“As you get stronger, you can certainly add weight, by doing some of these exercises wearing weighted vests, or holding weights if you have access to them, but that also depends on your age and your strength level,” he says. “As we get older, body weight alone tends to be best. I also tell patients to monitor worsening pain. Muscle soreness is normal, but worsening pain in the joints is not good, as that indicates something going on inside the knee that needs to be seen by a doctor.”
Overall, taking the time to do knee strengthening exercises serves as a valuable investment in your long-term health. We might take our knees for granted, but they let us walk, skip, jump and run, until they fail. As Baz Luhrmann wisely advised in the song Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen): “Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
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