Strengthen Your Knees

It’s important to keep your knees strong and healthy so that your mobility doesn’t deteriorate as you grow older. We often take the health of our knees for granted, not noticing there’s a problem until everyday activities like lifting boxes or walking downhill become painful. Take the following measures to strengthen your knees and ensure you’ll stay active for as long as possible.

Steps

Understanding Knee Health

  1. Get to know basic knee anatomy. The knee is the largest joint in the body, and is made up of the lower end of the thigh bone (femur), the upper end of the shin bone (tibia), and the kneecap (patella). These bones are connected by ligaments and cartilage, including the meniscus, which cushions the area where the femur and tibia meet.
  2. Be aware of common knee injuries. As one of the most heavily used joints in the body, the knee is subject to a range of injuries. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to avoid circumstances that lead to or exacerbate injuries.[1]
    • The iliotibial band, or IT band, is the area of thicker tissue that runs from the outside of the pelvis to the outside of the knee. The IT band helps to stabilize the knee during physical activity. It can become inflamed and painful when it is overused, leading to iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). Runners, hikers, and other active people often experience this injury.
    • The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is commonly torn during activities like running, jumping, and landing from a jump. Other ligaments may be torn as well.
    • The meniscus, which acts like a shock absorber to protect the knee joint from impact, can be easily torn during activities like twisting, pivoting, or decelerating.
  3. Understand how other parts of the leg affect the knees. The knees are supported by the other muscles in the legs, especially quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Keeping these muscles strong is a crucial to having strong knees and preventing injury.

Exercising to Strengthen Your Knees

  1. Stretch your IT band. Spending some time stretching and warming up your IT band before diving into a strenuous activity is a good way to keep your knees strong.[2]
    • Stand with your left foot crossed over your right and stretch your arms above your head. Lean your upper body as far as you can to the left without bending your knees. Repeat with your right foot crossed over your left, leaning your upper body to the right.
    • Sit on the floor with your legs stretched in front of you. Cross one over the other and pull your knee as close as you can toward your chest, holding it in place for a few seconds. Repeat with your other leg.
    • Take a brisk walk before launching into a more complicated exercise to give your IT band a chance to loosen up.
  2. Work out your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.
    • Do lunges to work on your quadriceps. Stand upright with your hands on your hips. Take a big step forward with your left foot, and lower your body toward the floor until your left leg is bent at a right angle. Your back knee will lower until it is nearly touching the floor. Repeat this exercise several times, then switch to the other side.
    • Strengthen your hamstrings with step-ups. Stand in front of a raised surface and practice stepping up with one foot, then the other. Repeat on both sides.
    • Do squats to get stronger glutes. Stand upright and simply squat to the ground, bending your knees and keeping your back upright. For a less strenuous version of this exercise, practice standing in front of a chair, sitting, and standing again.
  3. Learn to jump well. Jumping is great exercise, and done properly, it helps strengthen the knees. Try jumping rope in front of a mirror so you can study your form. Are you landing with your knees straight, or are they bent? Landing on straight knees puts too much pressure on your joint, and can eventually lead to injury. For stronger knees, practice landing in a half-squat position with your knees bent.
  4. Try recreational activities that build full-body muscle tone. If your leg muscles aren’t strong, your knees won’t be either.
    • Yoga is a low-impact activity that tones your leg muscles. As a bonus, many yoga positions involve stretching and warming up your knees.
    • Swimming is another great way to build leg and knee strength and flexibility.
    • Walking and biking keep your legs and knees in shape for more strenuous activities.

Changing Your Lifestyle to Strengthen Your Knees

  1. Add anti-inflammatory foods to your diet. Joints become weakened and painful when they are inflamed, so adding foods that are known to be anti-inflammatory to your diet may help keep your knees strong. [3]
    • Fish, flax seeds, olive oil, avocados, and whole fruits and vegetables are said to have anti-inflammatory properties.
  2. Make sure you get enough vitamin E. Vitamin E is believed to hinder enzymes that break down the cartilage in the joints. Spinach, broccoli, peanuts, mango and kiwi are excellent sources of vitamin E. [4]
  3. Eat more calcium. Bone health is also important for knee strength, so take measures to prevent osteoporosis. Cow milk, yogurt, cheese and goat milk are good sources are calcium. Almonds and leafy greens are also excellent sources.
  4. Stop doing activities that hurt. If you experience a lot of knee pain doing certain activities, chances are you aren’t strengthening your knees by continuing. Try lower impact exercises for awhile to give your knees a rest. After a few months of focusing on leg muscle strength and flexibility, you may find you’re able to do your favorite activities without pain.



Warnings

  • Running on a hard paved surface can destroy your knees over time. Always wear proper running shoes, and don't overdo the running.
  • If you are experiencing any pain from the activities you do, stop right away.
  • Don't twist your feet in such a way that your knees are wrenched sideways. You can permanently stretch or tear the ligaments that hold your knee together (ligaments, unlike muscles, are not supposed to stretch).

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00325
  2. ↑ http://www.runnersworld.com/health/build-better-knee
  3. ↑ http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/11/05/top-5-foods-to-fight-inflammation
  4. ↑ http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/arthritis/overview.html
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