Which exercise if you have bad knee(s)?

Doing_the_unstuck

Hi all.

Like a lot of others. I decided to get fit during lockdown.

I started of well but doing anything that impacts my new brought on an injury.

I really want to keep exercising to keep fit and for the mental benefits but need ro find good routines that don't involve the knees.

I found one on you tube earlier that you do seated and then did an ab work out that did not involve any impact on my knees.

If anyone has any suggestions or has been in the same boat, I'd love to hear from you.

spiriteagle99

My husband has a TKR and was told to do stationary bike for exercise. He also walks daily. A friend with a TKR does elliptical and pool running. She also runs, but uses the other exercise to improve her fitness for long races.

Doing_the_unstuck

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

My husband has a TKR and was told to do stationary bike for exercise. He also walks daily. A friend with a TKR does elliptical and pool running. She also runs, but uses the other exercise to improve her fitness for long races.

Thanks so much. Some good food for thought there. 👍

sijomial

"Bad knees" is too vague unfortunately.
If you don't know the exact injury and feel it's more than a passing soreness then getting a proper diagnosis is the first step in making decisions.

I have had many different types of knee injury (some temporary, some permanent) and each injury needed/need different treatment and puts different restrictions on me. Some very, very granular differences such as what types of swimming kick to avoid.

A generic point - strong quad muscles in particular help support damaged knee joints. How you can strengthen your muscles isn't universal though.

In my case I can do an awful lot of some exercises with a postitive benefit and tiny amounts of other exercises which do more harm than good - less reaction from my worst knee after 100 miles cycling than 1 mile of running for example.

bakrueger61

simple man here just walk an hour split it up how ever need to or an hour at once if you can

Doing_the_unstuck

sijomial wrote: »

"Bad knees" is too vague unfortunately.
If you don't know the exact injury and feel it's more than a passing soreness then getting a proper diagnosis is the first step in making decisions.

I have had many different types of knee injury (some temporary, some permanent) and each injury needed/need different treatment and puts different restrictions on me. Some very, very granular differences such as what types of swimming kick to avoid.

A generic point - strong quad muscles in particular help support damaged knee joints. How you can strengthen your muscles isn't universal though.

In my case I can do an awful lot of some exercises with a postitive benefit and tiny amounts of other exercises which do more harm than good - less reaction from my worst knee after 100 miles cycling than 1 mile of running for example.

Thanks for your detailed response.

The knee seems to be related to the gout I suffer with. As soon as I did these exercises it triggered what was a gout attack in the knee which I had before.

I will look into to some of your suggestions.

Thanks again.

Doing_the_unstuck

bakrueger61 wrote: »

simple man here just walk an hour split it up how ever need to or an hour at once if you can

Good shout this. When I'm more up for being out and about will do this for sure.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@sijomial hit all the right stuff. Let me add some words of hope. I'm a codger-runner, and I get all sorts of aches and pains, having started only a few years back. I had to work up to jogging very slowly. First, I used the C25K app, repeating the easy workouts many times.

The Run-Walk-Run approach (which describes C25K and is also the name of a very popular book by Jeff Galloway) is very effective. You never need to progress any further toward running than your body can tolerate. In fact, you can do as @bakrueger61 says and just walk. It's all good!

The science of the knee has really progressed lately, and there is a lot you can do to make yours stronger. If you take the time to train properly, carefully, and consistently you may be able to adapt to a higher level of stress on them, even some jogging. Even online sessions with a PT could be helpful.

Best of luck and keep exercising!

Doing_the_unstuck

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

@sijomial hit all the right stuff. Let me add some words of hope. I'm a codger-runner, and I get all sorts of aches and pains, having started only a few years back. I had to work up to jogging very slowly. First, I used the C25K app, repeating the easy workouts many times.

The Run-Walk-Run approach (which describes C25K and is also the name of a very popular book by Jeff Galloway) is very effective. You never need to progress any further toward running than your body can tolerate. In fact, you can do as @bakrueger61 says and just walk. It's all good!

The science of the knee has really progressed lately, and there is a lot you can do to make yours stronger. If you take the time to train properly, carefully, and consistently you may be able to adapt to a higher level of stress on them, even some jogging. Even online sessions with a PT could be helpful.

Best of luck and keep exercising!

Thanks so much. That's really encouraging 👍

MikePfirrman

Great advice above. Just to add to it, when I was losing my weight, I went to a spinning class and pushed it too hard. My wife and I went to movie that night and she literally had to help me to the car. I could barely walk. As a man, I was embarrassed that my 150 lb wife had to practically put me on her arm and lift half of my body to the car.

Seven years later, I row 50 miles a week and lift 2X a week. The spinning classes would be "light" work for me now.

Work on losing the weight, see a doc if it's a sharp or unidentifiable pain and just move as best as you can. Tai Chi is a great way to start with sore knees and joints. It works on both fitness, balance and flexibility. With pools closed, it's a fantastic alternative to water aerobics. YouTube has a lot of Tai Chi beginner workouts.

NorthCascades

Easy cycling at high cadence and low intensity.

AnnPT77

I'm another one in the "it matters what's wrong with your knee" camp. Diagnosis, and ideally follow up physical therapy, are really useful.

With some knee problems, you can do things that hurt to the point you can tolerate, and not make the problems worse (they might even get better, depending). With other knee problems, you can very much make them worse by doing the wrong things, even burn bridges. (My rowing double partner and I both have "bad knees". The same orthopedist gave each of us completely different treatments and follow-up recommendations, because we had very different knee conditions.)

I have arthritis in both knees, and a torn meniscus in at least one (I suspect both now, but only one was imaged at the time). Quad strength is not a problem (confirmed by orthopedist and physical therapist). From physical therapy and experimentation (among other things), I've learned that with my particular conditions in the particular part(s) of the knees that are affected, I can do pretty intense straight-line hinging movements of my knees with minimal penalty, but that impact or torque (like turning on a weighted leg) will cause further degradation, sometimes very quickly. My desire is to defer surgery (which my orthopedist says is sometime in my future) as long as possible, as long as I can have a happy life meantime.

I can row (on-water and machine), bike, and spin. Despite Mike being correct that Tai Chi is great for some kinds of knee issues (there's even a "Tai Chi for arthritis" branch of it), it's a no-go for me because of the "weighted turn" issue (previously, I had studied it fairly diligently, with multiple real life teachers, for around 8 years at one point - my late husband was also a Tai Chi teacher). I can swim, though some kicks are more stressful than others. I can't do things like running, aerobic dance, leapy-jumpy exercise, or run-and-turn games like tennis or basketball . . . unless I want to head toward surgery faster.

FWIW, getting to a healthy weight made a huge reduction in my routine pain/discomfort levels and frequency, so if you aren't there yet, that would be a good plan, and that can be achieved pretty much entirely on the eating side of things.

If you're unable to see an orthopedist during shelter-at-home orders, some cautious experimentation with different exercise forms (with plenty of rest/recovery between, at first) are probably your best bet. Don't forget to use things like ice, heat, stretching, etc., according to the standard prescriptive rules, as part of recovery.

Chieflrg

I wouldn't say I have bad knees.

They are swollen and pain 24/7 from a progressive disease and I'm in my 50s so those two factors just make them a bit testy.

Resistance training which includes squats & deadlifts with submaximal intensity and a rare maximal intensity 2-3 times a year when competing is my optimal choice for a higher quality of life. I use RPE training which is in my opinion the top shelf for lowering injury risk once practiced on a regular basis.

Deedoyle9721

I'm 56 and my knees bother me too. I do low impact workouts, weight workouts and yoga etc from youtube. Here is a page full: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=easy+on+the+knees+workout

That is one thing that sucks about getting older - painful knees & joints.

Doing_the_unstuck

Thanks everyone. Honestly, your advice has been insightful and seriously helpful.