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Knee-deep trouble

Use your imagination to design your own exercise for the knee

PHOTO: VINO JOHN.

FIT KNEES Even swimming can help a bad knee

Osteoarthritis in the knee is a problem that affects millions, especially the elderly and post-menopausal. Knee exercises help prevent joint stiffness and also strengthen muscles around the joint. This makes movement less painful, lessens disability and improves quality of life.

Knee exercises that help in osteoarthritis are done sitting in a chair or lying on one's back. They do not require standing up - something Osteoarthritis sufferers are loath to do. They do not require a gym or specialised equipment either.

For example, something as easy as sitting on a high stool with the legs dangling over the ground with a 5-kilo weight fastened to the ankles will pull the inflamed surfaces of the knee apart and stretch the muscles and tendons. Allow the weights to unload your knees while you catch up on the news or listen to music. You will be done in 15 minutes. Do this a couple of times every day.

The thigh muscles are among the most powerful in the body and developing them is crucial to unloading the knee. Exercises that work these muscles without involving weight bearing are safe and effective.

For example, sit on a chair and rest one foot on a stool of similar height. Use your ankle to push the stool into the ground, using only your thigh muscles to generate force. Repeated a few times a day, this exercise will help your muscles bear the brunt of weight bearing. This exercise can also be done lying down on the floor, with a folded towel under the heel.

You can use your imagination to design your own exercises for the knee. The ground rules are simple: avoid standing up and stop exercising if the movement is progressively more painful.

Swimming pool exercises are an exception to the standing-up rule. The buoyancy takes the load off the weight bearing joints. Walking through knee-deep water is a great exercise for arthritic knees.

RAJIV. M

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