Question about exercising with pain!

jomamacita7

I'm new to the entire process. Had my first appointment with the doctor 3 weeks ago and hope to have my surgery around September! My problem is this.... I got myself a treadmill so that I could walk for cardio exercise. I figured since I have bad knees this would be more stable than walking outdoors, thus easier on the knees. However, my knee pain is keeping me from jumping on the treadmill. Do you continue to exercise when you're in pain or is it better to maybe wait until I take a little of the weight off, hopefully easing the knee pain some?? I'm trying to get on the treadmill and push through the pain. Just wondered what others' thoughts are on this subject.

garber6th

Personally, I am not a fan of exercising with pain, for fear of worsening the pain or causing injury. That said, I don't believe in waiting to take the weight off to start exercising. I started exercising when I was 382 lbs. I started slowly, though. If using the treadmill causes pain, try to find another exercise that won't. Sometimes walking would cause my feet and knees to hurt, so I started using the elliptical or the bike at the gym, less impact. From what I have heard there are also workouts online that you could do while sitting, but I am not sure where you would find them, maybe someone else knows?

ruqayyahsmum

swimming is a great low impact exercise

grim_traveller

Knee pain may or may not go away. It depends on how much damage you've done to them. For me, I have a usual level of pain I just have to deal with, but continuing to exercise when the pain gets worse is a bad idea.

The best exercise for me is a recumbent bike. It is easiest on the knees.

jomamacita7

Thank you all for your input! I think I"ll continue to do my strengthening exercises 3 times a week and jump on the treadmill when I'm feeling up to it. I suffer from depression and isolate myself at home, so going to a gym or the ymca would be really difficult for me and I know I just wouldn't do it. Otherwise, I'd love to try swimming or a recumbent bike.

csmccord

Ever since my Marine Corps days 10 years ago, I've had a bad left knee. It still hurt during and after exercise even after losing 100 lbs. I have found ways to mitigate it though. This is my routine:

Mon, Wed, Fri - Cardio

10 min warmup - walking 3.3 MPH with 2%-4% grade on treadmill. No pain.
10 min running at 7.9 to 8.5 MPH with 1% grade on treadmill (knee will hurt for the first 3 or 4 minutes of this)
10 min biking with RPM above 100. I shoot for about 3.6 to 3.8 miles. No pain.
10 min rowing. I shoot for 2500 m (2 min/500 m pace). Some pain.
10 min biking with RPM above 100. I shoot for 3.6 miles again. No pain.
15 min stretching - This is the important part - I use a foam roller. I roll my legs out. Start with calfs, then hanstrings (back of thigh), then quads (front of thigh). I make sure that I hit the outside of the legs well. I found that rolling the muscles around my knees really helps. After the rolling, I'll then do static stretches for each of these muscles and the groin.


Tues, Thurs - Strength Curcuit

I use a group personal trainer. It's cheap and gives me a personal trainer in a group setting. We rotate between about 15 stations doing sets of exercises. Goal is continual movement using every single muscle in the 45 - 50 minute session.

So, I do:
10 min warmup, same as cardio days.
45 minute circuit course
15 min stretching, but I don't hold the static stretches as long. Only hold about 15 seconds instead of 25 seconds.

I'll then go home, eat dinner, and within about 45 minutes of completing the work out I'll ice the knee for 20 minutes. The foam rolling and then icing REALLY, REALLY helped my knee. The addition of the extra stretching seemed to help more than the ice. The roller acts to stretch and massage the area at the same time. I can always tell how tight I am on Monday afternoons with a weekend of no exercise.

Maybe try these to start: http://www.oxygenmag.com/slideshow/8-foam-roller-exercises/


I'm not really advocating my workout, as that's the product of me spending 1.5 years in the gym and losing 147 lbs, I'm really advocating the foam rolling and stretching. I wanted to give an example of what fairly simple maintenance can help you do. Basically, you have to do the maintenance. Make sure you warm up first, then stretch AFTER the workout. Don't do static stretches while cold. Here is my disclaimer though: I'm not a trained trainer, doctor, nurse or any other exercise related professional. These are just the things that have been recommended by my trainer for me. I'll gladly pass on my experience in the hopes that it helps you.