What are knee strengthening exercises for seniors? The knee joint is the largest joint in the human body and bears most of the body’s weight when we walk, run or climb stairs. This joint is subjected to more stress and pressure than any other member, and if certain conditions are not followed, it leads to knee pain in old age. As the age increases, many problems arise for people, one of the common physical problems is knee pain in the elderly.
Unfortunately, knee pain in the elderly is one of the most common problems that can be caused by many factors in the short or long term. You have probably experienced it too; Some knee pains caused by short-term factors can be resolved with a little rest. But on the other hand, in addition to rest, other knee pains require more treatments, including surgery and keeping the elderly at home and exercise.
There are several exercises that you can easily do to control knee pain in the elderly. In the following, we have brought 5 go-to knee exercises for seniors to quickly reduce their knee pain and prevent more dangerous complications in the future.
Why Knee Exercises Is Important for Strength and to Reduce Pain
As we said at the beginning of the topic knee strengthening exercises for seniors, the knee is the largest joint in your body. Your knee is responsible for bearing weight and providing stability when standing, walking and running. Strengthening the knee and surrounding tissues helps the knees better absorb shocks from walking, standing or falling.
knee strengthening exercises for seniors reduce the time of walking, sitting, standing or sleeping and also increase the stability of the body so that the elderly do not fall. Elderly falling is very dangerous, which can be minimized by knee exercise and fall recovery training. Other benefits of exercise for knee pain in the elderly include the following:
- Reduced risk or symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: When the knee muscles are strengthened, you will feel less pain in your knee. As we said, exercise strengthens the knee muscles and reduces the pressure on the knee.
- Increasing the quality of life: Pain is one of the biggest obstacles to having a comfortable and healthy life. When your knee pain is gone or reduced, you can resume the activities you’ve always enjoyed and enjoy life in your golden years.
- Independence: Being unable to walk makes you need someone to walk you. Take exercise seriously so that you don’t need your family or an elderly nurse.
What Should Consider When Creating Effective Knee Strengthening Exercises for Seniors?
Although the solutions for knee pain treatment will depend on the cause of knee pain and its extent, without a doubt, exercise is one of the most important methods for treating it in the elderly. Before studying and doing knee strengthening exercises for seniors, remember to consult a doctor and make sure that these exercises are suitable and safe for you. In addition, before starting any type of exercise for elderly knee pain, observe the following points:
- If any exercise causes you severe knee pain, stop it immediately.
- Exercise for knee pain should be comprehensive in order to strengthen your knee and increase its flexibility.
- A good knee workout should also strengthen your calf, butt, and thigh muscles to reduce pressure on the knee.
- Remember that exercise time for seniors should be done twice a week for 20 minutes to strengthen your knee.
5 Great Knee Strengthening Exercises for Seniors
Today, one of the major problems of the elderly is knee pain. Physiotherapy, medication and exercise therapy can help a lot to improve knee pain. In most cases, if sports and physical therapy are done correctly and on time, there is no need for knee surgery. In the following, you will get to know some simple movements that any elderly person can do to make a weak knee stronger.
1- Quadriceps Muscle Contraction
As we said in the article quad stretches for seniors, stretching is very useful for the elderly. This knee strengthening exercise for seniors is very suitable for elderly knee pain and your balance. This exercise not only helps the quadriceps muscle, but also strengthens the thigh extensor muscles such as hamstrings and buttocks. Follow the steps below to do this exercise:
- Lie on your back on the bed with your legs straight.
- By tightening the thigh, press the back of the knee into the bed.
- Hold for 5 seconds, you may have a little pain, so don’t worry, but if the pain becomes severe, stop the exercise.
- Do this for the other leg and repeat 10 times for each leg.
2- Lying Leg Raises
Do leg raises to help support your weak joints. This exercise is done to strengthen the muscles inside the knee. Follow the steps below to log raise:
- Lie on the ground and support the upper body with your elbows.
- Bend your left knee and place your foot on the floor. Keep the right leg straight, with the toes pointed up.
- Tighten your thigh muscles and lift your right leg.
- Pause for 3 seconds, keeping your thigh muscles tight and slowly lower your leg. Then bend your right leg and straighten your left leg.
- Do this exercise in two sets of 10 times. Rest 30 seconds to 2 minutes between sets.
3- Squat
This knee strengthening exercise for seniors is more difficult than all the exercises we introduced. Do not do this exercise arbitrarily and consult your doctor before doing it. This exercise is suitable for quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks, abdomen and calves. What do you think are the best methods of hamstring stretches for seniors? To perform squat, do the following steps:
- Find a sturdy chair or cabinet and sit behind the chair or in front of the cabinet.
- With your feet shoulder-width apart, stand as far as you are comfortable and place your hands on the back of a chair or on a cabinet.
- Go down slowly until you are comfortable and do not feel pain.
- Use your hands only for balance.
- Slowly rise with your leg and stand again.
- Do this for 2 sets and 5 times.
4- Seated Hip Flexion
Strengthening your hip and thigh muscles is important for reducing stress on your knees and helps with your balance in daily activities such as walking and standing. Follow the steps below to do this knee strengthening exercise for seniors:
- Sit straight in a chair
- Step your left foot back slightly but keep your toes on the floor.
- Lift your right leg off the floor, bend the knee.
- Hold the right leg in the air for 3 seconds.
- Slowly lower your foot to the floor and repeat 10 times.
- Then change your foot.
- If the exercise is difficult for you, use your hands to lift your leg.
5- Clamshell
You can do clamshell exercise to strengthen the external muscles of your knee. If this exercise is comfortable for you, use sports elastics. To do the clamshell, do the following steps:
- Lie on your side and bend both your knees.
- Slowly rotate the leg that is not on the ground upwards so that your pelvis rotates slightly upwards
- Try not to allow your hips or upper body to move
- Bring the leg down to return to the original position.
- Do this exercise 5 times for each leg.
Other Knee Strengthening Exercise for Seniors & Useful Exercises for Knee Pain
Besides this knee strengthening exercise for seniors, an active lifestyle is also very important for the health of your joints. As you get older, you should strengthen your knee frequently. Some physical activities can help you to keep your knees healthy and strong, and reduce knee pain. These activities include the following:
- Walking: Daily walking gently activates your leg muscles without putting too much force and is effective for strengthening the knees.
- Swimming: Swimming provides gentle resistance to tone your muscles and strengthen your knee without pain. If you can’t swim, walk in the shallow end of the pool.
- Stationary bike: You can strengthen the muscles in front of your knee by pedaling.
No matter which of these 3 sports you do, the main purpose of these sports is to keep you active. Muscles deteriorate very quickly in old age, so you must engage these muscles daily. If one of these sports is interesting to you, do it and be regular in doing it.
Knee Strengthening Exercise for Seniors Who Have Difficulty Getting In or Out of the Car
Many elderly people experience severe knee pain when getting in and out of a car. For these people, this exercise can be very useful and completely relieve your pain. This exercise is also suitable for those who have pain when bending the knee. Follow the steps below for this exercise for seniors with Knee Pain:
- Stand at the kitchen counter or a chair.
- Slowly lift and bend one of your legs off the floor.
- The goal is to balance for 20 seconds without using your hands. During the exercise, if you do not have balance, put your hands on the counter.
- Do this exercise twice for each leg.
Home Treatment of Knee Pain in the Elderly
There are many ways to relieve the knee pain of the elderly at home, we will show you the best and most effective ways below:
- Rest
- Using hot and cold compresses
- Tai chi exercise to maintain body balance and maintain body weight
- Using home remedies such as herbal oils and ointments, ginger extract, willow tree bark, etc.
- Using painkillers and bone strengthening drugs in the elderly
Knee surgery in the elderly is not recommended at all because of the complications it can have for the elderly. Except in very special and necessary cases when the control of the disease is no longer possible and the person is forced to undergo surgery.
Concluding Remarks
In this article from the humanhealthmag, we talked about knee strengthening exercise for seniors. Arthritis, joint rheumatism, knee sprains and gout are some of the most common causes of knee pain in the elderly. You must have seen many elderly people suffering from knee pain, and you may have been involved in this problem yourself.
In fact, knee pain is not exclusive to the elderly; Knee pain may come to you at any age, but the treatment of knee pain in the elderly is much more difficult. There are various activities and stretches for knee pain in the elderly, each of which strengthens a part of the muscles around the knee. Exercising for knee pain in the elderly is one of the most important measures you should take to care for the elderly.
FAQs
What Are 5 Main Knee Strengthening Exercises for Seniors?
Quadriceps Muscle Contraction, Lying Leg Raises, Squat, Seated Hip Flexion and Clamshell are five go-to knee exercises for seniors that we introduce in this article from humanhealthmag.
What Are the Methods of Preventing Knee Pain in the Elderly?
Maintaining a balanced body weight, using flat shoes, doing regular exercise, avoiding constant leg immobility and regular consumption of calcium-rich foods can help prevent knee pain in the elderly.
What Ointment to Apply for Knee Pain?
Ointments that contain menthol, such as; Eucalyptus, cloves and camphor can relieve knee pain by creating cold and heat in the joints.
What Herbal Medicine Is Recommended for Knee Pain?
Herbal materials such as ginger, turmeric and aloe vera all have soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.