Proprioception exercises help in recovering injuries to the knee joint or ligaments because they force the body to adapt to the injury, avoiding that the affected area is hard pushed in daily activities such as running, walking or climbing stairs, for example.
These exercises should be done every day between 1 to 6 months, until you are able to do the exercises without losing balance or even indication of the orthopedist or physiotherapist.
Usually, knee proprioception is used to recover from sports injuries such as kicking, meniscus injury, ligament rupture or tendonitis because it allows the athlete to continue training without affecting the injured site. In addition, these exercises can also be used in recovery from orthopedic surgeries or in the simpler injuries, such as knee sprains.
How to do knee proprioception exercises
Some proprioception exercises used in knee recovery are:
- Exercise 1: Stand and lift your foot from the side opposite the injured knee, holding that position for 30 seconds and repeating 3 times. The difficulty of the exercise can be increased by placing the arms up or closing the eyes, for example;
- Exercise 2: Lie on your belly up on the floor with your feet next to a wall and, with the affected knee, hold a soccer ball against the wall. Rotate the ball with your foot without letting it drop for 30 seconds, repeating 3 times.
These exercises should, whenever possible, be guided by a physiotherapist to adapt the exercise to the specific injury and adapt to the recovery phase, increasing the results.
Here's how these types of exercises can help you recover from other injuries:
- Proprioception Exercises for Ankle Recovery
Proprioception Exercises for Shoulder Recovery
