31 years old, 201 lbs, and knee pain

amselby81

Is there hope that this knee pain will go away once the weight comes off? My knees actually haven't been too bad here lately, but I know that they can be problematic. So I've been trying to be careful. I've been doing low impact exercises, but I decided to try the 30 day shred. I started last week and I was doing great. Well, yesterday my knee started hurting me b/c my 2 year old daughter wanted me to carry her and we were doing a lot of walking around a shopping center. My knees were already hurting when I did the 30 day shred last night. This morning when I woke up, my knees were really hurting. I'm scared to do any exercises today. Should I take it easy today? Should I just do something low impact, like a Leslie Sansone dvd, or do you think even that would be too much? I hate to skip a day because I really want this weight to COME OFF!!! LOL! Ugh. I hate it!

Gizziemoto

I would try Leslie if are determined to do something but please be careful. Sometimes it is better to let it rest and apply ice or heat, which ever works for you.

I have one really bad knee and have to watch it. When mine acts up I have started doing some upper body ST with free weights or water bottles. This way I am doing something without adding stress to my knee.

this1bigdog

do something that doesn't hurt..walking is always a good start! swimming in a pool
..losing any weight helps! You might be jumping to the moon..
But you will feel the difference!
I always find it funny because now I work out with a 15 lbs weight vest...
and it feels heavy but back then I had an extra 50 lbs!
it's hard for me to imagine walking around ALL day with those 50 extra lbs!

ShaSimone

Definitely listen to your body. If your knee says no, then don't do any high impact on it for a day or so.

hungryshay

What shoes are you wearing?

sunshine_gem

I'm around the same weight and I also have knee problems. Use a good support when you're working out and it'll make a world of difference. I'm hoping less weight will make it easier too so I'm just persevering with it. Good luck!

JennWeighZen

Are you sure you're wearing footwear that provides the right support for your feet and for the exercise you're doing? Just a thought. . . I'm not sure if that can cause knee pain or not, but it's certainly something to check out, since no matter what else you try the problem will keep coming back if it's your shoes that are the problem.

Also a good 14 day run on Aleve might help.

I hate when pain (and not the "gain" kind lol) gets in the way of exercising!

Don't get discouraged! Something has to work.

KM11102011

Everything will feel better once the weight comes off.
30DS #1 complaint is knee pain.
Take it easy so you don't injure yourself. There will always be higher levels of intensity for exercise so take your time.

Leslie Sansone is a great way to stay active with a bit of cardio.
Maybe consider some strength training and read some prior threads about women who lift.

headlock_lynn

well done on your dedication to lose weight despite knee problems. We all know that carrying extra weight hurts our knees especially when we have problems anyway. I too struggle with knee problems and have found that they are much easier and I'm sleeping better with them now I've lost some weight. I have had torn knee ligaments and damaged knee caps due to various injuries as well as arthritis but I when my knees are damaged and really hurt even to walk I've found that using an exercise bike or a regular bike and going gently can give me the cardio, calorie burn and workout I need without further damaging the knee itself. Cycling puts the knee through it's regular motion without the weight bearing so is gentler on the knee. I found the knee heals more quickly too. As a RN we would get our knee surgery patients on the stationary bike day after surgery for gentle physio. Lowest gear. No pain no pushing the pedals. Use the good foot for that and it really helped prevent them stiffening up. Hope that helps a little. BTW I was 190 lbs after I had started cycling and dieting and finally plucked up the courage to weigh myself. I was probably over 200 if I'm truthful but didn't want to get on the scales until I'd lost some. I'm now 150lbs and feel much better for it.

amselby81

What shoes are you wearing?

When I was walking around carrying my daughter yesterday, I was wearing flip flops. I'm sure that's what did it. There's no support or padding in them. And like I said, they were already hurting before I did exercises yesterday. When I exercise, I wear some asic sneakers. I don't know if they're good for me or not. I didn't have them professionally fitted for me or anything. LOL!

Derpina7

Listen to your body and treat accordingly (ice/heat/elevate), but don't let it deter you from pursuing exercise! I had ACL surgery a couple of years ago, it really took a good while to build up the strength again and to this day it still bothers me sometimes.

Dauntlessness

Yes.
I was 22 when I injured myself. I have SIJD (Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction). Basically its a fancy way of saying the joint that hold my hip onto my tailbone comes out of place and affect my sciatic nerve so I have sciatica from it too. I could barely walk at th beginning. I was so overly medicated for pain I barely got out of bed some days. There was nothing the doctors could do. The surgery had a 50/50 of making it worse or better and they didn't want to take the risk. I tried everything!!! Shots, therapy, water therapy, chiro...etc. That was 9 years ago. I weened myself off the meds about a year into my injury. Now I'm on the minimum stuff the doc wants me to be on. My back came out of place 4-6 times a day, causing muscle spasms and pain. I just dealt with it thinking I would have to live with it for the rest of my life.

So...fast forward to 2 years ago. I started losing weight and going to the gym. My barely could walk 3.5 mph for 40 minutes. I had to hold on to the machine the whole time. As I started losing weight, the less pain I had. The more I pushed myself the more muscles I built. About 6 months into my journey I only had 1 incident of my back going out of place. Its hasnt gone out of place this year yet. I still have my bad days but I only have about 10% of the pain I used to. It can be reversed!

I also have Psoriatic arthritis now. Its like Rheumatoid but it targets the feet, ankles, legs, knees, spine and sometimes the hands. 2 of my toes are starting to become misshaped and have been swollen for over a year. They hurt 50% of the time now but I push through because I know what I am doing is helping. The more weight I lose, the less progressive it will be. Thats what the doc says anyhow.

I hope that helps.

ChiJenn

I'm 40 and have serious right knee trouble and pain. I have been seeing a rehab guy for 4 months every week. And I learned my lesson. I didn't listen to the docs. and kept exercising even with the sore knee and it made it worse. Now a month or so later I have listened and no knee pain for one month at least. So this is what he told me, no squats, no lunges, no running, no jogging, no jumping. Nothing strenuous on the knee at all. I was allowed to lift weights, for arms only. And I could walk, or I could do a stationary bike for 20-30 min. 3X a week that is it! Soooo boring but I did it for about a month and my knee is doing well. Now I am slowly, 3X a week doing 12 squats very slowly and 12 step ups very slowly to build up the knee muscle. so far no knee pain. You need to stop the heavy exercise, you are going to hurt yourself, listen to your body. Focus on your diet more than exercise right now until your knee feels better. I know how crappy it feels to want to work hard and you aren't physically able to, I hope you feel better soon. And let me tell you from doing arms only with free weights you will burn calories and feel strong. Push ups are great too.

ckoltun

Idk what the 30 Day Shred is but it sounds pretty intense. At the beginning of March, I challenged myself to run (jog) a whole 5k without walking breaks and have been training at least 3 days/week ever since. I'm a teacher so when school got out for the summer, I joined a gym and began going to their Cardio H2O classes but I'm getting ahead of myself. Before March, I hadn't done anything physical in approx. 15years. I was 35 and 208lbs. I "ran" for several weeks w/o any pain. Then, all of a sudden, I began having horrible pain on the inside of both legs, where my knees would touch if I put my legs together. It felt like there was no cartilage between my femur and lower leg bones. I cried then I went to Walmart for some knee braces. I didn't know what kind to get so I ended up with 4. I wore all 4 of them when I would run! I didn't intend to do that when I bought them but the flexible ones helped to hide the huge black ones so I wore the flexible, flesh-toned ones over the black ones. I was hurting even when I didn't run-pretty much all the time. I never run 2 days in a row. I kept running the best I could. Sometimes I just walked because it just hurt too much. The braces really helped me. Also I read somewhere that I should leave them on for 30min after exercising to help keep swelling down. The other things I did were ice them and take ibuprofen. Then, one day I went out on my normal routine, telling myself that I was just going to walk-nothing more-so I didn't need to wear my braces. When I got to the far end of my route, I was so bored that I decided to risk the run despite my lack of braces. I've not needed braces ever since. I've had no pain before, during, or after my runs. My pain seemed to correspond with my weight-and it was only about 10lbs or so that made all the difference. Remember, it took you a while to gain the weight so respect your body with the understanding that it's going to take a little while to get rid of that weight. The worst thing I've done though, is not keeping up with documenting everything I've eaten this summer! I've gained several pounds back even though I'm exercising at least 4 sometimes 5 days/week. I would suggest that you look into those knee braces, ice your knees (15min on/ 15min off), take ibuprofen, take a few days off, then begin again, carefully. Be sure to warm up before you workout.

OH! People also told me that I really needed to do strength training in my legs to help alleviate the stress I was putting on my joints. This can be stuff as simple as squats but I decided to consult a personal trainer for maximum results. Hope this helps. Good luck! It will get better!

amselby81

Thanks, guys! I took it easy tonight. I just did a one mile with Leslie Sansone. I then did some dumb bells exercises for my arms. I forgot that I had a Jorge Cruz book with dumb bell exercises. I think I might start incorporating those exercises in with cardio. I hate to drop the 30 Day Shred, but I don't think I will do it everyday like I'm supposed to. I just want this weight to come off ASAP!

darbylicious

Go see a good sports doc. As someone who is also 31, about 206 pounds and am currently battling my knees, getting a good medical opinion is the best thing you can do. I walked into the doctor's office and asked for a "state of the union" on my knees. After physical therapy and MRIs, it was concluded I have significant damage to the cartilage under my kneecaps, and cysts in my bone marrow. The result - no running, no high impact activities, but at least I have a really good idea of what my knees can and can't handle. So go see someone... and not your normal doc - find a really good sports doc. Good luck! And remember, knee pain means STOP, not keep going.

amselby81

Go see a good sports doc. As someone who is also 31, about 206 pounds and am currently battling my knees, getting a good medical opinion is the best thing you can do. I walked into the doctor's office and asked for a "state of the union" on my knees. After physical therapy and MRIs, it was concluded I have significant damage to the cartilage under my kneecaps, and cysts in my bone marrow. The result - no running, no high impact activities, but at least I have a really good idea of what my knees can and can't handle. So go see someone... and not your normal doc - find a really good sports doc. Good luck! And remember, knee pain means STOP, not keep going.

Oh, that's scary. You're right that if there are problems that I should get them diagnosed, but I'm so scared they might tell me that there's really bad damage. I hope not. Ugh. Gosh darn it! I wish I hadn't been overweight ever since I was 8 years old.

deannajf4

It's not a bad idea to check with a doctor... I'm the same age and weight as you, and I've dealt with bad knees even before I put on the weight (4 babies...) anyway, the doctor said that although I wasn't overweight before, I didn't have strong quads, and it made my knees operate poorly... the stronger my legs get, the less my knees hurts... so it's not so much about dropping the weight as it is getting strong legs, but again, there are so many types of knee complications, it doens't hurt to visit the doctor!!

ritmeyer

I agree with the above posters about getting your knees looked at to rule out something being wrong. Mine was just that I was overweight, so my knees hurt when I did high impact workouts. I took IBprofin and plugged away. Now I'm fine. I run 20-30 miles a week, intruct high impact fitness classes, and weight train. I also foam roll!! SOOOO important!

krisiepoo

Only you can know what your body is trying to say to you... have you ever seen a doctor about your knee pain?

I have a really bad right knee. I know what it is, patellafemoral syndrome, basically my kneecap is off center so when I exercise it hurts. I've had this for years and know from experience that when I lose weight and gain thigh muscles, it goes back into center and the pain gradually goes away.

I say this because I work through the pain, because I KNOW it's nothing too serious. If you have pain without knowing the cause, I would get it checked out to rule out anything bad.

30DS has options that are lower impact, do you do those and it still hurts?

krisiepoo

What shoes are you wearing?

When I was walking around carrying my daughter yesterday, I was wearing flip flops. I'm sure that's what did it. There's no support or padding in them. And like I said, they were already hurting before I did exercises yesterday. When I exercise, I wear some asic sneakers. I don't know if they're good for me or not. I didn't have them professionally fitted for me or anything. LOL!

Also make sure you change your shoes out... I can't remember how many miles a pair of shoes are supposed to last, like 500 or something. I know I need new shoes when my shins start hurting. New pair of shoes = no pain. so that might be something to look into as well