Will doing knee exercises help in the long-term

They'll certainly help in many ways. They'll keep your muscles strong and supportive. This reduces pain, makes walking easier and helps balance. If you find them too easy you can always, for some, and going slowly and carefully, add weights. I used these for my straight leg raises before knee ops,. I took an old pair of oven gloves and popped weights from my kitchen scales into the pockets before wrapping them round my ankles. I built up from about 2oz per pocket to 1 1/2 lbs plus a can of tomatos😊