Knee Strengthening Exercises: Simple Tips to Strengthen Your Knees

Doing knee exercises is very important for us. Knee is one of the bone joints that require specific training and care in order to prevent any serious problem. A proper functional knee may ensure anyone’s mobility for doing various activities; most people lose the proper knee functions as they grow older. Most people never really care about the condition and performance of the knees until the presence of pain in the knee while walking down the stairs or lifting heavy items. On the other hand, it is possible to train and take care of the knees in order to ensure they are working properly and having the best performance even when a person is getting older. So, follow these knee strengthening exercises to prevent injuries and cure your knee pain.

One of the most important things related to the knee health is to understand the knee anatomy; it is one of the basics for practicing the knee training and care practices. As a matter of fact, knee is the biggest joint in a human body. The knee is connecting the femur or thigh bone with the shin bone or tibia and the patella or the knee cap. The three bones are connected together by a set of ligaments and also cartilage. The meniscus is one of the parts that connect the three bones to form the largest joint in a human body; it acts as the cushion that connects the tibia and femur. Read my previous articles on how to increase your vertical jump.

Another important knowledge is to know the common knee problems that may happen to anyone whether it is caused by the process of aging or due to certain injuries. The information about the knee problems will be very useful to anticipate any circumstances that may lead to knee problems. There are several parts of the knee that may trigger the knee problems due to certain conditions. The iliotibial band is one of the knee parts that can cause pain and even inflammation when it has to work beyond its endurance. Iliotibial band or the IT band is used for stabilizing the knee when the joint is performing its function for any mobility. The iliotibial band syndrome is commonly experienced by hikers,runners and can happen to anyone. The  anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the meniscus are the other delicate parts of the knees that can be torn due to twisting, decelerating or having too much pressure while supporting certain activities like jumping and landing.

IT Band Stretches

How to Strengthen Knees At Home

You can follow this step-by-step guide and get more benefit from doing these knee exercises:

1. One of the simple exercises for knee is doing regular knee stretches.
2. The iliotibial band stretch is a simple exercise to train and prepare the knees before performing certain activities.
3. The IT band stretch exercise can be performed by standing on the right foot crossed over the left foot and stretching the arms above the head.
4. The leaning moves of the upper body part to the right; the knees should be steady and  not bended.
5. The stretching exercise should be repeated with the left and right legs.

1. Another knee stretching exercise is sitting on the floor with the stretched legs and cross one leg upon the other; the next thing to do is pulling the knee toward the chest as close as possible and hold for a few counts.
2. The exercise should be repeated with the other leg.
3. The simple brisk walk is another simple knee stretch exercise that can prepare the iliotibial band to loosen up before practicing more complicated training for the glutes, hamstrings and the quadriceps.

Exercises To Strengthen Knees

1. The quadriceps exercise is started by standing upright with the hands on the hips and take a big step forward with the right foot while lowering the body to the floor until the right leg is bent.
2. The back knee should be in the lowest position until it is as close as possible to the floor.
3. Switch to the other side and repeat the exercise several times to train the quadriceps.
4. The simplest hamstring exercise is the step ups.
5. The exercise requires raised surface to practice the stepping up moves with one foot and followed with the other.
6. The glutes training can be performed with the squats exercise; squat to the ground and bend the knees while keeping the back straight.
7. Sitting and standing in front of a chair is another possible exercise with less strain.
8. Jumping is another useful exercise to strengthen the knees. (Read: The Jump Manual)

Best Foods to Strengthen Knees

Proper food consumption is another important part of strengthening the knees; vitamin E is one of the essential nutrition to prevent certain enzymes breaking down the cartilage in the knee joints. There are several food items like spinach, mango, kiwi and peanuts that can be the simple sources of vitamin E. Calcium is another important thing to consume; proper consumption of milk, cheese and yogurt will ensure anyone consume enough calcium to prevent osteoporosis or another knee pain issue and have strong knees. The combination of proper knee strengthening exercises and healthy lifestyle can be the simplest formula to have strong and healthy knees. A baker’s cyst treatment with medicines or pain relievers is also necessary when baker’s cyst is ruptured.The treatment will be mostly about relieving the pain felt until all fluid is completely reabsorbed by the body.