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When therapeutically walking patients, one of the most concerning issues we may encounter is knee buckling. These sharp, fast, unexpected knee flexions can be difficult to counter. If you can’t stop buckling, patients may fall, and the heavier the patient, the harder it can be to counter buckling knees.

Knee buckling can be a symptom of muscular weakness—the focus of this article. Please note, however, that there can be other significant causes such as nerve conditions, patellar (knee cap) instability, torn menisci (cartilage) or anterior cruciate (ligament) injuries, medial collateral (ligament) injuries, and our perennial favorite, osteoarthritis. Notably, osteoarthritis, coupled with muscular weakness, is often the one-two punch that provokes falls.

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