Osteoarthritis of the Knee - What Exercises Are Right For Me?

Quadriceps strengthening exercises can increase mobility, decrease pain, and make recovering from surgery quicker.

No one set of exercises is suitable for everybody. The difficulty is in finding exercises that can fatigue the muscles without increasing pain. Try the examples listed below, but if you can't find any that don't increase your pain, see a physical therapist.

Cycling

This is a great exercise if your knees are up to it. Even if initially you are unable to cycle, it is worth trying again after you have had some success with other exercises as it is a good one to build up to. There are a few things you can do to make cycling less aggressive to your knees. Firstly, have the seat higher than usual. As high as it will go with you still being able to comfortably reach the pedals. This prevents your knees from having to flex to higher ranges which is often painful.Secondly, begin with little or no resistance and for brief periods of time. You can gradually increase both time and resistance as you knees get used to it.

Squats

This should never include deep squats as they are too aggressive. I usually recommend extremely shallow squats as for most people staying closer to full extension is less painful. One way of keeping them shallow is to look down at your kneecap then bend you knee until you kneecap lines up with your big toe. That is deep enough. If this exercise is too easy, do it on one leg only. Repeat until your thigh muscle starts to quiver.

In the Pool

Some stubborn knees are easily aggravated by weight-bearing exercise so a trip to the pool can be very beneficial. Cycle movements, Squats, and knee extensions sitting on a step are all good ways of working the quads in an environment that decreases the load on the joints.