Knee not better at all

Haven’t had much fun with my knee in the last days. Every time the pain was gone and I thought I could get back into training, the swelling and pain flared up again so I needed another few days off. I didn’t do anything big, but even two 30 minute runs within three days seemed to be too much. Bummer.

So I think I have to take things a bit slower than I planned and do a few exercises before going out for my next run. Here’s a couple of ideas that I found for strengthening the knee:

1. Front thigh (repeat 10 times)
   Contract the front thigh (knee cup should move up), hold for 10 secs
2. Leg raises (repeat 10 times)
   Lie on the back, one leg extended, the other bent at the knee. Raise the entire leg from the heel up, hold for 5 to 10 secs.
3. Backward leg raise (repeat 10 times)
   Lie on stomach, then lift one leg as high as possible, hold for 5 to 10 secs.
4. Knee bends (repeat 10 to 20 times)
   Stand with feet about shoulder wide (or closer). Bend the knees with a straight back and stop at about 90 degrees (or earlier when there is pain).

These exercises should be done for both legs (so that the uninjured leg is also strengthened) and you should slowly work up to doing them up to three times daily.

Then there are some ROM (range of motion) exercises for the knee such as these:

1. Heel prop
   Elevate your heel on a pillow and allow gravity to straighten your leg (may be done in conjunction with (1) from the strengthening exercises)
2. Prone hang
   Lie on the stomach with your knee and lower leg off the edge of your bed. Again, let gravity extend your leg.
3. Heel slides
   Lie on your back and slide your heel towards the glutes as far as possible. May use the other leg for assistance in pushing.

Hopefully, these exercises will help me get back to regular training. The good news is that swimming and biking should be much easier on the knee. While cycling is not much of an option (it’s been snowing a bit and it’s really cold outside), I might benefit from a swim focus while my knee is healing. I’ll wait a bit before making plans …