5 Exercises to Strengthen Arthritic Knees Without More Pain

Why Strengthening Arthritic Knees is Important

Knee arthritis can cause pain, stiffness, and difficulty with daily activities.

Strengthening the muscles around your knees helps reduce strain on the joint. This can alleviate pain and improve mobility, making it easier to stay active and enjoy life.

Guidelines for Strengthening Arthritic Knees

When doing strengthening exercises for arthritic knees, focus on low-impact movements and proper technique.

Avoid exercises that increase pain or swelling.

Aim to build strength gradually, and get help from a physical therapist if you're uncertain of how to begin.

That said, here are the 5 Exercises to Strengthen Arthritic Knees.

Exercise 1: Walk Without Knee Arthritis Pain

If you have knee arthritis, walking can be painful. To improve your walking and reduce pain, you need strength in your hips and ankles.

This exercise helps you prevent excessive motion in your knee joint while walking, which can cause pain and stress on your knee ligaments.

To perform the exercise:

1. Stand on one foot, ensuring your arch is lifted.
2. Then, take a step, focusing on keeping your balance and your knee aligned with your toes.
3. Repeat this motion for one to two minutes, alternating legs.

Exercise 2: Stand Up From a Chair Easily

Standing up from a chair may be challenging when you have knee arthritis. This is especially if you rely too much on your quads.

This exercise helps you strengthen your glutes and knees with proper alignment to avoid pain.

To perform the exercise:

1. Sit in a chair and focus on driving your knees outward, keeping your arches lifted.
2. Lean forward, stack your weight over your feet, and push through your hips while keeping your knees aligned.
3. Slowly return to a seated position while maintaining the same form.
4. Repeat this exercise until you feel comfortable standing up with ease.

Exercise 3: Climb Stairs Without Knee Arthritis Pain

Climbing stairs with arthritic knees can be painful, especially when the proper form is neglected.

This exercise focuses on engaging your glutes while maintaining proper knee alignment to make stair climbing easier and less painful.

To perform the exercise:

1. Stand facing the bottom step of a staircase or an aerobic step as shown above.
2. Step up with one leg, ensuring your weight is over your foot and your knee is aligned.
3. Lean forward slightly, driving your knee outwards, and use your glutes to lift your body.
4. Step down slowly, keeping your knees aligned and using your glutes to control the motion.

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Exercise 4: Go Down Stairs Safely and Comfortably

Descending stairs can often feel more challenging than climbing them, especially if you have arthritic knees.

This exercise will help you control the motion of stepping down and reduce pain by activating the right muscles.

To perform the exercise:

1. Rather than standing on the edge of a step, stand on the floor for safety.
2. Do a mini-squat on one leg while reaching the other leg forward as if stepping down a stair.
3. To make the exercise easier, slide the front leg across the floor.  For more difficulty, keep the front leg off the floor.
4. Keep your trunk upright and your knees aligned over your toes.
5. Hold on to something for balance as needed.
6. Repeat 12-15 reps on one leg, and then switch legs.

Exercise 5: Get Up From the Floor Safely

Getting up from the floor after a fall can be a struggle, especially for those with knee arthritis.

This exercise builds strength and stability in your legs, making it easier to get up from the floor.

To perform the exercise:

1. Start by performing a lunge motion, ensuring that your weight is on your heel rather than your toes.
2. Keep your knee aligned and focus on activating your glutes.
3. Lower your body slowly as much as you can without causing pain.
4. If needed, hold onto something for support.
5. Gradually increase the depth of the lunge as you gain strength.