Knee Arthritis - Tips to Help Mobility & Function

Although you cannot stop the progression of osteoarthritis, you can take an active role in the management of the symptoms, maintaining optimal function and mobility, and positively influencing your recovery from joint replacement surgery. Learning more about how osteoarthritis impacts the body and what you can do will promote safe, effective, and positive management of the disease. Here are a few principles to follow that will help get you started with your self management exercise plan:

The Weight Bearing Principle: Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage in your joint that then presents in pain due to the friction of two bones rubbing against each other. When your knee joint is loaded as it would be in a weight bearing position such as standing or walking, it creates an environment where there will be friction on the bones possibly causing pain. Now, this does not mean you should stop walking altogether, but this principle exists to teach you the following:

• If you are already in pain or experience pain upon weight bearing, select non weight bearing exercise options. Pain will increase inflammation in your joint and therefore decrease your range of motion. When you select non weight bearing exercise, you are able to keep your body moving and maintain range without causing pain and inflammation.


• If you are overweight, this is presenting a greater load on the knee joint and adding to your pain. You could greatly reduce your pain and increase your mobility by doing your best to lower your weight.


• Avoid standing for long periods


• Cycling, swimming, and non weight bearing muscular endurance exercises are best

Range of Motion Principle

Range of motion at your knee joint enables you to walk normally, climb or descend stairs, and sit or stand with ease. Therefore, it is more important in terms of function, to work on maintaining flexion and extension of the knee than it is to solely target strength. Your first goal in implementing specific exercises should be to work on knee flexion and extension exercises. These exercises are often forgotten about, but are truly the most important for you to do especially if you will be going in for joint replacement surgery.

Quadricep Strength for Ability & Recovery

The most important muscle you can strengthen to help you recover from surgery quicker and to help support your knee joint is the quadriceps. Often this muscle will atrophy, or shrink, on the leg impacted by osteoarthritis due to the avoidance of pain. There are many exercises you can do in a non weight bearing position to keep the quadriceps strong. If it even hurts to just bend your knee, there are even isometric strength exercises that can be done for the quadriceps that do not require any bending of the knee. Everyone should be able to perform at least one to two quadricep strength exercises that do not cause pain.

The Importance of Muscle Lengthening

It has been reported that close to 90% of the pain associated with osteoarthritis is linked to muscle tightening, trigger points, or knots in muscles. When you begin to feel pain around a joint, your muscles begin to shorten in an attempt to protect the joint and also because you will start to use that muscle less. The muscles that may shorten around the knee joint are your quadriceps, hamstrings, illiotibial band, calves, and hip flexors. When you implement a weekly stretching routine to target all of these muscles, you will greatly influence your function, post surgery recovery, and possibly reduce pain.

By applying these principles of limiting weight bearing, targeting knee range of motion, strengthening your quadriceps, and stretching, you will improve all the symptoms created by osteoarthritis. Choose to start today in becoming an active participant in managing the symptoms and improving your quality of life.