Best Exercises to Relieve Knee Joint Pain

Knee joint pain can not only keep you from doing the things you love but also prevent you from doing daily tasks. If the thought of bending down, climbing stairs, or even walking makes you hesitate, you should try these knee pain exercises.

In this video, longtime physical therapists, Bob Schrupp and Brad Heineck, walk you through the ten most effective knee pain exercises. Over their 50 years of combined experience, they have found these exercises to be the most useful for various types of knee joint pain.

Below the video, we have written out the seven stretching exercises these experts recommend for your review.

Warning: If any of these exercises increase your pain, stop immediately. Only continue the exercises that work for you, and set the others aside.

Knee Pain Exercise #1: Best for Meniscus Tears, Cartilage Tears, and Arthritis

Purpose: To improve bending motion of knee.

1. Place your foot on a chair.
2. Grab the upper part of your tibia (your outer calf bone) with both hands, thumbs behind your knee.
3. Turn your tibia towards your other leg.
4. As you hold the turn, bend the knee forward and backward.
5. Do two sets of ten if not painful.

Knee Pain Exercise #2: Best for Patella Femoral Syndrome and Pain Underneath the Knee Cap

Purpose: Stretches knee cap to allow for more motion, which reduces pain caused by friction.

1. Sit down and support your leg using a footrest or chair.
2. Relax your leg.
3. Use your two thumbs to push your knee cap down toward your foot in a repeated motion.
4. Then use two fingers of each hand to push your knee cap up toward your waist in a smooth repeated motion.
5. Then use two fingers of your matching hand (i.e., right hand for right knee) to push your knee cap toward your other knee.

Knee Pain Exercise #3: Best for Arthritis and Knees That Don’t Straighten All the Way

Purpose: Stretch the knee so you can straighten your leg more, which reduces pain.

1. Sit down and support your leg using a footrest or chair.
2. Place one hand above the knee and the other below the knee.
3. Gently apply pressure downward to straighten the leg and then release the pressure just as you barely start to feel pain.
4. Continue “pressure on” and “pressure off”, noticing that pain should be reducing and motion improving after several sets.
5. Begin with no more than 10 sets on the first day, and increase accordingly.

Knee Pain Exercise #4: Best for Knees That are Not Bending Well

Purpose: To improve bendability of your knee and thus reduce pain.

1. Lay on your back.
2. Pull your leg up toward your body and use both hands to grasp below the knee. Start with your hand close to the knee, but can adjust lower for more leverage if it isn’t painful.
3. Do “pressure on/pressure off” toward your body.

Knee Pain Exercise #4: Best for Knees That are Not Bending Well

Purpose: To improve bendability of your knee and thus reduce pain.

1. Place foot on higher surface (stairs work great since you can hold the handrails).
2. Gently push your body forward and back with “pressure on/pressure off” motion.

Knee Pain Exercise #5: Best for Knees That are Not Bending Well

Purpose: To improve bendability of your knee, and thus reduce pain. *This one has a higher difficulty level.

1. Stand up and hold onto something to steady your balance. Alternative: lay flat on your stomach or on your side, with the knee you are going to stretch on top.
2. Lift your foot toward your rear end and grab your ankle with the matching hand (i.e., right ankle with right hand).
3. Keep your upper body upright and try to point your knee toward the ground to stretch your quad.

Knee Pain Exercise #6: Best for Pain on the Outside of your Knee

Purpose: To stretch your IT band that may be pulling your knee to the side

1. Lay down on your back.
2. Lift your leg up, keeping it extended.
3. Lean your leg over your other leg. Can use your opposite hand to gently apply pressure.
4. Can lift your leg higher or lower to find the sweet spots.

Knee Pain Exercise #7: Best for All-Around Knee Pain Relief

Purpose: To stretch your hamstrings and calves to relieve tension on your knee.

1. Put your foot on an elevated surface (stairs are great because you can hold on to the handrails).
2. Keep your leg as straight as possible, and your back straight.
3. Lean into your leg, stopping just barely before you feel pain and hold for a comfortable amount of time.
4. Repeat for the other leg.
5. Then, it’s time to stretch your calf muscle.
6. On flat ground, hold onto the back of a chair and put one foot back.
7. Bend your front knee and lean into the chair, keeping your back heel on the ground.
8. Stop leaning just barely before you feel pain and hold for a comfortable amount of time.
9. Repeat for the other leg.

Knee Strengthening Exercises

Bob and Brad go on to show you three knee strengthening exercises that can improve overall mobility and reduce knee pain. Be sure to check them out and work up to them if you can.

Exercises are the best place to start when knee pain is holding you back from enjoying life to its fullest. But if your knee pain persists or your arthritis progresses, it may be time to seek medical help. There are effective and affordable alternatives to knee surgery and knee replacement you can try.