working out with a possibly injured knee

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jackie28246
jackie28246 Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
So I pulled my knee Saturday and haven't work out, today is the first day I can walk without it hurting too much but it does still throb or ache from long periouds of sitting ( like right now at my office job) I don't want to take off 4 weeks from the gym so is there any low impact cardio I can do to keep my weight loss on track??? ( biking, treadmill with no incline, or swimming) Or do I really have to avoid the gym minus strengh training for 4 weeks? Any thoughts would be great.

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  • starcyndycyn
    starcyndycyn Posts: 65
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    Try swimming, and do Aquafit if your gym has it. I have some knee and ankle issues, but swimming and Aquafit don't hurt, and you get quite a workout! Icing and using arnica oil and icy hot after non-water exercise help me, too. Good luck with your healing! :)
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
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    my gym has one of these
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    also can do upper body weights
    swimming is good too
  • jonelaw
    jonelaw Posts: 28
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    I would suggest staying with a none weightbearing type of exercise like swimming or biking until you can walk without pain. You may need to raise the height of your bike seat if you are having diffuclty bending your knee too. Once you can walk short distances without pain, try walking on the treadmill again, without an incline, and gradually progress your time, speed and incline as your knee lets you. Good luck!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,130 Member
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    Depends on the type of injury.

    Part of my physical therapy after knee surgery was a bicycle - on the recommendation of both my surgeon and physical therapist. It keeps the knee stable while strenghthening the surrounding muscles and ligaments and tendons.

    See a doctor if it has been a couple days and it still hurts. You don't know if you are doing more harm than good by exercising - get it checked out.
  • weefreemen
    weefreemen Posts: 652 Member
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    As with the other comments, anything non weight bearing is probably okay, however, if your knee is sore just resting, you may want to have a doc look at it. I have a very bad knee which I have recently also torn my ACL and I keep it braced all the time. For recovery try keeping the knee raised, but flat and alternating ice and heat on the joint. Knees are pretty tricky and carry all out weight so please do get it checked. You may want to stabilize it as well with one of those pull on knee supports, the kind with lateral support and a hole in the middle which keeps the knee cap steady. Good luck
  • knittingbandmom
    knittingbandmom Posts: 190 Member
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    I can so feel your pain - literally! Back in April I jacked my knee up pretty bad. Several weeks after that I ended up in my doctor's office with a swollen and hot to the touch kneecap. I tore my MCL, which is mostly what they call a "ski injury" because of twisting and turning the knees. The MCL runs along the inside of the kneecap and connects the top part of the leg to the shin. I did my damage Jazzercising. She started to tell me to stay off of it and I all but threw myself on the floor and pitched a hissy fit. She said I could keep working out as long as I promised to keep everything low impact and go back and see her if it got worse. I also had to buy a knee brace. It's worked and amazingly I've lost more weight doing low impact than I did running and jumping more - go figure. I think it is harder to march hard than it is to jog. I do wear my brace, stop if it hurts, and ice my knee after every workout. In the beginning I took lots of Aleve but I rarely need it now. I also take a day off when I know I need it. Knee injuries can take for ever to heal but you'll live through this and be back in no time.

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