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Knee osteoarthritis, also called gonarthrosis, is the leading cause of chronic functional disability in developed countries. In France, this inflammatory disease of the joints, which gradually destroys the cartilage, is the leading cause of disability after 40 according to the French Association for the fight against rheumatism (Aflar).
The exercises that follow, fun and easy to perform, aim to lubricate the knee joint by heating and thinning the synovial fluid, the liquid that protects the joint and ensures its mobility.
An exercise with a skateboard
- Sit on a chair with a skateboard (borrowed from your grandson!) resting on the floor on the side of the knee you need to mobilize.
- Put your foot on the skateboard and perform knee extensions and bends. The wheels of the skateboard allow movement without constraint.
- Repeat this movement 50 times a day.
An exercise with a basketball
- Sit on a chair facing the ball, with the foot of the side to be mobilized resting on it.
- Roll the ball under your foot to extend and flex the knee with knee osteoarthritis.
- Vary the movements by also moving the ball laterally, from left to right, so as to make rotational movements of the knee.
- Repeat this movement 50 times a day.
An exercise with a low stool
- For this exercise, use a fairly low gardener’s stool type stool. Sit in front of him, and put the foot on the side to be mobilized on it.
- Without moving your foot, make a “forward lunge” movement with your body (as in fencing, that is to say, tilt the weight of the body forward by bending the supporting leg before returning to position initial). This makes it possible to perform a movement of flexion and extension of the knee.
- Keep your back straight and abs tight (suck in your navel) throughout the exercise to protect your back.
- Repeat the gesture 50 times a day.
An exercise with a gym ball
- The gym ball also called swiss ball, is a large flexible gymnastic ball 55 to 75 cm in diameter which allows you to perform movements while sitting on it. To choose the size, it is necessary that in seated position on the ball and the feet flat on the ground, your hips and your knees must form an angle of 90°.
- Sit on the ball and move it forward and then backward with your body, without moving your feet, which remain fixed on the ground. Keep your back straight and your stomach tight to protect your back. With this exercise, you work both knees.
- To vary the movement, roll it forward and to the right then forward and to the left. This makes it possible to perform rotational movements of the knees.
- Repeat this movement 50 times a day.
More info and other exercises mobilization in: The Big Book of OsteoarthritisJérôme Auger and Pr Francis Berenbaum, Eyrolles editions.
Read also :
- Infographic: the best anti-osteoarthritis foods
- Osteoarthritis: the most affected joints… and the others
- Osteoarthritis of the knee: the hope of stem cells
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