Joint Hypermobility and knee pain - is it okay to keep going?

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Brownseabottles
Brownseabottles Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
I have joint hypermobility, which particularly affects my knees and wrists - this means that if I'm not careful, I can overextend them quite significantly, which can result in pain. Until 45 days ago, the only real exercise I did was walking - I have been very unfit so I've tried to build things up slowly. I started with some gentle yoga and increased my walking. I also have some light weights (up to 1.5kg) which I am using to tone my arms.

Towards the end of September, I bought a stationary bike. The first day I found ten minutes on a low resistance setting really hard, now I'm doing 30 minutes on a medium setting most days and it's manageable but tiring. I've set the height of the saddle so that my legs extend quite a way, but not quite fully straight as there is then a danger of joint overextension. However, I'm finding that I'm getting discomfort in my knees. It's not unbearable, it's like a niggling pain which lasts for a while after I stop cycling.

Is it okay just to work through this, or could I be doing my joints more damage? I really like this form of exercise, but don't want to create more problems for myself!

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  • Lian98
    Lian98 Posts: 275 Member
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    First thing you need to do is talk to your doctor. We are not medical professionals here on mfp and we don't want you to get hurt. So talk to them and just make sure everything is ok. You could try water aerobics or Aqua Zumba (more fun than it sounds!). Working out in the water is a great way to prevent injuries that you might get otherwise :-)
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    Who told you that you were hyper-mobile? If a doctor then okay, but ask for a referral to a specialist that can help you. If not, then can you give more detail on what happens with your knees at least? What happens if you try and just do a bodyweight squat, what direction do your knees go? If you squat with your feet pointed straight-ahead do they move or twist in any direction? Weight shift front or back?

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