Looking for the Best Exercises for Knee Clicking and Popping?
Hearing your knee click, pop, or grind when you bend, squat, or stand up can be unsettling — especially if it’s happening more often or accompanied by stiffness. In most cases, these sounds come from muscle imbalance, tight tissue, or mild tracking issues, not major damage. But over time, they can lead to pain or joint irritation if not addressed.
As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I’ve worked with many patients who experience knee clicking and popping caused by weak or tight muscles around the joint. The good news is that most people can significantly reduce these symptoms through a simple, home-based routine that focuses on mobility, strength, and joint control.
In this guide, we’ll cover two key areas:
Stretching and Mobility Exercises — to release tight structures that cause pulling or pressure around the knee.
Strengthening and Stability Exercises — to improve knee alignment and control during movement.
Before we dive in, check out our related guides:
- Exercises for Patellofemoral Pain (Runner’s Knee)
- Exercises for Knee Pain When Sitting or Driving
- Exercises for Meniscus Tear
Let’s start with stretching and mobility work to ease tension and set the stage for stronger, quieter movement.
Want a quick-reference PDF? Scroll down to the bottom of this post to grab your free printable plan!
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Stretching and Mobility Exercises for Knee Clicking and Popping
Tight muscles around the knee — particularly the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves — can pull unevenly on the kneecap or surrounding tissues, leading to clicking and popping during bending or straightening. The goal of these first exercises is to restore flexibility and balance to the muscles supporting the knee.
Perform these exercises daily.
This program was created by a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. As always, consult your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise regimen.
1. Hamstring Stretch with Strap
- Purpose: Lengthen the hamstrings to reduce tension behind the knee and improve joint motion.
- Benefits: Helps restore smooth knee bending, reduces posterior pulling, and supports better leg alignment.
- How to Do It:
- Lie on your back, loop a strap around the middle of your foot.
- Lift your leg straight upward, keeping the knee as straight as possible.
- Hold for 20 seconds, repeat 5 times.
- Helpful Link: Best Stretching Strap with loops can be found in the link below.
2. Prone Quad Stretch
- Purpose: Loosen tight quadriceps that can cause the kneecap to track unevenly.
- Benefits: Reduces tension at the front of the knee and helps decrease clicking when bending or squatting.
- How to Do It:
- Lie on your stomach and loop a strap around your ankle.
- Gently pull until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh.
- Hold for 10 seconds, repeat 10 times.
- Helpful Link: Best Stretching Strap with loops can be found in the link below.
3. Calf Stretch on Slant Board
- Purpose: Improve ankle mobility and calf flexibility to allow better knee mechanics during squatting and walking.
- Benefits: Helps the knee track smoothly and reduces joint strain from tight calves.
- How to Do It:
- Stand on a slant board with your knees straight and your heels down.
- Lean forward until you feel a strong stretch in your calves.
- Hold for 20 seconds, repeat 5 times.
- Helpful Link: Best Slant Board can be found in the link below.
4. Soft Tissue Massage (Foam Roller)
- Purpose: Release tight quads and fascia that pull on the kneecap.
- Benefits: Improves knee tracking and flexibility while reducing stiffness.
- How to Do It:
- Sit with your leg extended.
- Roll slowly over the quad with a foam roller for 2–3 minutes.
- Focus on tight or sore spots.
- Helpful Link: Best Foam Roller can be found in the link below.
Bonus: Ice Pack and TENS for Knee Clicking and Popping Relief
- Purpose: Reduce any swelling or inflammation that could be contributing to knee clicking and popping.
- Benefits: Enhances comfort and reduces inflammation after knee exercises.
- How to Use:
- Place TENS pads just over the painful area of the knee.
- Apply ice in a pillowcase for 10–15 minutes.
- Helpful Link: Best TENS Unit and Ice Packs can be found in the links below
Strengthening and Stability Exercises for Knee Clicking and Popping
Once flexibility improves, the next goal is to stabilize the knee through targeted strengthening. Weak quadriceps, glutes, or hip stabilizers can cause the kneecap to track unevenly, leading to clicking or popping. These exercises focus on rebuilding balance and control around the knee joint.
Perform these exercises 4-5 times per week.
This program was created by a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. As always, consult your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise regimen.
1. Short Arc Quad
- Purpose: Strengthen the quadriceps without putting too much stress on the joint.
- Benefits: Helps stabilize the kneecap and reduces clicking during early motion.
- How to Do It:
- Rest your knee over a foam roll while lying on your back, wrap a weight around your ankle.
- Straighten the knee by lifting your heel off the surface, pause briefly at the top.
- Repeat 15 times, complete 2 sets.
- Helpful Link: Best Ankle Weights and Foam Roll can be found in the links below.
2. Long Arc Quad
- Purpose: Strengthen the quads through a larger motion range to improve stability.
- Benefits: Reduces joint noise during sitting and standing, enhances knee extension control.
- How to Do It:
- Sit upright with your thigh supported and a weight around your ankle.
- Slowly extend your leg fully, hold briefly, then lower.
- Repeat 15 times, complete 2 sets.
- Helpful Link: Best Ankle Weights can be found in the link below.
3. Bridges with Band
- Purpose: Activate glutes and hamstrings to reduce knee strain from weak hips.
- Benefits: Improves knee alignment and overall leg strength for daily movements.
- How to Do It:
- Lie on your back with knees bent and band above knees.
- Squeeze glutes and lift hips off the floor, hold for 2 seconds at the top.
- Perform 15 repetitions and complete 2 sets.
- Helpful Link: Best Resistance Bands can be found in the link below.
4. Sidesteps With Band
- Purpose: Strengthen hip abductors to prevent inward knee collapse.
- Benefits: Encourages proper knee tracking and reduces clicking during squats and steps.
- How to Do It:
- Place a resistance band just above your knees and lower into a mini squat.
- Step sideways slowly, keeping tension in the band.
- Perform 12-15 steps in each direction, rest, and repeat 3 times.
- Helpful Link: Best loop Resistance Bands can be found in the link below.
5. Goblet Squats
- Purpose: Strengthen quadriceps, glutes, and core to support the knee in functional movement.
- Benefits: Improves movement patterns, reduces joint stress, and enhances stability.
- How to Do It:
- Hold a dumbbell close to your chest with elbows down.
- Squat down slowly, keeping your chest tall and knees aligned.
- Press through your heels to return to standing 10 times, complete 2 sets.
- Helpful Link: Best Dumbbell Weights can be found in the link below.
Looking for a simple way to stay consistent?
👉 Download the free full Exercise Program for Knee Clicking and Popping + Exercise Tracker (PDF) to follow and log your daily progress.
Best Exercises for Knee Clicking and Popping: Final Thoughts
Knee clicking and popping can be unsettling — especially if you’re worried it means something serious. In most cases, it’s simply your body’s way of signaling muscle imbalance, stiffness, or mild tracking issues around the kneecap. The good news? With the right plan, these issues are very manageable.
This guided set of physical therapy exercises for knee clicking and popping was created to help you restore balance, improve mobility, and strengthen the muscles that stabilize your knee. By combining targeted stretching with controlled strengthening, you’ll relieve excess pressure on the joint, quiet unwanted noise, and move with greater comfort and confidence.
Remember — consistency is key. Practice these movements several times a week, focus on smooth, controlled form, and avoid pushing through sharp pain. Over time, you’ll likely notice less clicking, improved joint stability, and more freedom in daily movement.
With patience and persistence, you can stop knee clicking and popping naturally, protect your joints, and get back to walking, squatting, and climbing stairs without worrying about every sound your knee makes.
Why Trust Physical Therapy Simplified for Knee Clicking and Popping Exercises?
At Physical Therapy Simplified, our mission is to provide an accessible, trustworthy source of physical therapy guidance that anyone can understand, follow, and benefit from. We want you to feel confident that you’re getting evidence-based advice and the best exercises to relieve knee clicking and popping—all designed to reduce pain and restore your highest functional potential.
This article was written by Andrew Harkins, PT, DPT, OCS, a licensed physical therapist with over twelve years of clinical experience. He is certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and he has worked with hundreds of patients recovering from knee injuries, ACL reconstructions, and chronic knee clicking or popping related to muscle imbalance and tracking dysfunction.
Andrew has also served as a teaching assistant at the University of Pittsburgh’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, where he contributed to musculoskeletal coursework with a special focus on knee rehabilitation and surgical treatment recovery strategies. His knowledge and hands-on experience ensure that the information you’re reading is not only accurate but clinically proven to help.
