Knee, Ankle & Foot: Rebuilding Functional Strength

For this talus fracture case, we are focusing on glute activation with bridging exercises. Weak glutes on the injured side are common. I tell patients to squeeze their buttocks throughout the day to re-activate the muscle, which is a simple but very effective technique.

This is the day one protocol for a comminuted talus fracture. We start by gently mobilizing the adjacent joints like the toes (phalanges) to reduce swelling. We also begin strengthening the uninjured leg and the hip and thigh muscles of the injured leg right away.

The power of consistency. This patient was struggling with a single-leg sit-to-stand after a knee injury. With encouragement and consistent exercise, you can see his amazing progress in just four days, performing the move without support.

A 14-year-old came in with a knee injury. We used a combination of dry needling to promote healing and cupping therapy to increase blood flow. Within three sessions, he was much better.

This patient spent a lot of money on different shoes thinking they were the cause of his foot pain. The real issue was his high-arched foot. A proper assessment can find the root cause, and in this case, custom insoles and specific exercises are the solution.

For this patient with knee osteoarthritis (OA), I'm performing patellar mobilizations and tibial-femoral glides to improve joint space and movement. We also do VMO activation exercises to strengthen the inner quad muscle, which is crucial for knee stability.

This 12-year-old boy had difficulty climbing stairs due to weak lower limbs and flat feet. A sedentary lifestyle is causing these problems in children. It's vital to enroll them in physical activities to ensure proper musculoskeletal development.

This is a shocking case. A patient with grade three osteoarthritis in both knees, yet he had no pain until two days ago because his muscle strength was so high from years of running and wrestling. This proves that strong muscles can protect your joints for a long time.

This is an advanced knee rehabilitation exercise. The patient is performing balance and coordination training on an unstable surface. After the initial pain is gone, we challenge the knee in stressful conditions to prepare it for daily life and prevent future injuries.