Having knee surgery is a big step to take, and most people want to make the fastest possible recovery after knee surgery. Physical therapy is one option that can help speed up your post-surgical recovery. Physical therapists can use many therapy techniques to help boost your ability to recover after surgery, and therapeutic strengthening exercises are one of the most commonly used of these techniques. Here are two examples of physical therapy exercises your therapist may ask you to do after knee surgery:
- Straight leg raises
The quadriceps is a muscle in the front of your thigh, and it helps move and support the knee joint. After surgery, physical therapy exercises can be used to help prevent weakness in this muscle. One example of an exercise that’s used to help keep your quads strong is straight leg raises.
To do this exercise, you’ll want to lie down flat on your back with your legs straight in front of you. For this exercise, you can lie on the floor on a yoga mat or on a bed if you’re uncomfortable on the floor. While lying on your back, bend the unaffected knee until your foot is flat on the floor. This is the starting position for the exercise.
From this starting position, slowly raise your affected leg using your quad muscles, and you should try to keep the let straight as you raise it. Raise your leg until it’s level with your bent leg. If you can’t raise it this high at first, raise your affected leg as high as you’re able to, and then you should slowly lower your leg back to the floor. Repeat these steps until you’ve done the exercise 10 to 15 times, and make it your goal to do at least three sets each day.
- Standing hamstring curls
Another muscle that physical therapy exercises can help strengthen after knee surgery is the hamstring. This muscle runs along the back of your thigh, and it helps bend your knee joint backward. Standing hamstring curls is one example of a physical therapy exercise you could be asked to do after knee surgery, and this is an option because a strong hamstring can help you recover knee mobility more rapidly.
Start standing hamstring curls by standing behind a chair. Grabbing onto the back of the chair will help you keep your balance during this exercise. Once your hands are gripping the back of the chair, slowly bend your affected knee so that your heel is moving toward your butt. Your goal is to bring your heel as close to your butt as possible. After you’ve raised your leg as high as you’re able to, hold this position for two or three seconds, and then slowly lower your foot back to the floor. Try to finish 15 repetitions of this exercise per set. Give yourself several minutes of rest between sets, and make it your goal to complete three sets in total.
Border Therapy Services offers physical therapy plans to help you recover after knee surgery
Our Border Therapy Services team can help you find the most effective physical therapy exercises and techniques after you’ve had knee surgery. We offer free screenings designed to help us determine what symptoms your surgery has caused. With this information, our team can create a personalized recovery plan to target your symptoms, and this plan may include therapy methods such as:
- Therapeutic exercise
- Manual therapy
- Functional dry needling
- Kinesiotherapy
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to start getting our help after your knee surgery.