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It is difficult to say that any of our training interventions will protect an athlete from injury. Certain activities can only potentially reduce the risk of its occurrence. There are many "injury prevention" programs in sports, and indeed, research shows that for the most part they can be effective enough to be worthwhile. What's more, some of these interventions are basic and relatively easy things to implement, and some of their lack of effectiveness comes mainly from a lack of consistency in their application.
When it comes to knee exercises as prevention of knee injuries, most effective training programs aimed at their prevention primarily include elements of strength training, balance / proprioceptive training and agility training. Static stretching exercises are used less frequently, probably because of their low effectiveness. Warm-up programs before the actual training also prove effective in injury prevention.
Below are examples of knee exercises with no or minimal simple equipment that, when performed regularly, including as a warm-up, can help reduce the risk of knee injuries in healthy athletes, as in the case of a knee sprain or patellar dislocation.
Knee exercises #1 - reverse Nordic curl
Starting position: kneel on both knees, feet in dorsiflexion and (alternatively) in sole flexion.
Execution: lean backward - there is flexion only in the knee joints, until a return movement is still possible without flexion in the hips; return to the starting position.
Number of series / repetitions: 2 x 5-8 in sole flexion of the feet and (or) the same number in dorsiflexion.
Knee exercises #2 - descending / ascending on the box (backward and forward).
Starting position: stance with both feet on a box / platform with a height of 25-50 cm (depending on the level of muscle strength).
Execution: lift one leg slightly and, slightly leaning forward / backward, lower it slowly to the floor behind you / in front of you, and touch it only gently with your toes and lift yourself to the starting position. Performing this exercise with lowering the leg forward is much more difficult and requires a much lower step (20-30 cm) than lowering the leg backward. If we have to push off the floor, it means that the step is too high.
Number of series / repetitions: 3-4 series x 5-10 repetitions depending on the height of the platform from which we lower the leg.
Knee exercises #3 - tripping with a kettlebell held overhead.
Starting position: standing on the floor and a light (8-12 kg) kettlebell held overhead.
Execution: holding a weight on an upright arm, perform a slow march with deep strides.
Number of series / repetitions: 4 series x 10-15 steps, a short rest, transfer the weight to the other hand and repeat the exercise a total of 2 times with a weight in each hand.
Knee exercises #4 - shin flexion in lying backward.
Starting position: lying backwards, the heel of one leg on a piece of folded cloth or felt (or special slip pads). The heel pad must rest on a low-friction floor (not, for example, on a carpet), palms resting on the floor, hips and buttocks raised.
Execution: in a uniform motion, pull the heel up under the buttock and straighten again to the starting position.
Number of series / repetitions: 4 x 6-10 repetitions for each leg
Knee exercises #5 - bipedal jumps with landing on two and one leg
Starting position: stand on the floor with feet hip-width apart.
Execution: perform a powerful jump up with a sweep of the arms and land on both feet to a full stop and maintain a stationary position. In another version, we perform a 90-degree turn during the jump. A more difficult variation of this exercise involves landing on one foot - alternately, right and left.
Number of series / repetitions: 3-4 series of 10 jumps / landings each
Knee exercises #6 - "Four sides of the world" in standing on 1 leg.
Starting position: standing on one leg.
Execution: slowly extend the straightened one leg as far forward as possible bending the stance leg, only gently resting the extended leg on the floor. Repeat the leg extension successively at 45, 90, 135 and 180 degrees (forward slant, side slant, backward slant, backward slant). The weight of the body rests on the standing leg at all times.
Number of series / repetitions: 4 series per leg. One series is 4 extensions for a single leg.
Related articles:
Learn about other possible injuries to the knee joint.
Selected literature:
- Valenzuela PL, Brunner R, Castillo-García A,et al. Br J Sports Med
Effectiveness of multicomponent lower extremity injury prevention programmes in team-sport athletes: an umbrella review
Br J Sports Med 11 October 2019.
doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-101354 - Case, MJ, Knudson, DV, and Downey, DL.
Barbell squat relative strength as an identifier for lower extremity injury in collegiate athletes.
J Strength Cond Res 2020 - Cook C.
Predicting future physical injury in sports: it’s a complicated dynamic system
Br J Sports Med 2016;50:1356–1357.
10 June 2016
Br J Sports Med 2016;50:1356–1357.
doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-096445
