Quadriceps (Isometric)

Following an injury, surgery or anytime the knee has been disabled for any period of time, the quadricep muscle or thigh muscle become weak.

The muscle then has to be rigorously exercised to build its bulk and strength back up to its normal size. There are three main exercises designed to help build the muscle of the thigh. They are as follows:

1. Straight Leg Raising

Lying flat on the floor or on your bed,tighten the muscles in the thigh and flatten your knee out against the surface bending your knee. The height you raise your leg is not important but the number of times you do it is. What you will want to do is many repetitions fatiguing the muscle which helps build the strength in this area. A goal of approximately one hundred straight leg raises in the morning and evening should be pursued. Once this is easily done, a weight should be placed on the ankle approximately two to five pounds and the same procedure of straight leg raising may start again until the leg is easily raised with the weights on. The amount of weight should be slowly increased until you are able to lift ten to fifteen pounds two hundred times a day.

2. Bent Leg Raising

Sitting on a table surface with the leg bent at a ninty degree angle with the foot hanging over the side of the table, the foot should be raised till the leg straightens out. It should also be done in repetitions to fatigue the quadricep muscle. The goals are the same as the straight leg raises. First just raising the weight of the leg and after this is done easily, weights should be applied to the foot. This should also be done approximately two hundred times a day (one hundred in the morning and one hundred in the evening).

3. Hamstring Stretching and Strengthening

Lying face down on a flat surface and bending the leg at the knee, the foot should be brought backwards towards the buttocks which helps promote motion in the knee and stretching and strengthening of the hamstring muscle. This should be done again in repetitions and weights slowly should be added to help fatigue and build the muscle.