Whether you are recovering from a knee injury or trying to prevent one, doing knee exercises will strengthen the tendons and muscles in your legs and core, as well as improve your balance. Proprioceptive exercises will train your brain, nerves and muscles to communicate better to correctly identify where the body is and how it is moving. Do exercises on one leg creates what is called a proprioceptively-enriched environment that improves knee stability.
Single-Leg Balance
The single-leg balance exercise is the most basic proprioceptive exercise for your knee. Simply stand on one leg with your hands on your hips. You may wish to stand near a wall to catch yourself if you lose your balance. Make sure to bend the leg you are standing on slightly. You can try this exercise on a pillow to increase the difficulty when you're ready. A pillow is a less stable surface than a floor so it is a more proprioceptively-enriched activity. If you can only do 10 seconds to start that is OK. Work up to 60 seconds before trying other exercises.
Forward to Backward Leg Swings
Stand on your right leg and place your hands on your hips. Bend your right knee slightly. Swing your left leg forward with your knee bent. Swing your leg back behind you. Do 10 leg swings and then switch legs. Work up to 20 swings per leg.
Once you can do the bent leg version without losing your balance, go ahead and straighten your leg to make the exercise more challenging.
A variation of this exercise is to swing your leg backward first and then swing it forward. Your abs and glutes should be squeezed throughout this exercise and through all the variations.
Single-Leg Squats
The single-leg squat is a powerful knee exercise and leg strengthener for your quads. Stand on your right leg and place your hands on your hips. Squeeze your abs and your glutes. Extend your arms out in front of you with your palms facing upward. Squat down by bending your right knee, shifting your hips back and leaning your torso forward slightly. Stand back up. Start with two sets of 10 reps per leg and increase to two sets of 20 reps.
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