Exercise after severe, knee injury / arthritis

pikaruka

Hi all. I've been grappling with the issue of a fall in September which exacerbated a previous football injury from Dec 2012, and the diagnosis of cartilage in one knee destroyed completely and 80% destroyed in the other knee. As a result I can't walk fast or walk for more than 10 minutes or climb stairs and cannot do the strenuous yoga that I could earlier. Apart from swimming, there isn't much I can do now and I am struggling with not being able to exercise. Has anyone else faced this kind of an issue of severe knee injury and severe arthritis onset as a result of that? If yes, (firstly, am sorry to hear it) then what kind of an exercise schedule could/did you follow that worked? Thanks.

Annie_01

There are hundreds of chair workouts on youtube. I do some of the seated chair yoga ones.

I have also done chair aerobics when my knees are bothering me. Some of them can wear me out.

There is also a site called eldergym that does gentle exercise designed for the elderly. My knees are doing fairly well right now but my back is causing me a lot of pain so I use this site sometimes.

CafeRacer808

If you haven't already done so, I strongly suggest you talk to your physician about getting a referral to a physical therapist.

I had a pretty severe knee injury during a motorcycle crash about 4 years ago. I couldn't walk for two months. When it was finally time for physical therapy, the muscles in my right leg were so atrophied that I couldn't bend my knee more than 2 degrees. My physical therapist started out really slowly with just some assisted knee bends and stepping onto and off a short box (maybe 2" high). As I progressed, he switched me to taller and taller boxes. Eventually worked my way up to the exercise bike, lunges, squats, inline leg presses, jumping side to side on a trampoline. etc. I also did this thing where I sat on a desk chair (with wheels), extended my right leg, dug my right heel into the ground, and pulled myself forward. He'd have me do laps around the office like this. After two and a half months of work, I was walking normally again. I still do many of those exercises to this day. If I don't, my knee starts to stiffen up.

successgal1

Pilates might be an option. It was always my favorite to do when tired because it's primarily done while lying on the ground. Mainly core exercise.

Muscleflex79

pikaruka wrote: »

Hi all. I've been grappling with the issue of a fall in September which exacerbated a previous football injury from Dec 2012, and the diagnosis of cartilage in one knee destroyed completely and 80% destroyed in the other knee. As a result I can't walk fast or walk for more than 10 minutes or climb stairs and cannot do the strenuous yoga that I could earlier. Apart from swimming, there isn't much I can do now and I am struggling with not being able to exercise. Has anyone else faced this kind of an issue of severe knee injury and severe arthritis onset as a result of that? If yes, (firstly, am sorry to hear it) then what kind of an exercise schedule could/did you follow that worked? Thanks.

have you seen a doctor? are you looking into treatment options? usually they want to start with antiinflamatories before considering things like cortisone, synvisc or surgery...you should check with a dr. before you start doing too much, but I've found that there are certain things I can do that cause less pain (partial squats, partial leg press, straight leg deadlift, etc.). I'm also awaiting a surgery next month.

esjones12

Sounds like you need to chat with your doctor. I'd also consult with a solid PT and Chiro.

Swimming is awesome though, and there are tons of cool things you can do including classes with "weights" and aqua jogging. I used aqua walking to help recover form a back injury and still use aqua jogging in my training routine.

SonyaCele

tons of people are struggling with serious knee issues. i have a busted up repaired bad knee. Swimming isn't always the best, in fact certain kick strokes are really bad for damaged knees. Most people with chronic knee issues take up cycling. But see a doctor first if its that bad. I've been able to successfully powerlift with my bad knee because powerlifting is slow and controlled, and building up the muscles has helped me. I dont do anything high impact , no running or jumping. those days are over for me.

sijomial

Each injury is unique - can only repeat the advice to get proper professional rehab and then exercise advice.

I lost 90% of a cartilage and a cruciate ligament 25 years ago. Three months on crutches left me with a leg like a twig and a dreadfully unstable knee. It's a vicious circle of injury causing muscle loss and instability which strips you of function but you can break out of that with patience, determination and crucially - good advice.

There's things I can't do:
Meaningful weight squats, lunges, have to limit leg press to 200kg (goes bone on bone), limited running volume, contact sports.

But:
Played tens years of competitive squash afterwards (with a bespoke knee brace).
Ran my first ever 10k.
These days cycling is my main exercise (including long distance events over 100 miles).