Your Knees Are Not Wearing Out — Do This Instead of Resting, by Rachel Felber, MD on YouTube. 23 min 7 s.
- Video length
- 23 min 7 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Check for warning signs before you start. See a doctor if you have sharp pain, sudden swelling, the knee locking or giving way, or pain that wakes you at night.
Swap squats for chair squats. Sit on a sturdy chair, stand up without using your hands, then sit back down slowly. Keep the movement shallow and controlled.
Add weight before you add depth. Hold a dumbbell or band once bodyweight chair squats feel easy, rather than sinking into a deeper bend.
Swap lunges for long-step split squats. Take a long step forward, keep the front shin fairly upright, and lower straight down. A longer step puts less bend on the front knee.
Try reverse lunges if forward ones still hurt. Step back instead of forward, which usually feels gentler on the knee.
Swap high step-ups for low step-ups only. Use a low step or the bottom stair and step up slowly, pushing through the whole foot.
Swap full leg extensions for the bent half only. On the machine, straighten the knee only partway, stopping well short of a full lockout.
Add more glute work. Include bridges, hip thrusts and hamstring exercises so the muscles around the hip share the load with your knees.
Do the sit-to-stand test. Sit in a chair with arms crossed, stand and sit five times as fast as you safely can, and note the time to compare with the goal for your age.
Tips and common mistakes
Do not stop training your legs. Swapping the exercise keeps the muscle and joint strong instead of resting them.
Deep knee bends load the knee most, so keep the bend shallow and add weight rather than depth.
A wall sit held for a short, pain-free time is a simple way to build knee tolerance.
Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, and work in a range that stays comfortable.
Questions
Will loading an arthritic knee wear it out faster?
No. The video explains that normal loading supports knee health and the research does not show that sensible exercise wears the joint out. Keep the load moderate and pain-free.
How do I know if my leg strength is low for my age?
Use the sit-to-stand test: stand and sit five times from a chair as fast as you safely can and time it. Compare your result with the goal for your age group.
Can I still do squats and lunges?
Yes, but change how you do them. Chair squats and long-step split squats keep the movement while reducing the bend on the knee.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
