Early knee exercises videos

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Hi there.

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My name is Chris

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and I'm one of the physiotherapists here at Addenbrooke's Hospital.

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In this video series, we are going to go through some early knee exercises.

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You may have been directed here by a consultant

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or physiotherapist following a recent knee injury.

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This could have been a twisting injury that may have caused a ligament sprain

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or some irritation of the cartilage in the knee, otherwise known as the meniscus.

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Depending on the severity of the injury,

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you may have been given crutches to help with your walking.

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As the pain improves and provided you need feels stable.

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You can stop using the crutches

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under the guidance of your physiotherapist or consultant if needed.

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This may only be a few days or could be a few weeks

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as of course, all injuries are different.

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It's important to understand that the large majority of these injuries

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get better with time and a good rehabilitation program.

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With only very few small numbers requiring surgical intervention.

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In all

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cases, the first part of the process is to go through a course of physiotherapy

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as a large majority of people recover by doing this.

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In the very few cases where time and physiotherapy has not allowed someone

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to make a full recovery, this may be where they are referred for a scan

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and seen by an orthopedic consultant.

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Following a knee injury, it is important to keep the knee

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moving as pain allows, to prevent the joint becoming too stiff.

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It is also important to start a strengthening exercise program

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to allow you to maintain and regain quad,

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hamstring, glute and calf muscle strength.

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As you progress, look to return to your normal activities as pain allows,

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such as gradually increasing your walking and returning to activities like cycling.

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The timeframe of recovery varies considerably

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depending on the severity of the injury and the individual’s journey.

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Some people return to full function within 3 to 6 weeks.

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For others, it can take 2 to 3 months and for some cartilage related injuries,

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it is not unusual for these to take a little longer,

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with people still improving up to six months after the injury.

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Whatever stage of recovery you are at, there is always scope

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for an exercise program to improve your situation.

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We are breaking the exercises down into phases.

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Start with the easier exercises and as you improve,

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progress to the more challenging ones.

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It is worth noting that research supports a criteria based progression

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through the phases rather than a strict time based progression.

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This means that you may be able to progress to the next phase

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a little earlier than the weeks stated, or it may take a little longer.

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Progress when you feel ready and as pain allows.

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If you are unsure about any of the exercises in the videos

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or have any questions, please consult your physiotherapist.

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I hope these videos are helpful.

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Thanks for watching.

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Welcome back.

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Here, we’re going to go through some early knee exercises in phase one.

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We have classed phase one as the first two weeks following the injury.

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As I mentioned in the previous video, research supports

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a criteria based progression, through the phases

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rather than a strict time based progression.

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This means that you may be able to progress to the next phase

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a little earlier than the week stated, or that it may take a little longer.

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Progress when you feel ready and as the pain allows.

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As for how often and how many,

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this will vary from person to person and depend on your stage of recovery.

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In the early stages, we often recommend doing the exercise

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as little and often, perhaps 6 to 12

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repetitions, 3 to 4 times a day.

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As you progress, aim to increase

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the numbers gradually as pain allows.

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Aim to progress to 8 to 15 repetitions,

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2 to 3 sets in that little session, 4 to 5 times a week.

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As you

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improve, you should aim to do enough reps and sets to get to the point

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where your muscles feel fatigued.

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The first exercise is active

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or active assisted knee range of motion.

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Here we are going to use a towel or the rope of a dressing gown

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to bend and straighten the knee.

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Aim to straighten the knee as much as you can to ensure you regain

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full extension,

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as pain allows.

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As you are able, progress to not using the towel.

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The next exercise

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is the static quads exercise.

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In a long sitting position, either on the bed or on a sofa, it's fine.

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Tighten up your thigh muscles to fully straighten the knee,

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hold the contraction for 5 to 8 seconds and

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then relax.

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Then we have the inner range quads exercise.

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Roll up a pillow or a towel and place under the knee.

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So it is in a little flexion.

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Straighten the knee to lift the ankle up,

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hold in this position for 5 to 8 seconds

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and lower.

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The next exercise is the straight leg raise.

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Fully straighten your knee by tightening your thigh muscles

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like in the static quads exercise, then lift your leg off

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the bed and lower.

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We then have sitting knee extension.

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In a sitting position fully straighten the knee,

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hold for 5 to 8 seconds

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and lower.

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That’s the end of this Phase one video.

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These exercises can also be found on the physiotherapy section

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of the Addenbrooke's website under patient information leaflets

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where you can click on early knee exercises.

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Thanks for watching, see you at phase two.