I’m not into teaching “magic” exercises but this recent study showed that those with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis (OA) showed significant improvements in their knee symptoms by performing the “Heel Kicking Exercise (HKE)”
Start position: Stand on the unaffected leg and flex the other hip to 90° and fully dorsiflex the ankle
End position: Slowly extend the affected knee and hip as if kicking heel towards the floor in front of you and contract the quads
Perform 5-10 x in AM & PM
“…the HKE effectively relieves the symptom of the knee pain and restores the knee joints function in patients with moderate to severe knee OA.” – Tan et al 2025