How To Exercise When There Is Back or Knee Pain

Knee pain is common these days among different people, whether weekend warriors, an athlete, or daily walkers – anyone can be affected by knee pain. Most people do various exercises to reduce knee pain. Some take medication, while others consult a physiotherapist to address their knee pain and design a personalized, all-inclusive treatment program to address the factors causing their knee pain.

Knee pain could be due to many causes, including sprained knee ligament, overuse, weakness of the muscles, bursitis, osteoarthritis, and many more. Knee pain can be felt around the kneecap during activities, such as walking while carrying a heavy load, running, stair climbing, and squatting. But the thing is, you can relieve or treat your knee pain with some simple exercises.

Exercises to Reduce Knee Pain

Various simple exercises can relieve back pain or knee pain in the comfort of your own home. If you have knee pain due to surgery, arthritis, or knee injury, you can do stretching or strengthening exercises to reduce knee pain.

Some of the effective exercises to reduce knee pain are:

1. Straight Leg Raise

Straight leg raise is a strengthening exercise to relieve knee pain. This is an effective exercise for the quadriceps (muscles in front of the thigh) that puts a little strain on the knee.

How to do it:

  • First, lie straight on the floor.
  • Bend your one knee while keeping the other leg straight, and place your foot on the floor.
  • Now, raise your straight leg to the height of the bent knee.
  • Repeat 12 to 15 times gently for 3 to 4 sets.

 

2. Hamstring stretch

This is one of the simplest stretch exercises to reduce knee pain. As the name indicates, it stretches your hamstrings. While doing this exercise, you must feel stretched in the back of your leg & up to the base of your glutes.

How to do it:

  • First, lie down straight on the floor or exercising mat with both legs straighten.
  • Gently lift one leg off the floor and put your hands behind your thigh and below the knee.
  • Now, pull your knee toward your chest until you feel a slight painless stretch.
  • Hold this position for about 30 seconds.
  • Release that leg and lift the other.
  • Repeat 3 to 4 times on both legs.

 

3. Half squat

Half squatting is an excellent exercise to reduce knee pain by strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps without straining your knees.

How to do it:

  • Stand in a squatting position gently with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Place both your hands out in front of you or on your hips for balance.
  • Now, slowly squat down about 10 to 12 inches (the halfway point to a full squat) by looking straight ahead.
  • Stay in this half-squatting position for 6 to 7 seconds.
  • Stand up by pushing through your heels.
  • Repeat 10 to 12 times for 2 to 3 sets.

 

The bottom line

If you have severe knee pain, always consult your doctor before choosing exercises to reduce knee pain. If your healthcare provider gives you a green signal for exercise, this is the best chance you have to relieve your knee pain through simple stretching or strengthening exercises.

Stop these exercises if they worsen your symptoms or cause new pain. It’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional about your symptoms if your knee pain worsens.

If your knee pain hasn’t improved within 6 weeks of following this advice, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional about your symptoms; they can help you to design a personalized program to address the factors causing knee pain.