painful knee joints, how exercise?

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lynnsenior
lynnsenior Posts: 1
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Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?
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  • Slaintegrl
    Slaintegrl Posts: 239 Member
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    Could you maybe try exercising in a pool? Being in the water tends to make things much easier on joints!
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
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    It depends on what is available to you.
    Can you get to a pool and do water aerobics, also water walking, swimming?
    Are you stuck at home? Chair exercises with hand-held weights.

    If you can get your calories under control and take off some weight, it will be easier on your knee joints and you can get around a bit better (hopefully). If you build up the muscles that support the joints, it will take some of the pressure off the joint itself.

    Best wishes!
  • KetosisTina
    KetosisTina Posts: 197 Member
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    yeah you need something low impact. There are lots of pool stuff. I have one program that just has a modified move for anything with impact. I have a bad leg so jumping is not ideal.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Aqua aerobics would be great if you have access to a pool

    Yoga is great exercise........look for DVDs with modifiers. Maybe your local library has some

    Peggy Cappy
    Just My Size Yoga
    HeavyWeight Yoga

    Seated exercise

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xC9khisFPA
    http://www.collagevideo.com/exercise-videos/seated-exercise-exercise-videos-47
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    Low impact (swimming, elliptical, bike, etc.) or upper body exercises. Remember though, you only need a deficit to lose weight. Once the weight comes off, you might find that exercising will be much less painful for your joints.
  • camarocass
    camarocass Posts: 1
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    I have knee issues and use the elliptical machine or stationary bike as well as doing some yoga. Sometimes I walk at a brisk pace on the treadmill but it hurts some and running is out of the question.

    Getting in some weight training to shed some pounds is a good idea too; weighing less will lead to less strain on your knees. I have trouble with things like squats but building muscle anywhere will help you lose weight faster than just cardio. Good luck!
  • dep474
    dep474 Posts: 8 Member
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    If you belong to a gym the recumbent bike is good exercise for the knee. (The bikes that sit lower to the ground) Start out slow even just 5 mins. Try reading while on it, the time will go by faster.
    Good luck:smile:
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    I started out by using the recumbent, also look into omega. I started taking an omega oil with dinner every night and it helped my joint pain a lot.
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
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    I have bone on bone in my left knee currently and have had for about 3-4 years. I am too young and at the time was too overweight to have a knee replacement surgery (which I don't want anyways). I did alot of walking. Walk away the Pounds dvds by Leslie Sansone work great. You can walk in your house in place. I would wake up early and walk for 30-60 minutes in my PJs before work. I did this till I joined a gym in Jan 2013 and now do more workouts. Water workouts are great too for bad knees.
    I have lost alot of weight but am still very careful with what exercise I do with my knees. I would love to run and tried it for exercise but it is just too hard on my knee joints on the treadmill at the gym.
    My last knee "blow out" was Feb 2012 and that was the turning point for me with weight loss and after being obese all my life ( I was born fat 10 pounds!) I started the process of weight loss surgery. My knee doesn't hurt now but I am still careful what I do.
    Good luck and take it slow. Just walking 30 minutes a day will help ya!
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    You don't specify if you have a knee injury or just painful knees. I am 55 and when I started I was 100 pounds heavier than I am now. I thought my knees were going to hold me back. I began doing body weight strength training (NerdFitness.com) and after about 4 months, my knee strength had really improved.

    Flash forward 21 months - I now lift heavy and run on the treadmill. I am up to 3 miles. I NEVER thought I would be able to do these things. have another 35 - 40 pounds left to lose.

    Unless you have an injury - go slowly and strengthen your knees. You will never regret it!

    Good luck.
  • Chickee8586
    Chickee8586 Posts: 155 Member
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    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better

    Ok, before just saying suck it up, try looking at the profile and seeing how old the individual is. Exercising is harder on your body at 50+ than it is when you are in your 30s. Someday you will look back and say, gee wasn't I just the most helpful screwdriver in the toolbox?
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better

    Ok, before just saying suck it up, try looking at the profile and seeing how old the individual is. Exercising is harder on your body at 50+ than it is when you are in your 30s. Someday you will look back and say, gee wasn't I just the most helpful screwdriver in the toolbox?

    Go back and read MY post. I will be turning 56 in 7 days. So, while you might not find that helpful - I did about 21 months ago. Maybe others will too. That's the beauty of the forums - you get lots of advice.
  • Chickee8586
    Chickee8586 Posts: 155 Member
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    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better

    Ok, before just saying suck it up, try looking at the profile and seeing how old the individual is. Exercising is harder on your body at 50+ than it is when you are in your 30s. Someday you will look back and say, gee wasn't I just the most helpful screwdriver in the toolbox?

    Go back and read MY post. I will be turning 56 in 7 days. So, while you might not find that helpful - I did about 21 months ago.

    No, no, I was responding to the 31 year old who said suck it up.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better

    Ok, before just saying suck it up, try looking at the profile and seeing how old the individual is. Exercising is harder on your body at 50+ than it is when you are in your 30s. Someday you will look back and say, gee wasn't I just the most helpful screwdriver in the toolbox?

    Go back and read MY post. I will be turning 56 in 7 days. So, while you might not find that helpful - I did about 21 months ago.

    No, no, I was responding to the 31 year old who said suck it up.

    I realize that. I was just responding because I basically gave her the same advice.
  • Drevious
    Drevious Posts: 69 Member
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    Ok, I realize this advice may be extreme but hear me out...

    Try Bikram Yoga! Yes, it's really hot and sweaty. Yes, it's really hard and 90 minutes long. Yes, you will want to die during it for the first few weeks. BUT...

    Bikram Yoga will fix your knees!!! After running for 10 years (long distance), my knees were shot and I had to give up running. Then I found Bikram and do it a couple months out of the year and my knees are so great that I started running again =)

    It was developed by an Indian man named Bikram Choudhury after a weight lifting accident left him almost paralyzed. Doctors said he would never walk again. Never walk again! But instead he developed 26 yoga poses, always done in the same order, that healed his shattered knees and back!

    http://www.bikramyoga.com/Bikram/bikram.php

    Some of the poses look hard and like you can't do them if you have hurt knees, but trust me (and someone that had shattered knees when he started doing these poses) that you can do them and they will repair your knees and back =)

    Good luck!
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Why were the knees originally hurt? Will they be getting better, or is it a permanent injury? If the pain is related to inflammation of any kind, it may help to seek out a diet that helps with that. A diet that helps with inflammation and pain relief (A diet consisting o whole natural plant foods, like fruits and vegetables) will also be one that's great for energizing you for exercise and helping you heal, and helping you lose weight.
  • carissa321
    carissa321 Posts: 20
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    Not sure if anyone mentioned yet ... make sure to take your omega oils and glucosamine/chondroitin, also calcium and vitamin C. Lastly, gelatin is good for lubricating those joints :-)

    Go easy on yourself ... start slow and build up to a full length walking/swimming/exercising program. Don't just jump in and expect to do a full workout if you haven't in quite some time :-)

    I just started losing weight and working out a couple of weeks ago and found that my knees and hips hurt for the first week. The pain has gone away now. I made sure to take my vitamins and rest days along the way. Also, Lakota roll on pain relief was my best friend!!

    Good Luck!!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    Options
    Piled on the weight due to not being able to move/walk much with painful knee joints, any advice?

    Yup .... start working out! and suck it up... I had bad knees and still have joint pains but I work through it everyday. I know ... I know your pains are worse right? I can only tell you I could hardly walk at one point in time and I worked through that ... suck it up and just start and do what you can ...as the weight comes off the joints get better.... **** gets easier... life gets better and better

    Ok, before just saying suck it up, try looking at the profile and seeing how old the individual is. Exercising is harder on your body at 50+ than it is when you are in your 30s. Someday you will look back and say, gee wasn't I just the most helpful screwdriver in the toolbox?

    Go back and read MY post. I will be turning 56 in 7 days. So, while you might not find that helpful - I did about 21 months ago.

    No, no, I was responding to the 31 year old who said suck it up.

    You keep making excuses for others, I will keep proving people like you wrong. What's the point of your post? Either get back to work or get a job ... There is 0 help from your post here.

    OP; be the first 50+ year old to turn their life around you can do it just push through the pain!
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
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    Go to a doctor and make sure there is nothing seriously wrong.

    "Suck it up" is pretty horrible advice IMO. Especially when you are giving advice to someone about something as important as their knees. You can't possibly have ANY idea of what is causing this knee pain based on the info from the original post.

    "Sucking it up" through a serious injury that requires rest (or worse medical intervention) will make things way worse in the long run. I "sucked it up" through a sore foot and ended up with a serious injury that kept me off my feet for weeks.

    Yes - we all have to fight through some nagging aches and pains - but make sure you get a doctor to check up on things, so you can make an educated choice on whether or not it is something to power through.

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