All About Knees | Physiotherapy Guelph
All About Knees - Guelph Physiotherapy
Knees are a key component to overall mobility. Here are some details on how they work and tips on how to strengthen your knees and the surrounding muscles provided by the Guelph physiotherapy team here at the Health and Performance Centre (HPC).
Basic Knee Anatomy
· The lower limb is made up of the femur, the tibia, and the fibula, as well as the patella (better known as the kneecap!).
· The muscles of the lower limb allow us to flex and extend our knee (a hinge joint) as well as abduct and adduct our leg through the hip joint (ball and socket joint).
· The quadriceps femoris muscle group consists of the vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris.
· The hamstring muscle group consists of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
· The adductors consist of the adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, gracilis, and pectineus.
· The main three glute muscles are the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. There are smaller muscles underneath these, such as the piriformis muscle.
Tips for Strengthening your Knees:
Here are some examples of leg strengthening exercises you can use to strengthen the muscles in your lower limb which can help support your knees and prevent future injuries. Weight can be added to any of these exercises to improve strength and muscle growth. For video instruction, visit our Instagram page at instagram.com/HPCguelph
1. Squats: 15 reps x 3 sets
2. Lunges: 15 reps x 3 sets
3. Calf raises: 25 reps x 3 sets
4. Standing hamstring curls: 15 reps x 3 sets, repeat for each leg
5. Step-ups: 10 reps x 3 sets, repeat for each leg
6. Side leg raises: 15 reps x 3 sets, repeat for each leg
Stop doing these exercises immediately if you are experiencing any pain. To ensure you are doing them properly, speak to one of our trained Guelph physiotherapists here at the Health and Performance Centre.