OUR VIEW:
Open-Kinetic Chain exercises mostly target individual muscle groups for strengthening, but they increase the forces transmitted to the involved joint. Closed-Kinetic Chain activities transmit less force to the joint and often are more functional movements. For example, if you raise one of your feet off the ground, you can move that leg in any direction or sequence of movements. A Closed-Kinetic Chain activity, on the other hand, fixes the distal end of the extremity either to the ground or to a device that has a predetermined motion. When you keep your feet on the ground while you bend or straighten one joint, the other joints move in a predictable, set manner.
Closed-Kinetic Chain exercises especially for the knee seem to have the greatest value for balanced strengthening. Utilizing appropriate functional body movements (mostly Closed-Kinetic Chain) with correct technique have been shown to result in greater total body strength gains and an overall faster recovery from injury.
