Leg Workouts: Toning Thighs and Strengthening Knees

Toning legs and strengthening the knees requires targeted movements like vastus medialis exercises and lying straight leg raises. Discover safe leg workouts for bad knees and learn which cardio machines are best for joint health.

Fitness Woman Exercising Her Legs On Machine

Vastus Lateralis & Intermedius Exercises

To obtain the strongest and most attractive legs possible, special attention needs to be given to the vastus lateralis and intermedius. By targeting these two quadriceps heads while training, you develop the outer portion of your thighs and stop your knees from turning inward while squatting.

Read more →
Check podiatric

Exercises for Turf Toe

Turf toe is a metatarsalphalangeal joint sprain that affects the big toe. It is an injury to the joint and to the connective tissue between that toe and the foot. This occurs when the toe is bent backwards from the foot and commonly takes place on artificial turf or hard surfaces.

Read more →
Rehab after leg injury

Do Ankle Weights Help Tone Your Thighs?

Lifting more weight than you are able to can strain the thigh muscles. Pain, tenderness, bruising and bleeding may occur from a strain. Exercising the thighs with ankle weights reduces the chance of muscle strains, because the weights are as light as 0.5 lb.

Read more →
Torn Posterior Cruciate Ligament

Exercises for a Torn Knee Ligament

There are four main ligaments in the knee joint: lateral collateral ligament, anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament. These ligaments give strength to the knee joint, and when torn, can take several weeks or months to heal.

Read more →

The Best Exercises for Swollen Knee Soft Tissue

Soft tissue around the knee includes ligaments, tendons, muscles and other tissue that supports the joint. Injuries that may cause swelling around the knee include muscle strains, ligament sprains and tendonitis.

Read more →
Young woman stretching

How to Increase Hamstring Flexibility

Tight hamstrings don't just make the backs of your thighs ache after a long day sitting in the office -- they can also make your lower back hurt as the tight muscles pull your pelvis, putting strain on your lower back muscles.

Read more →
Legs training

Terminal Knee Extension Exercises

Knee exercises are essential for restoring mobility and strength to a painful knee, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Read more →
Stretching after jogging/excercise

Can Exercise Hurt Torn Ligaments in an Ankle?

When you tear a ligament in your ankle your injury is also know as a sprain. A severe sprain can require surgery to repair torn ligaments because your ligaments connect the bones in your ankle joint.

Read more →
Unrecognizable runner

Calf Muscle Swelling From Exercise

Exercise often puts your calves to work. This can sometimes lead to swelling in your calves, especially if you strain the muscles or injure them in some way. You can treat your calf muscle and even prevent swelling from returning with diligent care.

Read more →

Exercises to Stop the Knees from Clicking

Knee problems are common among all age groups. A clicking sound in the knee may indicate one of several issues. Overuse of the knee may irritate the bands of synovial tissue in the knee, called plicae, which can cause plica syndrome and clicking.

Read more →
Patient training with exercise ball and physiotherapist

Knee Exercises to Relieve Pressure

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is the catchall name given to symptoms of pain and pressure in the knee. This common knee problem likely is the result of the way your patella moves on the groove of the thighbone. This pain or pressure can get worse with activity or extended periods of sitting.

Read more →

Treatments & Exercises for a Hamstring Injury

Your hamstring muscles are the three muscles that comprise the back of your thigh. Your hamstrings help to bend your lower leg at the knee and pull the leg backward, meaning you use the muscles for activities that involve running, dancing and kicking.

Read more →
Male athlete doing stretching leg

Inner Thigh Adductor Exercises

The muscles within your inner thigh include the adductor brevis, adductor longus, adductor magnus and gracilis, which are referred to collectively as the hip-joint adductors. These muscles work to pull your legs toward the midline of your body -- an imaginary line that divides your body into left and right halves.

Read more →
Ladies leg in Cast being treated by a Nurse

Exercises While in Bed From a Broken Ankle

Also referred to as an ankle fracture, a broken ankle involves damaged bones and ligaments in the ankle joint. Symptoms include severe pain, swelling, bruising and inability to carry weight on the foot. A broken ankle can take several weeks or months to heal.

Read more →
girl in health club

Open Chain Exercises for the Muscles Around the Knee

Open chain exercises isolate one muscle group. The knee is a hinged joint that is supported by the quadriceps and hamstrings. When it comes to exercise selection for the knee, you have the option of doing either open chain or closed chain exercises.

Read more →
dumbbell squat woman workout at gym

Outer-Thigh Exercises

Strengthening your outer thighs, or hip abductors, with targeted exercises is beneficial; you use them each time you move your legs away from the center of your body. Ice skating, and defensive play in football and basketball come to mind.

Read more →

Care for Painful Tight Hamstrings

Your hamstrings are the three muscles than are located in the back of your thigh. The muscle group is large, running from your pelvic region to just below your knee in the lower leg. Hamstring injuries are common among athletes, pulls and strains from overworking tight hamstrings can become quite painful.

Read more →
Yoga Cobra position

Exercises for Psoas Major & Iliacus

Because of their close proximity and their tendency to work together, the psoas major and iliacus muscles are commonly referred to as the iliopsoas.

Read more →