises it is important that the motion be gentle and steady and not jerky. Over-stretching must be avoided.

The first exercise stretches the quadriceps:

  • Lay on your back on a flat surface. Put a rolled up towel beneath your ankle. Now push your ankle down into the towel. You will notice that your knee will tend to straighten.  Try to straighten the knee as much as you can.  Hold the position for about five seconds. Then relax for a few seconds and repeat the exercise 9 times (ten in total).  Remember to keep all motion smooth.

The second exercise – Straight Leg Raises:

  • Again, lay on your back on a flat surface. Straighten the leg that was operated on and keep it straight while bending your other leg to about an angle of 90 degrees so that the foot is flat on the floor. Contract the front thigh muscles and slowly raise the operated on leg about six inches (15 centimetres) off the floor. Hold this position for about 5 seconds and then lower your leg. Rest for a few seconds and then repeat the exercise another 9 times. Remember to keep the knee straight at all times.

The third exercise is for the hamstrings – Hamstring Contractions:

  • Lie on your back and bend both knees to 10 to 15 degree angle. While keeping your legs still, pull your heel into the floor causing the muscles on the back of your thigh to contract. Again, hold this position for about five seconds and then rest for a few seconds before repeating.  Do this exercise 10 times.

 The fourth exercise involves the gluteal muscles.  These are the three muscles that comprise the buttocks:

  • Lie on your back and bend your knees to a 10 to 15 degree angle. Now squeeze your buttock muscles together and hold for a count of 5. Rest for a few seconds and then repeat for a total of 10 sets

By following this exercise regimen you should prevent any complications of post operative knee surgery.

Arthritis Knee Exercises Strengthen the Muscles That Support the Knee

Arthritis knee exercises are very important if one is experiencing arthritis in the knee joints. Exercise is one way to maintain a strong and healthy cartilage as it has the effect of strengthening the tendons and muscles that support the knee.

Knee Exercises

Knee health is critical and will have a profound impact on your daily life. Do you find yourself struggling to run, bend your knees or getting out of your seat.

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Knee Rehabilitation Exercises

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 posted by admin 7:11 pm

 Knee Rehabilitation Exercises – 5 Important Things to Remember

1. Do What Your Health Care Professional Advises.

Everybody would like to get back to what they were able to do before they injured their knee as quickly as possible. However it can be frustrating and boring to have to stick to a structured exercise regimen given to you by your doctor for knee rehabilitation. But, it is important to remember that these knee physical therapy programs are designed to ensure that no damage is done to the knee and to assist in its healing. It is important that you listen to your doctor or physiotherapist and follow their instructions because their main interest is to get your knee rehabilitated as safely and quickly as possible.

 

 

2. Don’t Concentrate on Just One Muscle Group.

A lot of people concentrate on strengthening their quadriceps. This is the muscle at the front of the thigh. Although strengthening the quadriceps is crucial, it is equally as important not to neglect your hamstrings, the muscle group at the back of the thigh. The quadriceps and hamstrings work together, the quadriceps to straighten the leg and the hamstrings to bend the leg.
knee rehab
3. Start Slowly

At the start, knee rehabilitation exercises should be done using higher repetitions (reps) combined with low resistance. For instance, do 3 sets of, say, 18 reps in a pool. This way you are achieving the lower resistance and also reducing the stress on the knee joint. This is particularly valuable if you’re post-operative or have arthritis.  Then, as strength in your knee increases, slowly raise the resistance level while reducing the reps to, say 3 sets of 10 or 12. Initially your knee rehabilitation routines will be simple ones but the complexity of them can be slowly increased over time. In most cases, your physical therapist can assist in creating a program for you aimed at getting you back to or near to the level of physical activity and fitness that you enjoyed prior to the injury.

4. Use the Correct Equipment

It is important that you use the correct equipment when embarking upon your knee rehabilitation to ensure complete recovery regardless of whether you are taking part in a formal rehabilitation program or an unsupervised program at home. Again your physical therapist or doctor should be able advise you on the most suitable equipment for your particular case. Don’t think that this equipment needs to be a full blown multipurpose gym. Very often all that is needed is some free weights or resistance tubing which can be very inexpensive yet highly effective and readily available from sports stores or even online. There are times, and this can depend on the injury, when more complex equipment is needed. This sort of equipment can often be found at your local gym. Once again you should seek the help and advice of your health care professional.

5. Exercise Should Be Pain-free.

An increase in knee pain or swelling of the knee usually means something is wrong and if your knee rehabilitation exercises cause either of these symptoms then you should stop and seek professional advice. These rehabilitation exercises can be tiring and difficult and the feeling of exercise burn or a bit of discomfort in the muscle is quite normal but increased pain in or swelling of the knee joint is not. Remember the purpose of the rehabilitation exercises is to strengthen and help repair the knee. Increased pain levels or swelling is a sign that the opposite could be happening.

Kerry Northey

Algerian Brahim Ferradj Begins Knee Rehabilitation

Algerian Brahim Ferradj Begins Knee Rehabilitation. The Stade Brestois striker has started physical therapy after successful surgery to fix ligament damage in his knee

Physical Therapy Knee Exercises: Knee Rehabilitation Exercises

Here are some traditional physical therapy knee exercises. They are basic knee rehabilitation exercises and beginner knee strengthening exercises. .

Understand Knee Rehabilitation

Well, knee rehabilitation after injury or surgery is not just a case of going to the gym and pushing through the pain. 

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