Four Isometric Exercises to Reduce Hip and Knee Pain

By Bijal Shah

Isometric exercises help reduce pain and improve mobility in cases like arthritis, hip pain, and knee pain. This is the first exercise that a PT will perform to assess muscle strength and level of pain. Therefore, Isometrics are not only important as pre-operative measures but also help in speedy recovery after injury or surgery. The key to isometric exercise is to have no visible movement.  Basically, you are trying to contract a muscle and hold that contraction for a few seconds in a pain-free range. Gradually, you should be able to hold the contraction for a longer period and perform a stronger contraction – this is how it progresses.   My previous article described isometric exercises in detail.  In this article, I am going to discuss important isometric exercises for hip and knee pain.  Isometric exercises that help in hip and knee pain are quads,  hip abduction and adduction, hip flexion, and hip extension.  I’ll explain each exercise in detail below. Continue reading “Four Isometric Exercises to Reduce Hip and Knee Pain”

Types of Exercise – Definitions based on required level of assistance

By Bijal Shah

Exercise is a common term used by people in a different spectrum. Some will say the workout is the same as exercise.  While this topic can be very basic for PTs, it is not so basic for other healthcare professionals.  I have been asked several times regarding the types of exercise.  Specifically,  what do they mean and what is the difference between each type.   So, let’s talk about what exercise is, and the different types based on the level of assistance required.

 exercise types Continue reading “Types of Exercise – Definitions based on required level of assistance”