I hurt my knee last spring from running on pavement and then doing lunges, and now I am getting back into strength training with free weights. However, my knee is really weak for doing squats (a lot weaker than my quads and hamstrings) and still hurts to do lunges. Are there any knee strengthening exercises anyone can recommend?

Thanks

Hi Caitietee,
Without knowing what you actually did to your knee, I'd be hesitant to recommend any particular exercises. Did you see a doctor and get a diagnosis?

Mel

At the time, I also had problems with my feet. I have high arches and am forming a bunion on my right foot from running on the right hand side of the street. The doctor said getting the right foot support would cure any knee problems I had as a result from over compensating.

Is that any help??

That is great help Caitie, my DD suffers from knee problems too and we had orthotics made and she has not complained of knee problems in 2 months ... MOM is very happy!! Before hand though , we had xrays and all sorts of tests done on her knees...

You won't strengthen your knee per se, only the surrounding musculature. Do you have any ligamentous concerns? How about patellar tracking?

With no diagnosos or an ambigious one (most GP's are terrible in ortho assesments), you can easily do some closed and open chain VMO exericses. As women with increased Q angles, patellar tracking is bound to be a problem for many runners.