How to Strengthen Weak Knees

The knees are under a lot of pressure throughout the day, supporting the weight of the body and absorbing the impact shock of activities such as walking, running and jumping. If you have weak knees, you may experience pain, instability or a feeling like your knees are going to give out while you are exercising or doing other activities. By developing the muscles around the knees, however, it is possible to strengthen your weak knees and prevent these problems.

Leg Muscle Exercises

• Performing exercises that focus on muscles in the legs, such as the quadriceps and hamstrings, strengthens those muscles and their connective tissues. As they become stronger, the muscles are better able to move and hold the knee securely and the knee becomes stronger as well. Exercises that may help to develop these muscles include ball squeeze squats, long-step lunges, hamstring curls and other exercises that provide a workout to the muscles that surround the knee.

Hip Abductor Exercises

• The muscles of the hips can have a significant impact on the positioning and movement of the knees. Research performed at the University of Calgary in 2011 found that if the hip abductor muscles are weak, the knees can shift during running and other exercises. Performing exercises such as resistance band lateral walks and the clamshell, which strengthen the hip abductor muscles, gives you more control over your hip movements, reducing the shifting of your knees and improving your overall balance as well.

Range of Motion Exercises

• Exercises designed to increase your range of motion can strengthen the knees by strengthening the muscles that surround them and making the connective tissues of the knees less prone to injury. The flexibility of your knees will increase as well, reducing the likelihood of injury due to stiff joints. Range of motion exercises that help develop the knees include knee extensions, seated saddlebags, wall slides and knee flexion exercises such as heel slides and leg hangs.

Braces and Arch Supports

• The use of knee braces and arch support insoles can strengthen the knees by reducing the movement of the patella and other parts of the knee joint, preventing injury that might otherwise weaken the knee and make knee-strengthening exercises difficult. Since the knees will move less and be under less stress while using these braces and supports, the muscles surrounding the knee will have an opportunity to grow stronger and support the knee better while the knee remains in the proper position.

Weight Loss

• Weight loss plays a large part in strengthening your knees by reducing the amount of stress placed on them from having to carry around the weight of your body. As you lose weight, the muscles surrounding your knees don't have to work as hard to keep the knee in the proper position and the likelihood for knee slippage and other injury is decreased. Losing weight can also make other methods for strengthening the knees such as exercise and body stabilization more effective.