St. Louis Holistic Pain Relief Specialist
 Call To Schedule 314-941-3970
 TAP TO CALL AND BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT

Relieve Knee Arthritis Pain When Walking with These 2 Simple Exercises

Do You Have Knee Arthritis Pain When Walking?

If so, watch this video to learn 2 simple exercises to relieve knee arthritis pain when walking.

Knee Arthritis Guide Prevent or Delay Knee Replacement More 4 Life Physical Therapy St. Louis MO 63011 Gladly Serving Ballwin, Manchester, Chesterfield, Des Peres, Ellisville, and St. Louis County

Why Does Knee Arthritis Cause Pain When Walking?

One of the biggest reasons for knee arthritis pain when walking isn't just weight-bearing or bending the knee. Instead, excessive twisting between the two knee bones can create friction, leading to pain, inflammation, and joint wear.

This twisting often results from instability in the hip, foot, and ankle. Strengthening these areas can help prevent knee pain and improve walking comfort.

Exercise 1: Strengthening Your Push-Off to Relieve Knee Arthritis Pain When Walking

When walking, your foot should pronate (flatten) slightly to absorb shock and then return to a stable position for an effective push-off.

If your foot stays in pronation too long, this can strain your knee joint.

To strengthen your push-off motion and prevent knee stress, try this exercise:

push off exercise to relieve knee arthritis pain when walking.

  1. Stand on one leg and push off using your glute and calf.
  2. Land on your opposite foot while maintaining a domed arch.
  3. Repeat this movement for 10 repetitions on each leg.
  4. After 10 reps, balance on one leg, keep your arch domed, and slightly lift your other foot off the ground.
  5. Repeat for another 10 reps per leg.
  6. Perform five sets of each exercise per leg.

This exercise helps improve foot stability, hip strength, and knee alignment, reducing pain when walking.

Exercise 2: Calf Stretch to Relieve Knee Arthritis Pain When Walking

Tight calves can force your foot into excessive pronation, again causing instability and knee pain.

Stretching your calves properly can help maintain proper foot alignment.

calf stretch exercise to relieve knee arthritis pain when walking

Follow these steps:

  1. Stand with one foot back and keep your arch domed.
  2. Step forward while keeping your back heel flat on the floor.
  3. Ensure your toes stay forward (not turning outward).
  4. Hold the stretch for one minute per leg.
  5. Repeat on the other leg.

Maintaining proper arch support during this stretch ensures you'll prevent overpronating when you're actually walking.

Conclusion

By strengthening your push-off motion and improving calf flexibility, you can relieve knee pain when walking and regain confidence in your movement.

However, long term relief from knee arthritis pain involves more than just doing exercises.

You also have to:

  1. Understand the root cause of your problem
  2. Figure out how to fix the root cause
  3. Make changes in your daily walking pattern to ensure that the pain doesn't come back.

If you're not quite sure how to do that, getting help from specialist physical therapists like ours can help you figure it out.

Need Help to Relieve Knee Arthritis Pain?

If you live in St. Louis and would like to relieve knee arthritis pain without needing a knee replacement surgery, we'd be happy to help you.

Just tap the button below to request an appointment.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full affiliate disclosure here.