Heel Sitting to Kneeling
- The patient starts by sitting on their heels with the trunk erect.
- Ask the patient to find a neutral lumbar spine by rotating the pelvis toward 12:00 then 6:00 and find the midpoint.
- Instruct the patient to draw the belly in and hold a neutral lumbar spine.
- From this position and while maintaining a neutral lumbar spine, instruct the patient to rise up to a kneeling position by extending through their hips and not through the lumbar spine.
- Once in the kneeling position the patient slowly reverses back to heel sitting, again by moving through the hips and not through the back.
- Instruct the patient to repeat 3-5 times and increase the reps as their strength improves.
- This exercise helps to improve a patient’s standing tolerance and strengthen the quadriceps.
- Make sure that the patient’s lumbar spine stays neutral throughout the exercise.
![](https://www.rehablinkssystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Module-4-9b-PEN89182_A.jpg)
![](https://www.rehablinkssystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Module-4-9b-PEN89182_B.jpg)