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Joint pain and stiffness are common consequences of knee osteoarthritis and often impact walking ability. Knee range of motion and strength exercises are ways to maintain and build knee mobility and surrounding muscle strength, which can aid walking speed and duration for those with knee osteoarthritis.
This article covers seven exercises for knee osteoarthritis to aid walking ability. This article includes exercises as seen in the video Walking with Osteoarthritis and is following on from the video Walking with Arthritis.
1. Quadricep activation. Sitting on a mat, with a towel rolled under your knee, squeeze your quadricep muscles at the top your knee to press your knee into the towel. Repeat three sets of eight reps. The quadricep muscle group along with the hamstring muscle group are the muscle groups that act to support and stabilise the knee joint. Each of these muscle groups contain four individual muscles, which surround the knee joint to provide stability during movement. The quadricep muscles surround the front of the knee joint and the hamstring muscles surround the back of the knee joint.
If you experience difficulty with straightening your knee, use a larger towel to allow more knee flexion. The aim of the exercise is to activate your quadriceps muscles rather than straighten you knee completely. Quadricep activation is an important exercise to incorporate into a walking program for those with osteoarthritis. This is because knee pain decreases voluntary and involuntary quadriceps activation which can subsequently reduce the ability of the quadriceps muscle to support the knee joint in activities such as walking.
2. Heel slides. Sitting on a mat, slide your heel along the mat to bring your heel toward your bottom. Slide away from your bottom to straighten your knee. Repeat three sets of eight reps. Heel slides aim to increase range of motion in both knee flexion or bending and knee extension or straightening. Additionally, along with quadricep activation, heel slides are a great warm up exercise to complete prior to walking to promote movement of the synovial fluid across the knee joint and to reduce some of the stiffness that may have developed from sitting or resting for a prolonged period of time.
When completing heel slides aim to reach your maximum range of motion in both flexion and extension. You may feel slight pressure or stiffness at the end of each movement but should not feel sharp or sudden pain. If you do feel sharp or sudden pain, move within the range of motion that is pain free, before getting to the point of the sharp or sudden pain. As knee osteoarthritis often impacts range of motion, it is ok if you are unable to reach full range of motion or completely straighten and bend your knee.
3. Bridge. Lying on the mat, with your knees bent so your feet are flat on the ground, lift your bottom off the ground. Lower your bottom down. Repeat three sets of eight reps. The aim of a bridge in this routine is to build hamstring strength. Hamstring strength is particularly important during walking downhill or downstairs, as the hamstrings act to stabilise the knee joint during these movements. Weak or poorly activated hamstrings can result in increased strain being placed on the knee joint and knee joint ligaments during walking activities. When completing a bridge, the aim is to lift your bottom off the ground. You may not be able to reach a full bridge right away.
4. Mini squats with dumbbells. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees to squat, aiming for roughly 45 degrees knee flexion. Return to standing. Repeat three sets of eight reps. Mini squats build strength in the hamstring and quadricep muscle groups as well as other muscle groups of the lower body such as the glutes and lower back. For this reason mini squats are a great exercise to incorporate into a walking exercise program to build lower body strength. Mini squats can be considered a progression of the sit to stand exercise seen in the video Walking with Arthritis. Progressions of mini squats include full squats to ninety degrees or below.
5. Mini stiff leg deadlift with dumbbells. Standing with your feet at shoulder width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your back straight, bend at your hips to lower the weight to just above knee height. Repeat three sets of eight reps. Stiff leg deadlifts primarily work the hamstring muscle group. Progressions of mini stiff leg deadlifts include full stiff leg deadlifts to bring the weight to below knee height.
6. Step ups. Standing in front of a step, step up with your right leg, step down, again leading with your right leg. Repeat three sets of eight reps. Step up’s work the lower body muscles, including the hamstrings and quads, and also muscle groups of the ankle and hip which aid to support knee joint stability more indirectly by facilitating alignment of the knee joint and facilitating muscle activation patterns. Repeat, leading with your left leg.
7. Side lunges. Standing with your legs shoulder with apart and your knees bent, step out to the side. Repeat three sets of eight reps. Side lunges facilitate weight bearing through the knee in a controlled way, facilitate strength building in the coronal plane of movement, and facilitate balance, making them a great exercise to incorporate into a walking exercise program.
In summary, knee range of motion and strength exercises are important components of a walking exercise program. These seven exercises aid range of motion and strength and can be beneficial as part of an exercise program for knee osteoarthritis.
If you have osteoarthritis and are unsure if you have the right exercise program put together, make sure to get your complimentary “Age Fit with Tess” self-assessment to identify if you are meeting 10 key components of a successful exercise program. Head to www.agefitwithtess.com to get your copy.
Research Articles
Seeley, M., Lee, H., Son, S., Timmerman, M., Lindsay, M., & Hopkins, J. (2021). A Review of the Relationships Between Knee Pain and Movement Neuromechanics. Journal Of Sport Rehabilitation, 1-10. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2021-0020 https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsr/aop/article-10.1123-jsr.2021-0020/article-10.1123-jsr.2021-0020.xml
Benner, R., Shelbourne, K., Bauman, S., Norris, A., & Gray, T. (2019). Knee Osteoarthritis. Orthopedic Clinics Of North America, 50(4), 425-432. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2019.05.001