Patellar Dislocation

I have a few recommendations:

1)Where a knee brace throughout the day for a while, particularly while exercising. This will help keep your knee together as you exercise the tissues in this area, and allow freedom of movement. I like the simple Futuro branded brace I have. It is wheat colored and has no attachments or velcro like the more expensive versions. However, there is another Futuro band, which I also used, and it is black with jointed inserts along the sides. It is highly adjustable with velcro tabs to seal the top and bottom, below and above the knee, respectively. On top of those are velcro straps. I now where the simple braces whenever I train, particularly because I am an avid runner. Why not have added stability for the knees?

2)If you are supposed to strengthen inner quads, these exercises might work: a: Wide-stance squats (so that your inner thighs point more to the floor. It is like doing a slight abdominal bridge with your thighs. Do not stand so wide that it is too odd for stability. When I do them my feet are about 4 inches past my shoulders, but I also have wide shoulders. Flex your thighs during the movement. It is more intense, and you may feel the strain taken off of your knee. You need the intensity to ensure you are increasing your long-term stability. b: Leg Raises. If you've ever played hackey-sack, then you'll be familiar with this motion. Raise your inner thigh up toward your face. c: Elastic cable exercise. I think this is my favorite. You will need to figure out how to stabilize your body, but wrap one end of the cable around your ankle, and pull toward your body, thereby directing the tension to the inside of your leg, especially the thigh. I sometimes find it easier to do while lying down, and I place my other leg behind a weight, such as a piece of furniture, to keep my body from sliding. also grab a weight with the opposite hand for additional stability.

3)Find a supplement for joint health to use during your rehabilitation program.

4)Isometric squeeze. This is much more simple, and I just thought of it. Instead of purchasing one of those isolation contraptions often targeted toward females for inner thighs, buy a plastic ball from a department store. It should be one of the soft cheap ones that is typically rather colorful and stored in a wire-frame basket in the toy departments. Do repetitions of squeezing with an extended contraction. Try 8 seconds, then increase the time as you improve.

I'm betting that your quadriceps muscles are not weak--training them won't help. I will bet that your hip abductors are weak (gluteus medius), which is allowing your femur to internally rotate underneath your patella (relative dislocation). Strengthen the butt with glute exercises and work on landing mechanics with impact activities. Deep knee bending will aggravated a patella due to increased compression, so be cautious with any squatting exercise.