The Knees

Similar to the ankle being the joint of the foot and leg, the knee is the joint of the leg and thigh. The bone of the kneecap (patella) sits forward of the knee joint and provides protection for the joint. Did you know that when we walk, our knees support 1.5 times our body weight; climbing stairs is about 3-4 times our body weight and squatting about 8 times. (Fact from Marian Diamond’s Integrative Biology lectures.) The most stable position for the knee is standing as that is when the tibia and femur have the most bony contact with one another.

The knee is where the femur of the thigh meets the tibia (thicker bone) and fibula of the legs.

The patella assists the thigh by providing leverage to the quadriceps muscles on the front of the thigh.

While the knee is getting its own post here, it is certainly not an isolated body part! The knee joint works in concert with surrounding muscles to promote range of motion. The muscles that partner with the knee include the gastrocnemius at the back of the leg, and the muscles of the thigh consisting of the quadriceps at the front and hamstrings at the back.

The best way to strengthen the knees is to strengthen the muscles that interact with the them. The following especially benefit the quadriceps and hamstrings. For a calf stretch see Katy Bowman’s 2020 Exercise Advent Calendar and try the second exercise, Calf Stretch With A Twist (1 of 2).