Knee therapy – Stage 1
Basic stretching and strengthening exercises for the knee, focusing on the inner thigh muscle that stabilises the kneecap, for people with knee arthritis or knee pain.
Physiotherapy exercises to prepare you before surgery and help you regain movement and strength after joint replacement, under the supervision of the medical team.
Exercises to strengthen muscles, ease pain and improve movement before surgery, helping you recover faster afterwards.
Basic stretching and strengthening exercises for the knee, focusing on the inner thigh muscle that stabilises the kneecap, for people with knee arthritis or knee pain.
More advanced balance and thigh-strengthening exercises, including a mirror exercise that retrains a correct walking pattern.
Therapeutic exercises for knee arthritis, strengthening the leg muscles with ankle weights and resistance bands, with a physiotherapist.
Lunges to strengthen the whole thigh, keeping the knee in line with the second toe and the hips level.
Progressing the lunge onto a stair step, to prepare you for going up and down stairs with confidence.
Exercises you can do at home on the floor or bed, to stretch and strengthen the lower-back and stomach muscles if you have lower-back pain and stiffness.
Stretching and strengthening the hamstrings and calves, plus simple nerve-mobilisation exercises, for people with lower-back problems.
Exercises to free the branches of the sciatic nerve and ease inflammation. Stay within a range that causes no pain or numbness; if you feel pain, stop and see a specialist.
Staged exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles at the back of the shoulder, for people with shoulder pain or a torn tendon.
Balance and independent-walking exercises, useful both before and after surgery as your medical team advises.
Stage 2 balance work, including throwing a ball while standing on one leg, to train the body to move confidently in busy places.
Standing on one leg for four minutes to strengthen the whole leg and improve balance. Older people, or anyone with balance problems, should keep a chair beside them.
Rehabilitation after joint replacement: increasing knee bend, walking on uneven ground, and step-by-step exercises.
Once you can bend the knee to about 100 degrees after knee replacement, these exercises on a small pedal bike help you reach 120–130 degrees or more, within a comfortable, pain-free range.
Advanced exercises after joint replacement or cruciate-ligament reconstruction, training you to walk on uneven ground such as sand or the street.
A step-by-step knee rehabilitation exercise programme with a physiotherapist.