9 Exercises That May Help With Osteoarthritis Knee Pain
Our experts assured us that knee exercises are great for both treating and preventing OA. “Knee exercises help improve blood flow, bringing nutrients to the joint,” says Davis. “They also reduce pain and stiffness, leading to improved function in people with knee OA.”
You should listen to your body and use pain as your guide in your exercise program. “Exercising through mild pain (less than 3 out of 10 on a pain scale) is acceptable, as it can improve symptoms by increasing range of motion and improving joint stability,” says Davis. But if your exercises increase knee pain, you should stop and resume later.
Our experts say that incorporating a whole range of exercises is also a good idea. “What I tell my patients is that if it’s painful to exercise, instead of avoiding exercise altogether, try to find another form of exercise to maintain the benefits while minimizing the discomfort. For example, if it hurts while hiking or running, try cycling or swimming,” says Chen.
Below are some of the best exercises to improve your function and mobility if you have osteoarthritis knee pain. For all these exercises, start with 1 set of 10 exercises twice a day, and work up to two to three sets twice a day.
1. Leg Slides
This exercise improves the knee joint’s range of motion.
Equipment you’ll need: Gliding discs or just socks on a hardwood floor
How to do it: Lie on your back with your legs extended. Slowly slide one foot back toward your buttocks, bending your knee as far as possible; slide your foot back down to the extended position. Switch legs and repeat.
2. Bridging (or Glute Bridge)
This low-impact exercise will strengthen your hips. It also reduces knee pain by strengthening the glutes.
Equipment you’ll need: None
How to do it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Raise your hips up into the air as high as possible, hold for a second, then slowly lower.
3. Sit-to-Stand
This simple exercise strengthens your hips and knees and improves knee mobility.
Equipment you’ll need: A chair
How to do it: Sitting in a chair, lean forward and extend your hips and knees as you rise to a stand. Then, slowly lower yourself back to the chair and repeat.
4. Step-Ups
This exercise strengthens your hips, knees, thighs, and buttocks and improves knee mobility.
Equipment you’ll need: An approximately 6-inch-high stool, platform, or step rise
How to do it: Hold onto a railing and put one foot up on the first step of a set of stairs. Raise yourself up on that step, bringing your opposite foot up. Then lower that foot down, switch legs, and repeat.
5. Heel Raises
This exercise strengthens your quadriceps, ankles, and calf muscles, helping to relieve pain and take pressure off the knees.
Equipment you’ll need: A sturdy chair or table
How to do it: Hold onto the back of a chair or place your hands on a table, and stand up straight and tall. Lift both heels off the floor as high as possible so you’re standing on your tip-toes, and tighten your quadriceps to keep your legs straight. Don’t allow your knees to bend. Hold for one second, then slowly lower your heels to the floor. Repeat. Over time, you can progress to performing this exercise on one foot at a time.
6. Straight Leg Raises
These exercises strengthen the quadriceps. This move can be done either sitting or lying down.
Equipment you’ll need: A chair
How to do it: Sit back in a firm chair, keeping your back straight, and straighten one leg out in front of you. Count to 10, and then slowly lower to the floor. Repeat 10 to 20 times with each leg.
If you’re doing it lying down, bend your left leg at the knee so that your left foot is on the floor. Keep the other leg straight and lift it up until it forms a 45 degree angle with the ground. Count to five, then lower, repeating 5 to 20 times with each leg.
7. Wall Slides
This movement targets your quadriceps and glutes.
Equipment you’ll need: A wall!
How to do it: Lean your back and buttocks against a wall, keeping your legs shoulder-width apart and your feet 6 to 14 inches in front of you. Slowly slide down the wall by bending your knees until they form about a 45 degree angle. Bend less if you experience pain. Pause, then slowly slide back to the starting position.
8. Hamstring Stretches
Equipment you’ll need: None
How to do it: To stretch your hamstrings, sit on a flat surface with your legs extended. Bend one of your knees up and then drop that knee over to the side, so that your foot is against the inside of your other leg. Lean forward from your hips and reach your hands toward the toes of the extended leg, feeling the stretch in that hamstring. Hold for 20 seconds, then switch legs.
9. Calf Stretches
Here’s another useful stretch for knee osteoarthritis: the calf stretch.
Equipment you’ll need: None
How to do it: Standing with your forearms against the wall, slide one leg back behind you and bend the knee of the front leg. Lean forward with your hips and press the heel of the extended leg down against the floor. You will feel a gentle stretch in the knee, calf, and heel. Hold for 20 seconds, then switch legs.