Stretching

• Knee injuries can take weeks or even months of rest to fully heal. It is important not to jump into rehabilitation exercises too soon after an injury occurs, or you risk hampering your recovery. You should never begin exercises while pain from an injury persists. It is wise to begin a mild regimen of stretching to test the knee and begin rebuilding flexibility and range of motion before pursuing muscle-building exercises. You can help the knee by stretching muscles such as the calf, hamstring and quadriceps. As you stretch, monitor how the muscles and knee joint feel. Once you can stretch with a full range of motion without pain, you can move on to some mild strengthening exercises.
  
  

Balance Exercise

• One of the safest ways to promote stability in the knee and ankle is to do balance exercises. To do a simple balance exercise, stand next to a chair and try to stand on one foot for a minute. This will strengthen the stabilizing muscles in your feet, lower and upper legs. If you are wobbly, place your hand on the chair for support. As your rehabilitation progresses, try staying on one foot for a minute and a half or two minutes. Another way to increase stability is to lean slightly forward, back and to either side as you stand on one foot, which forces the muscles to engage in different ways. If your knee does not feel ready to support your full weight on one foot, you can place your healthy leg on a step stool to reduce the pressure.
  
  

Knee Exercises

• Leg lifts that exercise the quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles can help strengthen the tendons that connect to the knee joint and improve stability. When coming off an injury, it is important not to use too much weight too fast. If you had a severe injury, you may want to start with basic exercises that don't involve weights. For example, lie on your back and force your heel down to the floor, which engages your quadriceps and hamstrings without moving the knee joint. Calf raises can also be done without moving the knee joint. As your recovery continues, try doing exercises like leg curls, squats and leg presses with very light weights. Progress slowly, focusing more on repetitions than on increased weight. It can take many months to reach prior levels of strength coming off a knee injury.