Introduction
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis in your knee, you may be wondering if exercises can help to manage your symptoms. It’s one of the common reasons why people come and see me in clinic. While exercise cannot cure arthritis, it plays an important role in managing your pain and improving your knee joint function. If we improve the way the knee functions then we can offload the arthritic surfaces. I also see my fair share of people in clinic who come in absolutely fed up. They feel like they have been punished for being proactive and starting exercises for their arthritic knees only to make their pain much worse – It’s a hard balance. In this blog, we will discuss how exercises can help you manage your arthritic knee without flaring things up.
Strengthening Exercises
Strengthening exercises can help to improve the strength of the muscles supporting your knee joint, which can help to reduce the load on your knee joint and alleviate pain. Exercise for your thigh muscles (quadriceps) can be beneficial for strengthening the muscles of your thighs and lower legs, which are important for knee joint function. However, if we challenge the knee too much then we can make it sore so begin with simple exercises such as straight leg raises before gradually increasing and loading the knee more with exercises such as squats and leg presses.
Range of Motion Exercises
Range of motion is important in the function of all knees. As OA progresses the bony changes to the joint can make it difficult for you to fully straighten and bend your knee. It is a good idea to maintain as much movement as possible but be warned – if you try and force your knee to move into a position that is not easily available you could very easily flare your knee up. So gently move the knee it will tell you what it likes. Trying to maintain straightness in the knee is more important in a great functioning knee than being able to bend it back. Try some gentle movement exercises to improve the flexibility of your knee joint but not if it makes your knee angry.
Low-Impact Cardiovascular Exercise
Low-impact cardiovascular exercise can help to improve your overall fitness and reduce the load on your knee joint. Exercises such as cycling, swimming, and walking can be beneficial for improving cardiovascular health and reducing pain in your arthritic knee. as well as being great for our general health. It can also help us maintain or lose weight if needed which can have a positive impact on offloading the knee.
Balance and Stability Exercises
Poor balance increases the forces that your knee has to deal with, as well as increasing your risk of falls. Both can exacerbate your knee pain and lead to further joint damage. Balance and stability exercises can help to improve your balance, reduce the load your knee has to deal with and reduce your risk of falls. A simple exercise such as standing on one leg can be an easy way to start – make sure you have something to hold onto if you need to.
Pain Management
In the short term, exercise can help you to manage your knee pain. The key is getting the level and type of exercise right. Arthritic knees tend to like low to medium-level exercise regularly during the day. They tend not to like long periods of rest and stillness. Too much or the wrong type of exercise can aggravate so it is not an easy balance to find. Listen to your knee it will tell you what it likes, Don’t give up if you try something and your knee doesn’t like it try something else or maybe the same thing but with less intensity. In the long term, strength exercises will reduce pain by improving the way the knee functions, and offloading the arthritic joint surfaces. Have a look at my blog 5 exercises to avoid when you have arthritic knees you might find it helpful.
Solution – upgrade your Arthritic knee with ease
I have developed a home treatment program for Arthritic knees incorporating all the above and more. As well as exercise I teach you all about your knee and how best to keep it happy. If you want to reduce your pain, walk further, be able to climb the stairs with greater ease, not rely on a stick and regain your confidence in your knee then this is the program for you and I would love to help you transform your knee. Please find out more about my Arthritic Knee Treatment Program here.
Conclusion
Exercise plays an essential role in managing arthritis in the knee. You now understand better the role of exercise and above all else the importance of doing the right type of exercise for this often very temperamental problem. Get some advice but always listen to your knee. Stick with it – getting your knee strong will pay dividends for years to come. I would love to help you manage your arthritis symptoms and improve your quality of life – check out my Arthritic Knee Program to find out how. You’ve got this!
Take care, Helen
Helen Manders BSc (Hons) MCSP HCPC
Chartered Physiotherapist since 2001.
