Alternate Quad stretch?
I have a client that has advanced osteoarthritis of the knee, she wants to postpone surgery as much as possible and concluded with her doctor that strength training will be optimal. I want her to stretch her quads a few time a day, however prone and side lying quad stretch is hard to reach and causes pain, the same for standing traditional quad stretch. What stretch would you recommend? P.S Hip Flexor Lunge stretch is hard for her to get off then floor
With her condition, the amount of cartilage she likely has is zero. Before any stretching is attempted be sure to increase joint temp and circulation via upright bike or alternative low weight bearing modality. Otherwise, stretching will do nothing for her if you don’t prep for it.
For individuals in this stage of OA I’d look to increase ROM through active flexibility activity. For example, swimming and low intensity, higher volume weight bearing exercise with increasing ROM. Passive stretching will be useless. With the right practitioner, PNF stretching could help, but only after adequate joint temp achieved.