Home Bones, Joints and MusclesOsteoarthritis Exercises for people with knee osteoarthritis

Exercises for people with knee osteoarthritis

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

Osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that affects the bones and joints and causes wear and tear and destruction of cartilaginous tissues, which serve as shock absorbers and prevent friction between bones. When this cartilage is lost, the pain in the joint emerges and with increasing force, especially when applying movement or strong impacts, for example, in knee osteoarthritis when falling from a jump. The joints can look deformed as well.

At FastlyHealwe help you learn how to treat and prevent this condition naturally with the main exercises for people with knee osteoarthritis to do even in the comfort of your home.

Bring knee to chest for knee osteoarthritis

It is important to give the knee mobility as long as the osteoarthritis does not become too severe. This helps to lubricate the area and also to keep the bones properly aligned and to combat or prevent deformations.

For this exercise:

  1. Lie down on the bed or a comfortable surface like a yoga mat.
  2. Slowly bring one knee to your chest, as close to it as you can.
  3. If you can get it up to your chest, gently grab it with your hands behind your knees and help yourself to hold them there as you take a deep breath. Synchronize the exhale with each time you pull your knee slightly towards your body. The opposite leg rests on the bed.
  4. Do 20 gentle reps. Then switch legs

Variants to improve osteoarthritis

  1. Do the exercise while standing, either balancing yourself or leaning against a wall. If so, contract your glutes and abdomen for better balance.
  2. Another relaxing variant before going to sleep or to relieve back pain is to hug both legs to the chest and take a deep breath.

Remember to listen to pain to recognize your limits . Allow the breath to help you alleviate pain, focusing that you direct the energy you breathe to the area that is suffering, but do not look for acute pain either. If the osteoarthritis is in both knees and you do the standing variant, we recommend raising and then lowering the leg back to the floor.

Piston movements against knee osteoarthritis

This exercise is very similar to the previous one , only that you change the dynamics and the leg that you bring to your chest and the opposite leg does not touch the floor / bed. That is to say:

  1. Inhale bringing the knee you want to start with to your chest.
  2. Meanwhile, the opposite leg is fully extended, pointing toes about 30 degrees off the ground.
  3. Exhale while bringing the previously stretched knee to the chest, and simultaneously stretch the previously drawn leg.
  4. Maintain the cycle without interruption for 1 to 2 minutes.

Observations

  • In this exercise, hugging the tucked leg is optional, especially if you want to give continuity to the movement.
  • Contract the abdomen trying to hit the lower back to the floor, to make a better movement, with less load on the back and beneficial to exercise the vagus nerve .
  • This exercise is more demanding at the muscular level, a variant of doing sit-ups and hip adjustment.

Standing exercises against osteoarthritis in the knee

The two exercises that we will explain below can be done by resting your hands on a chair for greater balance, although the ideal is to achieve balance by yourself, thus developing greater body awareness.

Exercise 1: pointed feet

  1. Start with both heels together, and the balls of your feet can spread slightly. You can also start with your feet slightly apart, in parallel.
  2. Inhale as you rise while standing on your toes.
  3. Exhale as you go down.
  4. Tip: contract glutes on the rise for a more complete workout.

Exercise 2: stand on one foot

Just stand on one foot while bending one knee (bringing the foot back) 10 to 30 times. Then switch legs.

Exercise against chondromalacia patella: leg raise in extension

Lying on your back, with one knee relaxed flexed with the foot resting on the floor:

  1. Stretch the other leg by doing an ankle dorsiflexion (it would be the opposite of pointing your foot).
  2. Maintaining this dorsiflexion, inhale raising your leg about 30 degrees.
  3. Exhale, bringing your leg back down, touching the surface.
  4. Continue with 10 to 30 repetitions.

Bicycle against osteoarthritis

Riding a bicycle is another healthy alternative against knee osteoarthritis. Just be careful not to ride too steep or forced, and to make sure it is appropriate for you in terms of the resistance of the bike and the height of the seat. The knee at its highest point should not rise from parallel to the ground.

Consult with your treating doctor if you have any other health condition, or if the osteoarthritis is too advanced to perform this exercise. You can replace it with bicycle movements lying on the bed . It would be very similar to the movement of pistons, only that on this bike you would move your legs in a circular motion.

All these exercises should be done daily along with a treatment to better notice their effects and avoid lifestyle habits that are harming the condition more than these habits could help repair.

In the following FastlyHealarticle you can learn about other health benefits of spinning .

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Exercises for people with knee osteoarthritis , we recommend that you enter our Bones, Joints and Muscles category .

You may also like

Leave a Comment