This video, I'm going to go over easy knee strengthening
exercises for seniors and beginners. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go over
easy knee strengthening exercises with seniors and
beginners in mind. All of these exercises work just a little
bit differently. Make sure to go through them all and use
what gives you the best results. As a bonus, all of the
exercises can be done at home. They require no special
equipment and they're really good at giving quick knee pain
relief even within 30 seconds. So, let's get started and
strengthen those knees right now. So, here's a really easy
knee strengthening exercise that you can do daily in a
chair. As a note, I'm going to be using an ankle weight for
this but you definitely don't need it to do this exercise. In
fact, I would begin with not using one, get used to the
movements and when you're ready to progress and have a little
bit more of a challenge, then, use that ankle weight. They're
very easy to find. You can pretty much find them at any
local sporting goods department. If you would like
to get one online, I will leave a link in this video's comment
section. So, we're going to start seated at the edge of a
chair. Have very good upright posture. Whatever side that
you're focusing on, let's say it's my right knee. It's really
tight and achy. What I'm going to do is straighten that knee
out as much as possible and then have my heel resting on
the floor. Toes are going to be pointed upward towards the
ceiling and bring the toes back towards you just a little bit
until you feel the calf muscles start to fire. From there, I
really want to focus on engaging the quadricep muscle,
that big muscle right here on the top part of the leg. So,
I'm kind of squeeze in that area until I feel that muscle
start to fire. From there, I'm going to take my hands, put
them on the chair for a little bit more support, and then lift
my toes upward towards the ceiling as much as I can
comfortably, keeping that knee straight. You're going to feel
a ton of muscles firing in the leg especially around the knee.
You want to hold this one for three to five seconds and then
what you're going to do is slowly lower the heel downward
towards the floor but fight the weight your leg. So, you want
to come down and it should take you roughly about three to five
seconds. So, the nice part about this one is is that we're
going to challenge yourself going up but we're also going
to challenge those muscles by going down to make sure that we
hit everything in all directions. Do this one nice
and slowly for about 10 to 15 repetitions and with each
repetition, challenge yourself to build into it just a little
bit more. So, let's focus on activating the muscles just a
little bit differently with some different movements ones
that are going to target the hip because a nice, strong hip
will help support the knee. So, for this one, we're going to do
a kicking motion. So, let's keep our knee bent roughly at
90 degrees. What I'm going to do is just slowly lift my foot
up a couple inches off the floor. Again, grab off to the
side of the chair and then we're just going to kick upward
like this. Just nice and slow. Really try to focus on moving
through that knee as much as you can and also focus on
trying to squeeze that quadricep at the same time,
that muscle on the top part of the leg hold this for a second
or two you're just going to relax and then you're going to
repeat this 10 to15 times just nice and slowly and once you
feel comfortable with that we're going to take this one to
the next level by putting different motions in there to
now target the hip so for this one instead of going straight
forward let's lift our leg up but take our knee out just a
little bit think of it as a clock we were at noon now we're
going to go to one o'clock and then we're going to repeat this
you're going to notice that it hits the muscles and the knee
just a little bit differently so give that one a try work
your way all the way out kind of like a arc going out as far
as you can to your side when you can't go any further what
you're going to do is then work your way back towards noon and
you're going to notice that one certain spot one certain angle
just hits those muscles or your knee just a little bit more
maybe it's giving you more relief at that point I like to
throw in some more repetitions upwards to 10 to 15 repetitions
at that point then when you're done with all of those
movements, definitely switch to the other side to keep
everything in balance and again, if you would like more
of a challenge, start to use that ankle weight because it
will help strengthen the muscles even further. So,
here's a really easy way to strengthen your knee at home
using a staircase. This one is especially good if you're
looking to build pain-free range of motion going up and
down stairs. We're just going to start off on the bottom
stair. So, let's go next to it. You're definitely going to want
one that has a railing or a wall off to the side that you
grab on to for extra support. So, start off by taking one
leg, put that foot flat up on that stair. The movement from
here is very easy. Let's mimic going upwards kind of like
stepping up on the stair. Just nice and slow and try to move
through your knee. The key with this one is to make sure the
knee is straight so it's not buckling out or in. You want it
nice and controlled. That way we're building good posture
through that knee while going up the stair. I try to do this
one for about 10 to 15 repetitions just going up very
slowly and then I'm going to fight my body weight coming
down very slowly also. Afterwards, if you feel like
you have a little bit more energy, you can throw in
another set or two but once you're done on one side, just
switch to the other side and repeat to keep everything in
balance. So, let's take this one to the next level by now
mimicking going down the stairs to hit the muscles just a
little bit differently. So, what I'm going to do again is
put one foot up on the stair, go right towards the edge and
then, you're just going to slowly go downward. Just like
this and then slowly come back up. Should take you roughly
about three seconds to go down and then three seconds to come
back up. Again, 10 to 15 repetitions really focusing on
keeping that knee straight as possible and then you're just
going to switch to the other side and repeat but this is
something that every time that you go upstairs, you can do
throughout the day just to help gradually build strength and
again, hopefully give you more pain free range of motion. So,
really easy knee strengthening exercise that you can do in bed
or on a floor is the bridge but I'm going to show you how to
take it to the next level and focus a little bit more on the
knees. So, let's start off with the basic bridge and progress
into different variations. Lie flat on your back just like
this. Your knees are going to be bent feet flat. What I'm
going to do is take my hands, put them on my hips. Start off
by tightening the core muscles just kind of taking your belly
button towards your spine, squeeze the glutes right here,
and then what you're going to do is then slowly lift your
hips upward towards the ceiling. Try to get your in a
nice straight line from your knees to your hips to your
shoulders but if you're unable to get into that position let's
say you can only go up an inch or two do the best you can over
time you should gain strength and flexibility to get into
this position but you should feel a lot of muscles start to
fire the core the back the glutes and the legs try to hold
this one for five seconds from there you're just going to
relax take a breather and then repeat this one up to 10 times
and with each repetition try to build into it just a little bit
more afterwards if you do feel like you have bit more energy,
you can throw in another set or two. So, let's take it to the
next level and target the knee just a little bit more. So, for
this one, I'm going to do a marching motion with it. So,
lift one leg up, hold it for a second or two, relax and then
do it on the other side. You'll start to really feel the glutes
and the legs right here start to fire. All those muscles that
will help support the knee. Try to do this one for about 10 to
15 repetitions on both sides. From there, you can take this
one to even the next level by then lifting one up like this
and then straighten your knee out as much as you can engaging
that quadriceps so really try to straighten the knee squeeze
this muscle right here at the top of the leg hold this one
for five seconds you're just going to relax and then you're
going to repeat it on the other side for 10 to 15 repetitions.
and again if you feel like you have a little bit more energy
throw in another set or two I like to also focus a little bit
more on the glutes which are a big stabilizer of the pelvis
and the hips again strong hip will help support the knees.
This is known as a clamshell bridge. We're going to take our
feet. We're going to put them together. Kinda press in like
this and then we're going to take our knees outward as much
as possible until you feel a very good stretch in the inner
part of the leg into the thigh towards the groin and you
should also feel it into the hips. From there, the movement
is very similar. Hands go on our hips and we're just going
to drive our hips upward towards the ceiling. You're
going to notice a lot firing right here into glutes. Five
second hold, you're just going to relax and then repeat this
one 10 to 15 times but go through all of those movements.
If you feel like one is just targeting your knee just a
little bit more. At that point, throw more repetitions in. So,
here's a great combination exercise that will really help
strengthen a lot of muscles that support the knees. This
one, we need a sturdy chair, one without wheels but you can
also grab off to the side of a wall. So, let's start stand
with very good upright posture. Whatever knee that you want to
focus on, let's say I have a lot of pain in my left knee.
You want that side close to the chair. You're just going to put
all of your body weight onto that side and slightly bend
that knee until you feel the quadricep, that muscle right
here at the top part of the leg start to fire. Grab on the top
part of the chair for support. So, with this exercise, we're
going to keep this knee locked and straight. We don't want it
buckling in or out. It's nice and stable. The other leg right
here is going to go straight at the knee toes are going to be
pointed down towards the floor. The movement from here is very
easy. We're just going to tap with our toes right here on the
floor. What you'll notice is is this is going to challenge that
bent knee to maintain this movement. So, do this one nice
and slowly for a couple taps and then you're just going to
go off to your side right here, kind of like a clock again,
start at noon, go to one o'clock and then repeat. You're
going to work your way all the way towards the side and then
all the way toward the back. When you can't go any further,
you're then going to work back forward. Any of these positions
feel like it's challenging the knee just a little bit more. At
that point, throw in more repetitions. I like to do about
10 to 15 and again, you can throw in another set or two if
you would like. From there, let's take this one to the next
level by challenging the knee just a little bit more. So, for
this one, what I'm going to do is get back into that original
position. Let's bend the knee until we feel the muscles right
here start to fire. The other leg is going to go straight in
front of me but this time around, I'm going to squat or
bend downward with that knee and then touch the floor. So,
all the movement now is coming from this bent knee and you're
going to feel a lot more or a lot more muscles start to fire
at this point. Again, just a couple taps and then you're
going to repeat that process and again, any position or any
angle that you feel just hits that knee a little bit better.
Throw more repetitions in at that point. So, the second
exercise and I think that this is one of the best exercises
that you can do to build the legs up is the squat. So, with
the squat, what I'm going to focus on doing is having my
legs roughly hip width apart. I'm going to tighten my core
muscles for a little bit more support. Let's grab the back of
this chair right here and then, I'm going to place all my body
weight onto my heels. My toes are going to go out slightly
just like this. It usually helps take a little bit of
tension off the knees. Let's try to keep the back as
straight as possible. We don't want to round into this one.
Instead, what I'm going to do is take my bottom down and away
from the chair. Moving through my knees and really focusing on
trying to tighten these leg muscles as much as I can. Only
go down as far as you feel comfortable. Don't go to the
point of pain. If you start to feel that, come back up a
little bit. You want to hold this position comfortably for
about three to five seconds. You're just going to relax and
then you're going to repeat this up to 10 times. With E
repetition, try to build into it just a little bit more but
it should be just nice, slow, and controlled and not causing
any more knee pain. Afterwards, if you feel like you have a
little bit more energy, throw in another set or two and as a
note, with the star taps, whatever you do on one side,
definitely switch the other to keep them both in balance. If
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get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for watching!