Believe it or not, stretching can be as beneficial to the health of your knees as exercise itself. When your muscles are tight and lack flexibility, it can cause your knee joint, and the surrounding tissues, to become atrophic, therefore exacerbating pain.
Stretching will help to keep the muscles surrounding your joints from becoming so stiff that you lose range-of-motion. If your goal is healthy and pain free knees, keeping the surrounding muscles and ligaments supple is imperative.
Here are some excellent stretches for improving the health and flexibility of your joints:
Iliotibial Band Stretch
Stand up straight and cross one leg behind the other. Lean on the front leg until you feel a stretch across the outside of the thigh. Hold this pose for a full thirty seconds, repeat five times, and then switch legs.
Quadriceps Stretch
Hold a standing position and place one hand on a counter top or chair for balance. Bend one knee back as though you were attempting to touch your heel to your bottom. Use your free hand to help pull your foot as close to your bottom as possible and hold the position for at least thirty seconds. Repeat this exercise five times with each leg.
Hamstring Stretch
Sit on the floor and extend both legs straight out in front of you. Reach your arms forward as though you were sleepwalking and bend at the waist as far as possible. Keep your knees straight and try to touch your toes. Hold the position for ten seconds before resting. Repeat the process five times.
Calf Stretch
Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Use a towel, belt, or sheet to form a loop, holding one end of the towel or belt in each hand. Place the loop around one foot (preferably between the ball of the foot and the toes). Pull the loop toward your body thereby pulling your toes toward you as well. Pull until you feel a firm but comfortable stretch in your calf. If you feel pain, stop. Hold the pose for twenty seconds and repeat five times on both legs.
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