Knee 2 Rehab Right

Place a small towel roll under your ankle, and try to relax your leg fully. Your knee should move lower as you allow gravity to stretch the back of the knee into a more straightened position. Immediately following surgery, it is important to regain full knee extension (straightness). It is okay to work through this discomfort.

While in a lying or sitting position, do a quad set. Once your quad is engaged/firing/tightened, raise your leg with a straight knee. Keep the opposite knee bent with the foot planted on the ground. Do 3 repetitions, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat  5 times.

While in a seated position, place a towel around the ball of your foot and pull your ankle back until a stretch is felt in the calf area. Keep your knee relaxed during the stretch, your hands should be doing all of the work. Make sure you are sitting up tall and leaning forward at the waist until you feel a mild to moderate hamstring stretch. Do this for 3 minutes, 20 seconds on/10 seconds off.

In a seated position, loop a belt, towel or bed sheet, under your thigh and pull with your hands, allowing your knee into a bend as your foot slides towards your bottom.  Hold a gentle stretch and then return the leg to the original position. Do this exercise for 5 minutes.

While in a seated position, with or without a rolled towel under the heel, press the back of the knee downward into the table. Try eliminating any space under the knee.  At the same time, tighten your thigh muscle. Tighten and hold for 5 seconds and then relax for 5 seconds.  Repeat this process for 10 minutes.