Four best exercises to strengthen your knees
Knee pain becomes increasingly common as we age, with osteoarthritis (OA) being one of the primary culprits. The statistics are striking: knee OA affects approximately 16 per cent of the global population aged 15 and over, increasing to nearly 23 per cent in those over 40.
In the United States alone, an estimated 32.5 million adults are affected by knee osteoarthritis.
The good news? Strengthening exercises can significantly improve knee health and manage arthritis symptoms. Research shows that exercise is the most effective non-drug treatment for reducing pain and improving movement in patients with osteoarthritis. Regular physical activity not only helps decrease joint pain but also enhances function and quality of life.
Strengthening the muscles around your knee, using controlled movements that build strength without compromising joint health, is crucial for maintaining stability and reducing the load on your knees during daily activities. Strong muscles act as shock absorbers, protecting your joints from excessive stress and can potentially slow the progression of arthritis and other painful conditions.
For optimal results, incorporate exercises that strengthen the knees by working the surrounding musculature at least twice a week. Each exercise should be performed in sets of 6-15 repetitions, with 2-3 sets per exercise. This frequency allows for adequate muscle strengthening while providing sufficient recovery time.
This exercise strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, providing stability and support to the knee joint
Stand a few feet in front of a bench or step, with one foot resting on the bench behind you.
Keep your torso upright and lower your body by bending your front knee to about 90 degrees.
Push through your front heel to return to the starting position.
Keep your knee aligned with your toes and avoid letting it collapse inward.
This exercise strengths the muscles around the knee joint, as well as the inner and outer thighs.
With a wide stance and toes turned out, rest a barbell on your shoulders.
Shift to one leg, bending the knee to around 90 degrees.
Push through your heel to return to the starting position and repeat, then switch to the other knee.
This exercise strengthens the hamstrings, glutes and stabilising muscles around the knee, improving balance and reducing the risk of injury.
Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand on the opposite leg.
Hinge at the hips, lowering the dumbbell toward the floor while extending your free leg behind you.
Keep your back flat and core engaged then return to the starting position by driving through your standing leg.
Clamshells help strengthen the hip abductor muscles, improving hip stability and, in turn, preventing knee pain.
Lie on your side with a resistance band placed just above the knees and your head resting on your lower arm.
Bend your legs at 90 degrees with your legs stacked on top of each other evenly.
Lift the top knee up, pushing against the resistance band, then lower back down. Repeat on the other side.
Proper stretching is crucial for maintaining flexibility and preventing injury. Hold each stretch for up to 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times:
The couch stretch targets the hip flexors and quadriceps, which are essential for knee stability and reducing strain on the joint. Stretching these muscles improves flexibility and helps alleviate tension that can pull on the knees.
Kneel on the floor with one knee close to a wall or couch, placing the shin of the back leg against the wall or couch.
Step the opposite foot forward into a lunge position.
Keep your torso upright and gently push your hips forward to feel a stretch in the front of the back leg.
The pigeon stretch opens the hips and stretches the glutes and piriformis deep within the buttocks, which can help reduce tension in the knees caused by tightness in these areas.
Start in a plank position and bring one knee forward, placing it behind your hands with the shin angled across your body.
Extend the opposite leg straight back, keeping your hips square to the floor.
Lower your torso toward the ground for a deeper stretch.
This stretch targets the inner thigh muscles (adductors), which play a key role in stabilising the knees during movement. Stretching these muscles can improve flexibility and reduce strain on the knee joint.
Position yourself on all fours and take one foot out to your side.
Keeping the long leg straight, start to sit back into the stretch.
When you feel a good stretch in your inner thigh, pause and hold.
If you have a knee injury, follow these guidelines:
Apply the RICE principle (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)
Avoid high-impact activities
Consult a healthcare professional before starting exercises
Use NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or paracetamol for pain management as recommended
Modify activities to avoid aggravating the injury
Consider physical therapy for proper guidance and rehabilitation
Yes, research consistently shows that strengthening exercises can significantly reduce knee pain and improve function. Strong muscles around the knee provide better joint support, reducing stress on the joint structures.
Just remember to start slow and progress gradually with any exercise programme. The key to successful knee strengthening is consistency and proper form, rather than intensity or speed of progression.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Health Line
36 minutes ago
- Health Line
Tips That Can Help Good Habits Stick
Breaking a habit or forming a new one can be challenging, but it's possible. Patience, realistic habits, involving loved ones, and consistency in the long term can help make any habit stick. Any behavior or action you engage in regularly counts as a habit. Some habits can promote physical and mental wellness (like washing your hands or positive self-talk), while others might have more of an unwanted impact on your everyday life (like biting your nails or interrupting others). But it's possible to change habits that no longer serve you and create new ones that do. Habits vs. routines Habits differ from routines because habits typically involve little to no conscious thought, while routines typically require some intention and discipline. For example, checking social media whenever you end up waiting in line somewhere would be a habit. Consciously deciding to do a warmup before each workout and a cooldown afterward would be more of a routine. How can habits benefit you? Doing something repeatedly may make you more likely to stick with it, since behaviors eventually become automatic. If a habit benefits your life, the reward can motivate you to stick with it. 'Creating a new habit can be a source of pride because you realize you have the power to improve your life, which can help bring you closer to being who you want to be,' explains Stephani Jahn, PhD, LMHC, NCC. Say, for instance, you're writing a novel. Making a habit of writing a few pages each day or designating a set time to write daily can make your final goal feel less overwhelming. As you continue to make progress, you'll likely feel more motivated to stick with your new habit and keep working toward your goal. 'Positive habits don't just boost your self-esteem, either. They can also reduce stress and anxiety by offering a degree of structure and predictability to your everyday life,' explains Elizabeth Barlow, PhD, LICSW. 'Our brains love stories and patterns,' Barlow says. 'When you engage in healthy habits, your brain has an expectation of what will happen and when it will happen. This can be useful for developing and managing a daily routine you feel in control of.' A few examples Some generally helpful habits to consider are: sleeping 7 to 9 hours per night going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week meal prepping every Sunday maintaining a budget for spending journaling or meditating daily drinking enough water every day Can you teach yourself new habits? You can absolutely teach yourself new habits. The key often lies in 'stacking' a new habit on top of an existing one. This helps you remember the new behavior until it becomes automatic. If you want to start a practice of daily positive affirmations, you might put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror to remind you to repeat them when you wash your face or brush your teeth. Eventually, you won't need the sticky note to remind you — simply going into the bathroom may become the cue that triggers your affirmations. A few more expert-backed tips for reinforcing new habits: Make it realistic: When a habit is more feasible for you, Paige Rechtman, LMHC, says you're more likely to engage in it regularly, and consistency can help make it stick. Make it as convenient as possible: 'The easier you can make your new habit, the greater the chances you'll stick with it,' says Harold Hong, MD. Practice your habit at the same time every day: 'You'll often find it much easier to get into a habit when you do it at the same time because certain external cues can serve as reminders,' says Barlow. Cheer yourself on: Taish Malone, PhD, LPC-S, advises coming up with ways to celebrate small wins to keep yourself motivated, like posting encouraging messages on your wall or fridge about how far you've come. Use the buddy system: 'Partnering up with someone who wants to incorporate the same habit, or even a different one, can help hold you accountable,' Rechtman says. You can check in with each other regularly to track progress and encourage each other if your motivation flags. Give yourself some grace As you try to establish a new habit, it always helps to be patient with yourself. An older study found that it takes about 66 days of daily practice for an action to become a habit. Try not to criticize yourself if you accidentally miss a day or two when trying to form a new habit, Malone says. 'Instead of thinking of this as a failure, view it as an opportunity to take note of the barrier in your way and improve your strategy,' Jahn recommends. What about breaking old habits? Try breaking undesired habits by replacing them with more helpful ones. Let's say you want to stop doomscrolling on your phone before bed. Instead, you can use that time to read a book, journal, or listen to music. 'It's better to have a positive replacement action when trying to stop something you're doing, so you can redirect yourself when the urge for that old habit comes up,' Jahn explains. It may also help to track your daily progress toward breaking a habit in a journal or regularly check in with a friend to share your efforts. A few other tips for replacing unhelpful habits: Be mindful: 'Pay attention to how you feel when engaging in unhelpful habits,' Rechtman encourages. Building this awareness can help you focus on why you want to make the change. Acknowledge the reason for change: Hong says identifying the factors motivating you to make a change can help you stay on track as you try to kick an unwanted habit. Identify your triggers: Recognizing specific triggers can help you create change more easily. For instance, if you know you have the urge to vape after dinner, you might plan to go for a walk instead. Tend to nibble your nails while reading a book? You might consider keeping your hands busy by using a fidget toy or stress ball. How long does it take to break a habit? Keep in mind, it can often take a considerable amount of time to break an unwanted habit. Exactly how much time, though, varies from person to person. How to get support If you're looking to build new, more helpful habits, consider getting support from a therapist. According to Malone, a therapist can help you uncover the root causes or reasons behind your old habits, which can provide important information to help change them. Rechtman notes that a therapist can also help you: come up with ways for making your desired habits more realistic, attainable, and easy to stick with stay accountable for creating change explore any parts of you that might resist the new habit stay motivated by providing encouragement and guidance brainstorm ideas for tweaking your habits when you have trouble making them stick Some unwanted habits can stem from mental health difficulties or trauma, according to Jahn. A therapist can help you unpack those concerns and come up with more productive coping and healing mechanisms. The takeaway Habits can play an important role in multiple aspects of your life, including mental and physical health, productivity, relationships, and self-esteem. It's always possible to build new, helpful habits and change habits that no longer align with your needs. Remember to be patient and compassionate during the process since forming new habits and making them stick takes time. A little extra help can often make a difference, too. A therapist can offer more personalized guidance and support.
Fast Company
40 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Mystery lunch meat: 150,000 pounds of bologna recalled due to ‘undeclared' chicken, beef, or pork contents
If you're planning on making a bologna sandwich any time soon, you might want to stop and check your meat first: On June 27, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a recall notice for almost 150,000 pounds of lunch meat due to 'undeclared' meat content. Several different kinds of bologna manufactured by the Union, New Jersey, company Gaiser's European Style Provisions may contain types of meat and chicken not listed on their respective labels. Here's what to know about the recall: What's happened? The recall comes after the FSIS received a complaint pertaining to the meat content of a Gaiser's product. After conducting an investigation, the FSIS was able to confirm that seven different kinds of bologna from the brand included some combination of pork, chicken, or beef that was not stated on the product label. This type of rebrand is described as a 'misbranding,' which falls under the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Class III category, or 'a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.' The recall notice states that, 'Although FSIS does not expect any adverse health effects for Class III recalled products and there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products, anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider.' What product is getting recalled? Seven different types of bologna are affected by the recall, totaling 143,416 pounds of lunch meat. All of the products were produced between March 20 and June 20, and include the establishment number 'EST. 5385' inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels. Per the recall notice, the meats were sold to 'wholesale and retail locations nationwide,' though specific stores were not listed. However, the notice flags that some products may have been weighed, wrapped, and labeled in retail store locations at the time of purchase. Below is a list of the products to look out for: Vacuum-packed packages of 'FAMILY TREE BOLOGNA VEAL' containing undeclared pork. Plastic-wrapped packages of 'BABUSHKA'S RECIPE CHICKEN BOLOGNA' containing undeclared pork. Plastic-wrapped packages of 'FANCY BOLOGNA' labeled with pork as an ingredient but containing undeclared beef and chicken. Vacuum-packed packages of 'GAISERS RUSSIAN BRAND DOKTORSKAYA BOLOGNA' containing undeclared beef. Plastic-wrapped packages of 'GAISERS BOLOGNA VEAL' containing undeclared chicken and pork. Plastic-wrapped packages of 'GAISERS TURKEY BOLOGNA' containing undeclared chicken and pork. Plastic-wrapped packages of 'CHICKEN BOLOGNA KYPOYKA PABA' containing undeclared pork. The recall notice also includes images of the packaging for all of the affected items. What should I do if I have a recalled Gaiser's product? While Class III recall products are generally not likely to cause adverse health effects, the FSIS urges both consumers and restaurants not to serve the recalled bologna products. Instead, the recall notice says, 'These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.'
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
‘Transgender' Kids Usually Grow Up Gay
After the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, 'LGBT' organizations issued statements condemning the court's decision. I'm gay, and I welcome the court's decision. So-called gender-affirming is a new form of 'conversion therapy.' Instead of 'praying away the gay,' we are 'transing' it away. The practice of pediatric gender medicine began as an attempt to engineer homosexual adolescents medically into straight adults. If left alone, almost all gender-distressed children grow up to be gay, not adults who reject their natural sex.
