Excersice to prevent knee injury?

I have some problems with my front knee when landing simple wake jumps. It really hurts sometimes, and prevents me from going big, are there any excersices that really help decrease knee injuries?

STRETCH!

Stretch before you ride. Stretch when you don't ride. Stretch when your in front of the boob tube. Stretch. Stretch. Stretch.

ride a bike or inline/ice skate- low impact exercises. Stretching is a great idea but building leg strength is key to healthy knees!

Oh ya, and don't get old.......

ride a bike or inline/ice skate- low impact exercises. Stretching is a great idea but building leg strength is key to healthy knees!

Oh ya, and don't get old.......

and on the downside, injuries can still happen no matter what. I stretch, workout every other day and still managed to tear my left ACL last year and my right MCL this year, both while playing hockey.

I agree with tom, if your knee is gonna tear, its gonna tear. Last April I tore my ACL and meniscus and I am very healthy and have very strong legs. Again I am having some issues with my bad knee. Just try to do what you can.

Hiking, especially uphill; soccer; anything to strengthen the thigh muscles and especially the hamstring. If the muscles in your legs do not absorb the stress, the stress is going to transfer to your joints, etc.

10 yrs of devout knee stretching and exercise since my last ligament injury yet Saturday morning felt a pop on a simple W2W.

uhmm.. try really working out your quads & hams to build really strong leg muscles...(front squats, back squats, leg lifts, ham string curl,hack squats, leg press etc..)

your joints will only get as strong as your leg muscles...btw, these are huge muscle groups (4 in the front(quad),2 in the back(ham)- not to mention they are the largest in the entire body..

Streching and Hindu Squats

whats A HINDU squat?

Basically the same positioning as a squat, but unweighted, and uses high reps. You can do it with both legs, or one leg to add resistance. Sounds simple and like you could do alot, but they can kick your butt. I'll try to get some pics. Somewhat easy on the knees, much easier than regular squats, but effective

oh, ok. i understand now.

My trainer currently has me on a variety of excercises that should help. All are for creating more balance and stability. Most of the leg exercises are single leg, like single leg squats. Lots of reactive excercises. I'm on a mission to build strong ankles and knees. Talk to a trainer and get in the gym if you can.

well if you land a jump wrong and hyperextend your knee no amount of stretching and workout is going to help you from the damage that will occure from that...might want to try using a hinged knee brace

Stretching makes those tendons more limber. When something goes wrong, then the tendon will have more flex before it tears. Im not just talking about stretching before you start your run. To increase flexability you need to stretch regularly, especially if you lift weights. Bulking up can actually increase potential problems with tendons and ligaments if you don't stretch properly.

There is always a chance that your gonna get hurt regardless of the preventive measures that you take - nothing like stating the obvious.

Oh yeah, Jeff and J-Rod are right on about the type of exercises that are best for increasing joint strength. High rep exercises that utilize a full range of motion at the knee. One more exercise to add to the list. Find a sturdy ledge that is about 2 - 3 feet high. Jump off the ledge and land on your feet and absorb the landing by going into a squat position. Once you are completely squated then explode upward into a jump. This exercise will serve a couple purposes. 1) muscle memmory for landing. It will help you land jumps and absorb the shock by going into a squat. 2) This exercise will stretch the specific tendons and ligaments that are used when landing a jump. 3) The jump after the fact will help with leg strength; however, there are better ways to increase leg strength.

Also, you could hold a handle while doing this exercise so that you get a little bit more of a wakeboard feel to the exercise.

Keep in mind that a switch landing or a toeside jump landing are significanly different then a heelside landing. I find that it is a little more difficult to absorb a landing when the boat is to your back.