Is there any leg exercises that aren't hard on the knees??

[Zyglamail]

Here is a nice little abstract.

Cruciate ligament forces in the human knee during rehabilitation exercises.

Toutoungi DE, Lu TW, Leardini A, Catani F, O'Connor JJ.

Cambridge Consultants Ltd., Science Park, Milton Rd, Cambridge, UK.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cruciate ligament forces occurring during typical rehabilitation exercises.Design. A combination of non-invasive measurements with mathematical modelling of the lower limb.Background. Direct measurement of ligament forces has not yet been successful in vivo in humans. A promising alternative is to calculate the forces mathematically. METHODS: Sixteen subjects performed isometric and isokinetic or squat exercises while the external forces and limb kinematics were measured. Internal forces were calculated using a geometrical model of the lower limb and the "dynamically determinate one-sided constraint" analysis procedure. RESULTS: During isokinetic/isometric extension, peak anterior cruciate ligament forces, occurring at knee angles of 35-40 degrees, may reach 0.55x body-weight. Peak posterior cruciate ligament forces are lower and occur around 90 degrees. During isokinetic/isometric flexion, peak posterior cruciate forces, which occur around 90 degrees, may exceed 4x body-weight; the anterior cruciate is not loaded. During squats, the anterior cruciate is lightly loaded at knee angles up to 50 degrees, after which the posterior cruciate is loaded. Peak posterior cruciate forces occur near the lowest point of the squat and may reach 3.5x body-weight. CONCLUSIONS: For anterior cruciate injuries, squats should be safer than isokinetic or isometric extension for quadriceps strengthening, though isokinetic or isometric flexion may safely be used for hamstrings strengthening. For posterior cruciate injuries, isokinetic extension at knee angles less than 70 degrees should be safe but isokinetic flexion and deep squats should be avoided until healing is well-advanced. RELEVANCE: Good rehabilitation is vital for a successful outcome to cruciate ligament injuries. Knowledge of ligament forces can aid the physician in the design of improved rehabilitation protocols.

 

[Never Enough]

Thanks for all the info guys. Zyglamail, I will definetly look into that. What exactly did you do to your knee? +K for all you gimpy bastards!!

 

[Citruscide]

I sprained my knee pretty bad about 2 and a half months ago... and the ortho said leg extensions were the WORST... he said Leg Press was probably the best for strengthing the knee after an injury.

C

 

[ironman_845]

Leg extensions are hell on the knees, next I would say is lunges.. I have good results working my legs by doing deads and can get more of a squat type hit by doing deads with the trap bar or using dumbells.. weighted stepups don't seem to be much of a problem.. don't forget to work your calves too.. Keep in mind none of these exercises replaces squats but they are better than nothing..

 

[Zyglamail]

Thanks for all the info guys. Zyglamail, I will definetly look into that. What exactly did you do to your knee? +K for all you gimpy bastards!!

I suffered severe malnutrition when I was 16 months old (long story) which caused severe rhumetoid arthritis in my left knee, right arm and my eyes. I spent 6 month in the hospital right after that and a couple month bouts over the next couple years. The Doctors told my mother I would never walk. I still remember getting out of bed in the morning when I was 5 yrs old. My kneee would be locked solid and even the slightest muscle tension to move it felt like some digging a knif in the socket. I would hope around on one leg for the next few hours as I slowly and painfully worked the leg to get back some mobility, this went on for years and I seemed to outgrow it about the age of 9 or so. Being active, against the docs orders of course, is what I feel got me to where I am today. It occasional bothered me and has always been weaker and smaller than my good leg, but its still about 27" so thats not too shabby for something I was never supposed to be able to use

As for my training, I stick to heavy movements. Mainly squats, sometime leg presses. I dont bother with leg curls or extensions although I did them at one time. Now most of the machines at the gym dont hold enough weight on them for me anyway. For those with problems I would say stick with squats, go as low as you feel comfortable with and your quad will still get work. If you find you cant go low enough to hit the glutes nice then do leg curls which arent as bad for the knee.

 

[myasshurts]

My knees were killing me after heavy squatting for a while, so I changed to doing tons of squats without any weight at all. I do 1000 in about 30 minutes now and my legs are bigger and more cut than they have ever been. All I do besides them is leg curls. My knees are fine. You might want to give that a try.

 

[Dr.M]

I like hacks or leg presses, heavy leg curls would kill the knees. Have you tried going wider to see if that helps? Slow down the reps so you can use less weight.

 

[DaMan]

Funny my ortho and therapist told me the exact opposite when I had meniscus repair. Leg extensions are the worst thing to do after knee surgery due to the overwhelming pressure the is put on the knee cap. Goes to show you that you can't trust them

Damn, doctors are idiots... although I had a PT session and they too made me do extensions... although with pathetically little weight, so it doesn't prove anything...

Were you able to do squats after your repair? I was told not to but started doing them anyway (bodyweight) and my knee feels amazing now... all the atrophied muscles just sprung back.

 

[jdabs]

About the leg extensions being the best thing for knee problems, I think there may have been some confusion.

Extensions are the "Worst".

Now Straight Leg Lifts put the least about of strain on the knee.


What you need to do is:

1. keep you leg straight
2. Tighten your quad.
3 Lift you leg slowly toes pointing up, then lower slowly
4. Relax your leg.

5. tighten you quad again which tightens you knee and isolate your quad mucsle, and follow the above steps over and over.

You will need to do a ton of these, however they are the safest for the knee.

I'm no M.D. however I do know a little about knee problems being that I fucked my up in college 4 times and had to recooperate it each time. The nice thing was that I had a sports doc at my side the whole time.

Or get a script for physical therapy, but make sure your going to a good one.

Jdabs

 

[beefybull]

I'd say it more like "Leg Extensions CAN be the worst"

You need to realize that the toes in front of your knees rule commonly told for squats still applies. Starting with your feet too far under the seat can (and will) lead to knee problems. However, starting the exercise at a 90 deg angle or further out greatly increases the safety of this exercise.

Also, this should be one of the slowest movements you do, period. I normally dont train too slowly, but these take me 3-4 seconds per rep.

The next best thing you can do for your legs and their health is strengthening your calves and hamstrings. Your quads being much stronger than your hamstrings will lead to Patellar Tendonitis (Jumpers Knee). It sucks, I know from experience. Keeping your calves strong is important as well, I just measured mine cold, flexed, at 19". Thats almost too big, lol.