A heel slide restores bend to a stiff knee after an injury: lying face up, draw your heel along the floor toward you, only as far as feels okay, then push it back out, 10 times.
Not every exercise is for every patient. The ones meant for you carry a check mark on the home sheet your physician fills out; stick to those, morning and evening, every day, unless the sheet gives you a different schedule.
What are the steps for the heel slide?
- Get set: Lie face up with your legs out straight.
- Move: Slide the heel of your injured leg along the floor in toward your buttocks, letting the knee bend only as far as feels comfortable. Then slide it back out.
- How many: Go slowly. Do 10.
How does the heel slide help you recover?
Life gets hard with a knee that stays straight. Stairs, sitting in a chair and getting in and out of a car all need that bend. Heel slides win it back a little at a time.
How far your knee bends is one of the numbers we track at re-checks, so the change shows up in your record.
Which mistakes should you watch for?
- Forcing the knee past a gentle stretch.
- Lifting your heel off the floor.
- Rushing the slide back out.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a stretch, a bit of ache, or next-day stiffness is expected and fine. Stop the exercise and call us if you notice any of these:
- Sharp or stabbing pain
- Pain that jumps 2 or more points above your usual and lasts over an hour
- New numbness, tingling or weakness
- Dizziness or a change in your vision
Call 911 right away for chest pain, fainting or trouble breathing.
Why does your exercise log matter?
Each time you finish your exercises, tick the box on your log, and jot your pain number down once a day. The log rides along to every visit. Your technician adds up your days, has you demonstrate one exercise so form can be checked, and enters that tally in the visit note, right beside the treatments.
What to remember
- Heel stays on the floor.
- A gentle stretch is the limit.
- Slow in both directions.
Show us you have it: Do two heel slides for us so today’s knee bend can be noted. If any part is unclear, ask us to go over it again; there is no limit on that.
Other knee exercises in the program
This page belongs to the Gateway Midwest physician-directed physiotherapy program. On Natural Bridge Road, the physician who examined you signs each order, and no treatment runs without a physician on site.
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Same-day appointments are often available for new accident and injury patients.