If you’ve come to see me about knee pain, or recently had knee surgery, or even just have knee pain, then the chances are that you need these. I’ve spoken before about how important it is to get your knee straight. Not exciting but absolutely critical to getting better.

Whenever possible, all exercises should be done 3-4 times a day.

At first they may be hard work and you may not be able to repeat them often, so start off with a few and build yourself up.

We are not looking to cause pain with these exercises. You may feel stiff which is OK but if they are very painful, stop and contact me.

You can also download these Knee Straightening Exercises as a PDF to keep them handy.

Standing Knee Extension Exercise

• Stand with your weight on your bad knee.
• Straighten your knee as much as possible.
• Hold this position for 5 seconds then gently release and repeat 10 times.
• You may not be able to do many at first, so start with less and slowly work your way up.
• Whenever you are standing up, try and use your thigh muscles to help push your knee straight.

Seated Knee Extension Exercise 1

• While sitting comfortably with your legs out in front of you, roll up a towel and place it under your heel.
• Being in this position, gravity can work the knee straight.
• Start by staying in this position for a few seconds and work your way up to 10 – 20 minutes.
• To help straighten your knee further, try gently squeezing your thigh muscles to help push your knee towards the floor.

Seated Knee Extension Exercise 2

• In the same position as for exercise 1, use a towel to apply an extra stretch into extension.
• To begin with, hold the position for 5 seconds then gently release and repeat 10 times.
• For this exercise, build up holding each stretch for 15-20 seconds.
• You may not be able to do many at first so start with less and slowly work your way up.

Seated Exercise 3

• In a comfortable seated position, place a rolled up towel underneath your knee.
• Using your thigh muscles push the knee down so that the heel starts to lift off the floor.
• Hold the position for 5 seconds then gently release and repeat 10 times.
• Take up the same position and this time roll your leg outwards slightly – your foot should only be a few degrees from vertical. Do the same exercise again.
• This should feel more intense in the inner thigh.
• This exercise can be progressed in the same way as exercise 1 by introducing the use of the towel. This will ensure you are using the full range of movement available at the knee.

 ICE for simple pain relief

•  This technique uses simple ice bags (frozen peas are always good).
• Dry the area first.
• Wrap your ice bag in a damp tea towel to prevent direct contact with the skin and thus stop ice burns.
• Apply to the area for no more than 10 minutes at a time – longer is counterproductive.
• This can be repeated every 30 minutes if necessary.
• Ensure that you check the skin quality regularly and if you notice anything abnormal, contact us.