Knee Rehab Exercises

Written By: Chloe Wilson, BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy
Reviewed by: KPE Medical Review Board

Knee rehab exercises aim to increase muscle strength, flexibility and control. This helps reduce knee pain, stiffness, weakness, instability and swelling caused by injuries, long-term knee problems and surgery.

Here you will find a general programme of advanced-level knee rehab exercises working on strength, flexibility and balance. They target all the important leg muscles, the quads, hamstrings, buttocks and calf muscles.

Purpose: Squats are one of the best ways to improve knee strength and abolish pain.  They target the hamstrings, quads and buttock muscles

Starting Position: Stand upright with feet hip width apart, toes pointing forwards. 

Action: Slowly squat downwards as far as is comfortable without letting your knees go forwards over your toes. Then return to starting position

Repetitions: 10-30 repetitions

Top tips: Don’t let your knees drop inwards, keep your kneecap in-line with your second toe

Progression: Hold a weight e.g. a medicine ball and as you squat down reach forwards as shown in the video

Purpose: Great knee rehab exercise to strengthen the hamstrings, quads and buttock muscles. If you haven't already done Bridging: stage 1, start there.

Starting Position: Lie on your back with both knees bent about 90° and your feet on the floor/bed. Knees should be slightly apart (tennis ball width)

Action: Clench your buttocks and lift your bottom off the bed as high as you can without arching your back. Then lift one leg up. Hold for 3-5 seconds and slowly lower

Repetitions: Repeat 10-25 times, 1-2x daily

Top Tips: 1. Keep your back straight – don’t let it arch as you lift up, it should be your bottom doing the work
2. Don’t hold your breath – keep breathing normally
3. Keep your knees tennis ball width apart – don’t let them drop out or lock them together
4. Don’t let your hips drop during the exercise – keep them up as high as you can

Progression: Use resistance bands to make the exercise harder - either loop a band around your lower thighs and gently push out against the band as you lift, or loop a band across your thighs and anchor it in each hand

Purpose: Increase knee strength (quads, hamstrings, glutes)

Starting Position: Stand on the leg to be worked and put other leg behind you on a chair/bench

Action: Slowly squat down as far as comfortable. The knee should not go beyond your toes (see dotted line). Return to starting position

Repetitions: 10-30 repetitions on each leg

Top Tips: 1. Keep your back straight throughout the exercise – don’t lean forwards
2. The movement should be slow and controlled for maximum benefit.

Purpose: Great knee rehab exercises to increase quads, hamstring and buttock strength. Also helps improve knee control

Starting Position: Standing

Action: Slowly step backwards and squat downwards taking your back knee towards the floor. Then slowly return to starting position

Repetitions: 10-30 repetitions on each leg

Progression: Start with your front foot up on a step - this allows you to squat down even further!

Top Tips: 1. The emphasis should be on a slow, controlled movement
2. Don’t let your front knee go forwards over your toes

Starting Position: Standing upright, feet pointing forwards

Action: Step forward with one leg and drop your back knee, keeping most of your body weight on your front leg. Push off the front leg to return to standing position

Repetitions: 10-30x on each leg

Top Tips: 1. Keep your toes pointing forwards and your back straight
2. Don’t let your front knee go over your toes – if that is happening you need to step further forwards

Progression: Hold weights while doing the exercise

Purpose: Strengthen the buttock muscles (glutes) to help support the knee and prevent excessive weight going through the inner side of the knee. Most people with knee pain have weak glutes. Make sure you can do The Clam: Stage 1 first

Starting position: Lie on your side with your hip and knees bent approx 90°, feet together. Lift your feet up about 30cms off the bed, knees still resting on the bed/floor

Action: Keeping your feet together, lift the top knee up as high as you can without rolling back at your hips. Hold for 3 seconds and slowly lower

Repetition: Repeat 10-25x on each side, 2x daily

Top Tips: Do not let your top hip roll backwards

Progression: Place a loop resistance band around your knees so you have to push up against the band to work harder

Purpose: Improve balance and control of knee - both important parts of knee rehab exercises

Starting Position: Stand on one leg

Action: slowly reach down to the floor lifting your other leg behind you, then slowly return to starting position

Repetitions: 10-30x on each leg

Progression: 1. Put items e.g. cones on the floor in a semicircle around you and reach for one cone at a time
2. Keep your knee slightly bent as you do balance knee rehab exercises