Seated Knee Extensions
Keeps the thigh strong while you stay off the foot.
What it helps
Keeps the thigh strong and the knee straightening well while you stay off your feet.
How to do it
- Sit tall in a chair with your back supported and your foot resting on a low stool.
- Straighten your knee, lifting the lower leg until it is level with your thigh.
- Hold for a moment, then lower it slowly back down to the stool.
Tips
- Let your thigh do the work — the lift comes from straightening the knee.
- Your foot can stay relaxed. There is no need to hold it in any particular position.
Commonly done as 2-3 sets of 10, once or twice a day.
Where this appears in recovery
Seated Knee Extensions is part of 37 recovery programs, most often at the immediate recovery (weeks 0–2), quad-led motion (weeks 2–6) and non-weight-bearing (weeks 2–6) stages, among others. Each program shows how it fits alongside the other movements:
- Tarsal Tunnel Release exercise guide
- Distal Fibula Fracture ORIF exercise guide
- Achilles Tendon Lengthening exercise guide
- Lapidus Bunionectomy exercise guide
- PCL Reconstruction exercise guide
- Achilles Tendon Repair exercise guide
- Subtalar Fusion exercise guide
- First MTP Fusion (Hallux Rigidus) exercise guide
- Microfracture (Knee Cartilage) exercise guide
- Ankle ORIF (Trimalleolar) exercise guide
- Achilles Tendon Reconstruction exercise guide
- MACI Cartilage Implantation exercise guide
- …and 25 more
All exercise guides · Condition guides · Recovery education
These are general exercise guides, not a personal prescription. The repetitions and frequency shown are what's commonly used — your own surgeon or therapist may advise something different, and their guidance comes first.