Knee Exercises

For a patient with lower back, hip or knee pain, the bridging exercise works to increase the strength and stability of the hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and lower back extensor musculature..

This exercise asks you to hold your hip and knee in the clamshell position for one minute. If this is not possible, simply hold as long as you can and stop the timer when you lower your leg. Restart the timer when you raise your leg to get one minute of whole time regardless of the number of repetitions it takes to accomplish this. This exercise is performed to increase the awareness of the contraction of the deep gluteal muscles and to promote strength and endurance in the same muscles to improve your hip and stability and allow you to function more easily. Weakness in the deep hip rotators places additional stress on the knee when performing a squat motion. You will know you have deep rotator weakness if your knees move closer together while you lower yourself into a squat position.

A clamshell isotonic is performed for anyone with a lower back, hip, knee, or ankle problem. It is an important exercise to improve hip stability which affects the stability and functions of the lumbar spine and regions above the hip but also the knees and ankles below the hip as well..

We include this video because many of you have an exercise bike or enjoy biking in general baking is a great supplement to any lower body home exercise program..

Many patients with a low back problem also have hip and pelvic weakness. The quadruped fire hydrant is an excellent exercise to address the weakness of the gluteal musculature, specifically the gluteus maximus..

The sit & scoot is a wonderful exercise to improve your knee flexion range of motion after an injury or surgical condition. To perform a sit & scoot, bend your knee and slide your foot as far underneath the chair as possible..

A gastrocnemius and soleus stretch on the slant board is useful for increasing the flexibility of the calf musculature. For a patient with a foot, ankle, knee or hip problem, this exercise helps to improve the ROM, flexibility and optimize function of the lower body, which improves the health of all the joints mentioned above..

A gastrocnemius and soleus stretch using a strap is perfect for those patients who cannot support full weight bearing with their injured foot or move their foot into the range of motion required by using a slant board.. 

A hamstring curl, whether in standing, sitting or lying on your back activates and strengthens the hamstring muscles on the back of your thigh to more effectively and efficiently bend your knee..

This describes the hamstring stretch exercise, typically performed in physical therapy to improve hamstring flexibility, improve ROM of the hip and knee as well as restore pelvic mobility..

A heel slide performed in supine simultaneously flexes the hip and flexes the knee for those patients who struggle with range of motion of both or either of these joints..

The prone hip flexor stretch is good to increase the flexibility of the muscles on the front of your thigh. Stretching these muscles improves your ability to extend your hip, but also improves your pelvic mobility as well..

A hip flexor stretch is performed to increase the extensibility of the hip flexor musculature as it attaches to the anterior pelvis. A person with tight hip flexors will often present with a pelvis that’s anteriorly tilted, thus producing an increase in the curvature of the lumbar spine..

The long arc quad is both a hip strengthening and knee strengthening exercise. We would perform this exercise for patients who have weakness in the ability to flex their hip or extend their knee..

Marching in place is a great exercise for strengthening the hip flexor muscles. Other reasons you would perform this exercise include increasing the flexibility of the hip extensors and improving your walking ability if you have hip weakness..

The piriformis is a very problematic muscle located in the deep gluteal region. In many patients, this muscle is directly over the sciatic nerve. Therefore, tightness in this muscle creates symptoms that mirror a compression of the sciatic nerve..

A prone hang is performed to increase knee extension after an knee injury or surgical condition. The prone hand uses gravity to extend your knee fully. To perform the prone hang, lie on your belly and scoot to the edge of the table as shown in the video..

After a hip or knee injury or surgery, the quadriceps (quad) muscle tends to shut down as a result of the swelling or pain associated with your injury. The quadriceps (quad) set is one of the first exercises we ask you to perform as part of your early rehabilitation program..

Standing on a rocker board is a great ankle exercise to strengthen the front and rear calf muscles. It is also a good exercise to promote increases in knee/hip strength and stability as well. To make the rocker board, cut a 3/4" piece of plywood to measure 20x20 inches or 51x51 cm..

This short arc quad is an exercise that targets quadriceps activation after a recent injury or surgery to your hip or knee. It increases the knee control in the terminal extension phase of your knee range of motion, and helps to prevent your knee from buckling..

tanding on one leg is a great exercise to improve her balance on one foot. This is an important skill, because when you are walking, you must balance on one leg or the other 60-70% of the time while you complete stepping with each foot..

The sit & scoot is a wonderful exercise to improve your knee flexion range of motion after an injury or surgical condition. To perform a sit & scoot, bend your knee and slide your foot as far underneath the chair as possible..

A squat is one of the most valuable exercises you can perform to strengthen your back, hips, knees, and ankles. It is an exercise that provides you with a great "bang for your buck", as one simple movement targets many muscles in your body..

A lunge is a great exercise as a targets muscles of the hip, knee, and ankle. If you are someone who has weakness in each of these joints, performing a lunge would be one exercise that is a must include on your list..

A step down exercise is a wonderful way of testing the functional strength and stability of the hip extensors, abductors, and external rotators during activities such as stair negotiation or stepping off of a curb..

The step up is an exercise that we prescribe for hip and knee strengthening. The best way to improve your ability to climb stairs is to practice the skill. So we would ask you to perform a step up if you’re struggling with stair negotiation..

A hip abduction hold is performed to increase the awareness of the contraction of the gluteus medius, which is the target muscle of the exercise. The gluteus medius has the function of abducting the hip when the foot is off the ground, but it’s more important motion is to maintain the pelvis in a level position when standing on one leg..

he hip abduction isotonic is performed to increase the strength and endurance of the gluteus medius muscle. The function of the gluteus medius is important for controlling the pelvis when standing on one leg..

The straight leg raise (SLR) abduction motion in standing is performed to increase the strength of the hip abductors, but also is a good exercise to improve strength and balance in the leg that you are standing on..

Performing hip abduction in supine targets the gluteus medius muscle, which is located on the side of the hip. It has the function of moving your leg out to the side when your foot is off the ground..

The hip adduction straight leg raise (SLR) can be used to help patients with a back problem, hip problem, or knee problem. For patients with a back problem, we use the hip adduction exercise to act like a lever on the pelvis..

A prone hip extension exercise is performed to increase the strength and stability of the gluteals, hamstrings, and lower back region. Remember to lift your leg only as high as your hip motion would allow, and avoid hyperextending your lumbar spine when performing this exercise..

The straight leg raise (SLR) extension motion in standing is performed to increase the strength of the hip extensors, but also is a good exercise to improve strength and balance in the leg that you are standing on..

The straight leg raise flexion exercise in standing is performed to increase the strength of the hip flexors, but also is a good exercise to improve strength and balance in the leg that you are standing on..

A straight leg raise exercise targets the anterior thigh muscles that flex the hip or extend the knee. Obviously, this exercise would be good for someone with hip or knee weakness, but it is also good for patients who complain of lower back pain..

The supine hang is an exercise to improve knee extension range of motion after knee injury or surgical condition. To perform the supine hang, lie on your back and place a rolled up blanket, pillow, or something firm under your ankle to allow your knee to elevate off of the support surface..

The tensor fasciae latae (TFL) is a muscle located on the anterior side of the hip. It’s function is to flex, abduct, and internally rotate the hip. Therefore, to stretch this muscle, you would extend, adduct and externally rotate the hip while reaching overhead to help stabilize the pelvis..

The tensor fasciae latae (TFL) is a muscle located on the anterior side of the hip. It’s function is to flex, abduct, and internally rotate the hip. Therefore, to stretch this muscle, you would extend, adduct and externally rotate the hip while reaching overhead to help stabilize the pelvis..

A wall slide is performed to improve the amount of knee flexion range of motion. You have after an injury or surgical condition. To perform a wall slide, place your feet on the wall. Remove the shoe on the side you are targeting so that your foot would slide more easily on the wall..