5 exercises to recover from a knee injury

When you practice sports or physical activity, it is common to suffer injuries. Among the most common are knee injuries , which generally affect the soft tissues (ligaments and tendons). However, there are cases of more serious injuries in which the bones can be compromised.

Now, if you unfortunately suffered an injury, you must be wondering what exercises to do as a rehabilitation. Of course, at this point it is necessary that the injury has been evaluated by your doctor and that he has authorized physical activity.

If you experience pain in one of your knees and your doctor has consented to the training, you can try the following 5 exercises to recover from a knee injury .

5 exercises to rehabilitate knee injuries

1. Single leg IT band stretch

If your physical activity requires you to run and jump a lot, you probably don't know that you are wearing down the cartilage in your knees. An effective way to lessen this effect is to stretch the iliotibial band .

The iliotibial band is a strong, thick band of tissue that runs along the side of the thighs, starting at the hip and reaching down to the knee.

To perform the exercise, follow these steps:

1. Lie on your back on the floor and wrap a resistance band around your right foot.
2. Grab the ends of the resistance band with your hands and extend your leg until it is straight pointing at the ceiling.
3. Turn your big toe inward and stretch your right leg to the left side, avoiding bending your leg and lifting your hips.
4. Take four long breaths and exhales, release the band gently, and do the exercise with the other leg.

2. Contraction of the vastus medialis muscle while standing

The vastus medialis or vastus medialis muscle is located above the knee and is part of the quadriceps femoris. Its role is vital in treating a knee injury , as it straightens the leg while stabilizing the kneecap.

To do this exercise, follow these instructions:

1. Stand with your feet chain width apart, heels slightly raised, and knees slightly bent.
2. Place a ball between your knees and contract the vastus medialis muscle. To know if you're doing it right, you need to feel your muscles pressing in on the ball.
3. Do 10 reps.

3. Standing vastus medialis muscle push

This exercise is also effective for the vastus medialis muscle. You just have to perform the following steps:

1. Stand with your heels slightly raised and your knees slightly bent.
2. Place a ball between your knees (You can also do it without a ball and go to the next step).
3. Contract the vastus medialis muscle in each leg and slowly push your heels up and down.
4. Do 10 to 20 pulses and then rest.

4. Femoral curl with stability ball

It is common to exercise your hamstrings on a bench or gym machine; however, for the rehabilitation of a knee injury , it is best to use a stability ball.

To do the exercise, follow these steps:

1. Lie on your back on the floor and keep the stability ball close to your butt.
2. Place your feet on the ball hip-width apart and tailbone down.
3. Place your arms at the sides of the body with the palms pressing the floor.
4. Raise yourself 5 to 8 cm off the ground.
5. Always keeping your hips level, roll the ball back and forth.

5. Varied glute bridge

This exercise is a variation of the gluteal bridge and is ideal for treating an injury, as it does not put pressure on the knees.

If you want to do it, follow the steps below:

1. Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart, your knees bent, and your heels in line with your knees.
2. Place your arms at the sides of the body with the palms pressing the floor.
3. Keeping your hips level, get up on a bridge as high as you can without feeling pressure on your knees.
4. Tilt your pelvic bone slightly up and toward your belly button, then return to the starting position.
5. Do 10 reps before returning to the ground. Do 3 sets.

conclusion

Knee injuries are common in athletes and lovers of physical activity. If you have unfortunately suffered an accident, it is best to visit your doctor, determine the severity of the damage, and get approval to perform rehabilitation exercises for a knee injury .

Once you have your doctor's yes, consider training primarily the vastus medialis muscle and the hamstrings to regain mobility in your knee .

Reference

• Davis, L. 13 Exercises to Help You Recover From an Injury. For Livestrong. [Revised June 2019]