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I often have knee pain. I`ve been to the doctor already and luckily I don´t have any serious disorder. But I do need to strengthen my muscles around the knee to avoid injuries and pain. What are the best exercises to do so?
And also, in a related question, what are the exercises that I should avoid?
The knee is very complex and it can be difficult to say what is good/bad for yours specifically. What is good/bad entirely depends on your condition and strength level. To make matters worse, even physios can disagree (depending on where and when they learnt, and how much they keep up with their science). For example, I've been told by some doctors and physios that cycling would be good for my knee (I had chondromalacia patellae) when in fact it has been detrimental.
Squat: If you can do a full bodyweight squat pain free, then this is what you should do. Evidence shows that people who squat have stronger knees and have less injuries.
If you cannot do a full bodyweight squat, work towards that goal:
Stretching, mobility and relaxation: work on hip and ankle mobility and flexibility. The mobility of the surrounding joints is very important for healthy knees. Foam rolling the stiffer leg muscles might be useful.
Do not stick with preparatory exercises, work up progressively to the full bodyweight squat. But always work pain free. Avoid exercises which do not work the full range of motion. For example, I've been told by some physios to squat but don't bend the knees less than 90 degrees, and don't let the knees over the ankles. Such partial squats, together with cycling, have been major contributors to my knee pain. Since I'm working on full squats, my knee problems have completely went away. My knee feels the best after back squatting with 80kg!
It depends on your knee problems. If you are able to do squats as Larissa says then great.
I know people who would be able to do squats, but would suffer for at least a week after. I would suggest slow controlled step overs, to start to build the vastus medius muscle, which will help take the pressure off of the knee.
Step overs. Take a bench. Step up and over touching the free leg to the other side. Do this slowly, then return, build to 30 repeats This maybe too easy, so raise the height. If this is done in a controlled manner it will help strengthen the supporting muscles.
Also, cycling may help.
It just depends, the extent of the problem. Find what works for you.
