Everybody would like to get back to what they were able to do before they injured their knee as quickly as possible. However, it can be frustrating and boring to have to stick to a structured exercise regimen given to you by your knee doctor for knee repair. But, it is important to remember that these knee physical therapy programs are designed to ensure that no damage is done to the knee and to assist in its healing. It is important that you listen to your doctor or physiotherapist and follow their instructions because their main interest is to get your knee specialist as safely and quickly as possible.
Start building core body strength.
A lot of people concentrate on strengthening their quadriceps. This is the muscle at the front of the thigh. Although strengthening the quadriceps is crucial, it is equally as important not to neglect your hamstrings, the muscle group at the back of the thigh. The quadriceps and hamstrings work together, the quadriceps to straighten the leg and the hamstrings to bend the leg. In general build strong core muscles for overall strength. Talk to a knee specialist for understanding your muscles and how to work on them.
Slowly regain your muscles and knee strength
At the start, knee treatment exercises should be done using higher repetitions (reps) combined with low resistance. For instance, do 3 sets of, say, 18 reps This way you are achieving the lower resistance and also reducing the stress on the knee joint. This is particularly valuable if you're postoperative or have arthritis. But consulting the knee doctor is more than important.
Then, as strength in your knee increases, slowly raise the resistance level while reducing the reps to, say 3 sets of 10 or 12. Initially, your knee rehabilitation exercises will be simple ones but the complexity of them can be slowly increased over time. In most cases, your physical therapist can assist in creating a program for you aimed at getting you back to or near to the level of physical activity and fitness that you enjoyed prior to the injury.
Try working out under the supervision of a trainer or expert
It is important that you use the correct equipment when embarking upon your knee repair to ensure complete recovery regardless of whether you are taking part in a formal repair program or an unsupervised program at home. Again your physical therapist or knee specialist should be able to advise you on the most suitable equipment for your particular case. Don't think that this equipment needs to be a full-blown multipurpose gym. Very often all that is needed is some free weights or resistance tubing which can be very inexpensive yet highly effective and readily available from sports stores or even online. There are times, and this can depend on the injury when more complex equipment is needed. This sort of equipment can often be found at your local gym. Once again you should seek the help and advice of your health care professional.
