If you’re scheduled to have knee surgery, whether it is a total knee replacement, reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or meniscus repair surgery, here are a couple of exercises that you can do to improve your recovery after the surgery. If the knee muscles are in better shape and condition before surgery, then you can have a speedier recovery and rehab afterward.
Even though you may have knee pain and limited mobility, you can still do isometric exercises for the quadriceps and hamstrings. Isometric exercises are a great way to maintain or develop muscle strength for before and after knee surgeries. Quadriceps are the muscles in front of your thighs; they extend and straighten your knees. To perform isometric quadriceps exercise, simply follow these steps:
- Do the quadriceps isometric exercise for at least two weeks before your knee surgery date
- Sit in a chair with the back supported
- Bend one knee to 90 degrees and keep the leg-knee that you’re exercising straight
- Now tighten the front thigh muscles of the straightened leg and hold this muscle contraction for 10 seconds and then relax the thigh muscles and rest for 10 seconds
- For the second position, slightly bend the knee so the leg is no longer completely straightened. Again, you’ll then tighten the front thigh muscles and hold this muscle contraction for 10 seconds and then relax the thigh muscles and rest for 10 seconds
- For the final knee position, you can either bend the knee a little more or bend it to 90 degrees and then repeat tighten the front thigh muscles and hold this muscle contraction for 10 seconds and then relax the thigh muscles and rest for 10 seconds
- Do this quadriceps isometric exercise three times daily in all three positions for the first week repetitions and then increase isometric contraction holding phase to 10 seconds for the second two week
Hamstrings are muscles in the back of your thigh. They flex and bend your knees. Isometric exercise for the hamstrings is similar to quadriceps isometric exercise. Here is how you do hamstring isometric exercise:
- This first hamstring isometric exercise is gentler than the second one. Lie on your on the floor and the uninvolved leg straighten and extended
- Slightly bend the involved knee to a comfortable position and push the heel down into the floor while trying to bend the involved knee pulling the heel toward your buttock. The firm downward pressure from you pressing the foot into the floor prevent the heel from sliding toward the buttock
- You should feel muscles in back of your thigh tighten up; hold this hamstrings contraction for 10 seconds and then relax and rest for 10 seconds
- The second exercise is a variation of the first one. Sit in a chair with the back supported
- Both knees are bend at 90 degrees
- Now press your feet into the ground; you’ll feel the hamstrings and some buttock muscles tightening up as you press your feet into the ground
- Hold this muscle contraction for 10 seconds and then relax and rest for 10 seconds
Quadriceps and hamstrings exercises are a great way to prepare for any knee surgery; if you have knee pain with limited mobility, then these isometric exercises for the knee are a great way for you to speed up recovery.