Any suggestions for healthy exercises with a knee injury?

24601Valjean
24601Valjean Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I hurt my knee earlier this week. (it feels like a sprain but I'm not sure) and I need to lose five pounds (or one inch) by the first of August. So far as I can tell, however, the only exercise I can do is arm toning (which is nice but not very helpful) and very slow stationary biking. Also not very helpful. So I need some suggestions on workouts I can do that won't hurt my knee.


Also, since it feels like a muscle injury, (I have not been to the doctor and I won't be; I have experience with this sort of thing and all they will do is charge my eight hundred dollars to simply tell me it's not broken) my family tells me to work that muscle so it heals. I'm not sure if that's the right way to go about it, though. So I would strongly appreciate your thoughts on healthy exercises and whether to rest the knee or work it. Thank you! :drinker:

Replies

  • tklively719
    tklively719 Posts: 4 Member
    I think swimming might be ok....
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    I strongly suggest you stay off of it and just work your upper body until it's feeling better. If you try to do anything that is not recommended and supervised by a physical therapist, you may end up injuring it worse and ultimately needing surgery. The knee joint is not one to be messed with! If it's just sprained, you should be back on it soon, but then I would stick to low impact for a while and see how it does before going all out.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    You really should not be seeking or taking any advice from this forum... If you have an injury, you need medical advice or you will end up with a worse injury.
  • kw85296
    kw85296 Posts: 265 Member
    If you are not going to see a doctor ( which I strongly encourage you to do) you could maybe do some chair exercises where you could work upper body and still do some ab exercises from the sitting position. Hope it heals quickly.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I might get on the exercise bike and put it on a very easy setting. If the injury is not appreciably better in a week, go seek medical help.
    It is true that gentle movement can help some soft tissue injuries. And, it is also true that knee strains and sprains can feel worse than they actually are.
    BUT, I would definitely avoid anything likely to make a serious injury worse, and I would not wait very long before seeking medical help.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Unless you are going to go see a doctor, I would recommend doing NO exercising for now. Exercising causes muscular damage and your body is forced to divert resources to rebuilding muscle tissue as opposed to focusing on your injury. Give it another week or so and then start working it lightly.
  • analilua
    analilua Posts: 4
    Hi. I've hyper-extended both knees and suggest that if you have swelling, puffiness, or redness for longer than 2 days, have a doctor take a look. If you have something more than a sprain, the cartilage and ligaments can take a long time to heal. I didn't follow doctors orders during recovery and have had crunchy and painful knees for 25 years! There are various exercises you can take to strengthen the knee, but it first needs to recover sufficiently before you start working it out or you'll prolong the injury.
  • 24601Valjean
    24601Valjean Posts: 5
    Thank you, but I am not taking medical advice. I have found that many people here are fitness and health junkies who are likely to have injured themselves in this way before and faced a similar dilemma. Therefore, they're likely to already have the answer, which they did. :smokin:
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    Not sure how anyone could help you without a diagnosis, but good luck!

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