Knee Arthritis Relief: 5 Strength-Building Exercises You Can Do at Home

Dealing with knee arthritis can make everyday movements like standing, walking, or climbing stairs feel like monumental tasks. The good news? Strengthening the right muscles can drastically improve your mobility and ease discomfort. In this guide, we’re walking through five practical and effective exercises to help you build strength and gain confidence in your knees. These are exactly the kind of exercises I teach my clients, and I’ll walk you through every step.

1. Pillow Chair Squat

Let’s start with a simple but powerful movement: the pillow chair squat.

You’ll need a pillow. Now, it doesn’t need to be anything fancy but just big enough to hold comfortably. Here’s what you will do: hold the pillow at your chest as you stand. As you begin to sit down, press the pillow out in front of you.

This movement isn’t just about working your legs. Pressing the pillow forward actually encourages proper mechanics by forcing your hips to go back first, which is key! As a physical therapist, I can’t tell you how often I see people bend their knees first when sitting down. That creates unnecessary stress. Whatever joint bends first takes the brunt of the load.

With the pillow squat, you’re retraining your body to let the hips lead, which is much safer and more effective for those dealing with knee arthritis. Without the pillow, you might find yourself doing that little "scrunch" move where your knees buckle forward. With the pillow, you activate more of your hips and glutes.

As you stand back up, continue to press the pillow forward, this keeps your core engaged and your form aligned. It also strengthens your hip muscles, which are essential in supporting your knees. Many people forget that the hips play a big role in knee health.

2. Step Stool Strengthener

Exercise number four (yes, we skipped ahead!) involves a step stool and is excellent for building the strength needed for stairs. Before trying this one, make sure you feel confident with the three previous exercises.

Here’s what you need: a sturdy step stool or the bottom step of a staircase. I personally love using a mini aerobic step stool because it gives you adjustable options—you can make it lower or higher depending on your strength and comfort level.

This one ramps up the difficulty because we’re starting to engage single-leg strength. You might even notice that one leg feels stronger than the other, which is totally normal. Building strength on each side helps even things out.

A big tip here: make sure your step stool is on a surface where it won’t slip. Safety always comes first.

3. Front Foot Elevated Lunge

This exercise is an elevated lunge, and it targets a ton of muscles at once.

Step one: place one foot (let’s say the left) on top of your step stool. Then, hop the right foot back so there’s about 1–2 feet between your feet. Your back heel can come off the ground—it doesn’t need to stay flat.

From here, bend both knees and then push back up. That’s the movement. Simple, right? But super effective. When you bend, your hamstrings and glutes are activated. As you push back up, your quads and hip extensors kick in.

Now, lunges can be tricky for people with knee arthritis, especially the traditional kind. But this variation gives you more control over your front knee. As you lower down, your front knee should stay in line with your ankle or slightly behind your toes.

Why does that matter? Because when your knee moves too far forward, especially if you’re already in pain, it can feel really uncomfortable. This move helps you build the tolerance and strength you need to progress safely.

And don’t forget, your hips are doing a lot of the work here too! We’re not just training the knee but we’re building a strong foundation.

Aim for 20 reps per leg, but don’t rush it. Start with 5 reps on each side. If you feel good, move to 10. Gradually build up to 20 as your strength improves.

4. Balance With A Dumbbell

This one is actually a balance exercise, but don’t underestimate it,balance is a key part of strength. You might not think balance and strength go hand-in-hand, but they absolutely do. And I’ll explain why.

First, here’s a quick safety tip: practice this in the corner of a room. That way, if you do lose your balance, you’ll have walls on two sides and something behind you to catch yourself.

You’ll need a weighted object for this one. It can be a dumbbell, a soup can, or even a water bottle. I recommend something that weighs around five pounds or less.

Stand with one foot directly in front of the other just like you’re on a tightrope. That’s the toughest version. If it’s too difficult, widen your stance a bit.

Once you find a stance where you feel steady, begin passing the weight back and forth from hand to hand. This movement makes your body work hard to stay upright as your weight shifts. You’ll feel your legs, your hips, and even your core engaging.

Balance training is often neglected, but it’s crucial, especially for movements like side-stepping, pivoting, or catching yourself from a stumble.

Focus on keeping your knees slightly bent but don’t lock them out. And keep your weight in your heels to activate your glutes and hamstrings. You’ll feel it!

Try 20 passes from hand to hand with one foot forward, then switch feet and do another 20. As you get stronger, challenge yourself to keep that narrow stance.

5. Putting It All Together

When you start integrating these movements into your daily or weekly routine, you’ll notice a change. It’s not instant, and it does take consistency, but building strength is one of the most powerful ways to combat knee arthritis.

Remember, you don’t have to master all of these in one go. Listen to your body. Try just five reps if that’s what you can handle today. Work your way up slowly.

It’s not about doing a perfect workout—it’s about building confidence in your body again.

And if you know someone dealing with knee pain who feels stuck, share this guide with them. There’s a lot of freedom waiting on the other side of strength. Let’s open the door to adventure—even with arthritis.