juvenile arthritis
Progression of exercises for the child with an ARTHRITIC KNEE
(Arthritis often starts in the knee and later affects other joints.)
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CONCEPTS:
1. Strengthen the muscles that straighten the knee (without strengthening those that
bend it).
2. Do not move the knee when doing exercises.
3. Keep changing the position in which you do the exercise, and add weights to
make the exercises harder as the child’s strength increases.
First exercise: leg on ground
First do the exercise without
motion lying down.
Tighten here without
moving and count to
25. Relax and repeat
10 times. Do it 3 or
4 times a day.
After a few days,
do it sitting up.
Tighten here without moving.
Second exercise: straight leg raise
1. With the leg straight, tighten the
muscles on top of the thigh (as in the
first exercise).
2. Then lift the leg without bending the knee,
and slowly count to 5 or 10.
3. Lower the leg slowly.
4. Rest.
When you lift the leg,
be sure that the knee
points up or slightly
out to the side.
Do not let knee bend at all.
(If the knee bends even a
little when you lift the leg,
it means that the muscles
here are still too weak. Go
back to first exercise.)
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When the child can do this exercise lying down without bending his knee, begin
putting weights on his leg:
first 1/2 kilo
Gradually increase
the weight to 1
kilo,
and 1 1/2
kilos.
After a few days, have him do the same exercise sitting up:*
For the weight, you
can use a small bag
full of sand.
first without
a weight.
later, with
a weight.
Again, gradually increase the weight. Begin
with half a kilo, and build up to 5 kilos.
But do not increase the weight until the
child can do the exercise at the first weight
without bending his knee.
*CAUTION: Do not do this sitting exercise if the child has arthritis in the hip, or hip
contractures. It uses the hip-bending muscles that will make the contractures worse.
disabled village children