How to Manage Knee Pain with Exercise - Knee Pain

Step 1
Experiment with different exercise options to see which ones make your knee pain worse and which ones you can tolerate. This will be different for each person depending on the cause of the knee pain and other personal actors. For many with knee pain, traditional land-based exercise is just too painful. Another option can be water aerobics. Water aerobics classes can be quite vigorous or extremely gentle. The Arthritis Foundation (see Resources below) offers specialized classes both on land and in the water. Other people find that using large physioballs that you can sit on while exercising takes pressure off the knees as well. Many find that while they cannot walk outside, they can walk on a good treadmill that has some give to it and provides some cushioning. Still others find that they can ride a bike. Keep experimenting until you find some kind of aerobic exercise that works for you.

Step 2
Do specific strength training exercises that target the muscles that surround and support the knee. The stronger your muscles are, the less work and stress is placed on your knee joints. Exercises like squats, lunges and step-ups done properly are some of the best exercises. If you find these movements painful at first, limit your range of motion and the number of repetitions. Only squat and lunge as low as you can without pain. If you keep at it, your muscles will become stronger and you will eventually be able to go lower. Also, the wider you keep your feet, the less stress there is on the joint.

Step 3
Make sure you are exercising correctly and using good body mechanics. Once you know how to do the movements correctly, it is fine to use videos, books or online resources but initially try to meet with a therapist, instructor or trainer who can assess your individual situation and watch you exercise in order to correct any misalignment or improper form. Many times people assume they cannot exercise because they have tried and it caused pain when actually they were doing the exercise incorrectly. Once they learned the correct form, the exercise actually helped relieve their pain.