The pain and the motion limitations caused by some knee problems may be alleviated by strengthening quadriceps. That, at least, is the opinioin of researchers at Boston University and UC San Francisco, who looked at MRIs of 265 men and women suffering from knee osteoarthritis. The scientists measured the amount of cartilage lost over periods of 15 months and 30 months, and tracked it with the participants’ quadriceps
strength. The L.A. Times reports that those who had the strongest quads had the least cartilage loss. Those with the
weakest quadriceps had about 20 percent cartilage loss over time, whereas
those with a medium amount of quadriceps strength had just slightly
more. The paper reports that the strongest group had about 60 percent less deterioration than the weakest group.
Read more in the LA Times.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 31, 2025
<>
I don’t know what “proper” means, but I’ve lived with OA for more than 20 years now, and in mild disobedience to doc’s orders, I do leg presses (squats are out), hack machine squats, and sometimes leg extensions although that’s the exercise that’s most likely to hurt. I limit them to 10 reps each, no more than three sets, more often two.
Dana’s a smart gal! Leg presses are great for quad strength and you might even add in some light stiff-legged dead lifts to balance out the upper thigh strength.
Leg Strengthening Exercises
Calf and anterior I think I got it from the balancing poses