knee pain and weight loss?

booty_wurk

My knees hurt a lot and it's quite a strain on them just walking upstairs at my apartment. I've never had a knee injury (other than banging them really hard on concrete when I fell at my Aunt's pool when I was 11, but I don't think that counts lol) so I know it is my mostly my weight. Anyway, does anyone have any recommendations of low impact exercises so I don't hurt them more? Also, if you also have/had knee pain due to being overweight, how much did you have to lose before you noticed a big difference or just some relief? I am wondering if I will always have bad knees or if it's something I can reverse. Thanks y'all.

alaskanaomi

I have a bad knee, not from an injury, it's just hurt since I was a little kid. Had 2 surgeries, still can't figure out what's wrong with it. I have a hard time exercising because of it. I've been working out pretty hard for the last 2 weeks, and each day my knee hurts worse and worse.

I hear a lot about how you should strenghten your quads and your muscles surrounding the knee, and that will help the knee pain. No such luck for me so far. For knee pain, I stay away from lunges and I do a lot of squats. I stay away from the treadmill and use the elliptical, or I go swimming, which is really good for the knee. I'm still working on losing lbs, I've dropped a few but it hasn't made a difference in my knee pain yet.

lives21

I lost weight about three years ago, and I think at about 35-40 pounds down and the pain magically went away. I'm sure this is different for everyone, but that's how it went for me. My knee pain came from a family game of softball 3-4 years ago where I hit the ball and got so surprised my body turned to run and my left knee didn't. It used to, and still gets tired and achy from overuse. I gained all the weight back, and eventually the knee pain came back with it. In my case tylenol/advil/aleve doesn't touch it when it aches, but when I saw the doctor she gave me some light pain meds which I still occasionally take when it gets awful enough to keep me up/ can't walk without pain. Also "technically" nothing is wrong with my knee other than the occasional swelling, but she told me that my patellas fishtail, meaning my quads weren't strong enough to keep them aligned. So although it got aggravated by an injury, it's my weight that made them weak. The doctor also gave me some isometric exercises and recommended walking. I definitely think it is something you can reverse, especially if you never had it prior to weight gain. Sorry this is so long. Good luck to you!

2bmeagain12

Sorry you're suffering from knee pain. It sucks! I have 2 tears in one of my meniscuses and am finally recovering from chondromylasia patella in the other (bruising under knee cap). In both cases, I have no injury to point to as a cause. I did used to lift very heavy (squat 140-150# free weight). I got a cortisone shot in the one with the tears and haven't any issues since.

I also got a cortisone shot for the one with the bruising. But my orthopedic doctor also prescribed physical therapy. Swimming is one of the best things you can do. I swear it was what helped me to rid most of the pain and swelling. In PT I did a lot of side to side walking with a band around my ankles, and squats using a pilates ball against a wall. I used the recumbent bike for warm ups. I did lots of step ups and step downs, frontwards and sideways. The other one I remember was standing on half a pilates ball (maybe you have one at the gym?) on one leg at a time for balance. All of those were considered strength exercises to help build up the muscles surrounding the knee cap as they were pretty shot.

While those helped me just to be able to walk without a ton of pain, losing the first 20 was a major step forward (no pun intended). I can now do my elliptical for at least 30 minutes at a time. I'm still icing from time to time, but it's sooooo much better.

Good luck!!!

monicalosesweight

I dropped about 35 pounds and got to about 150 and my knees stopped hurting and my feet also improved.

Monica

now_or_never13

Try swimming. It is incredibly low impact and great for people with joint pain. It is an amazing workout too!

Rockstar_JILL

I have lost over 80 lbs, but still have knee issues....I think I just over do it...that is my problem. Some people are just not meant to do too much....seems that I get on a roll, then I get a sore knee...I won't stop though! I won't let it stop me at all! I will keep going!!

CoderGal

So I don't have knee pain for being over weight but I have a bad back (bones are out of places they should be). It pained a lot when I first started exercising (I was sedentary) and I mean walking or anything would make it ache and I'd have a hard time sleeping. When I walked/hiked/whatever it would kill after but the more I did it the better and better it has gotten. I've went from having a hard time walking from my car to the classroom to hiking up to 20km in a day with backpacks, lugging my laptop cord books and papers around school, and regularly lifting weights. There's different kinds of pains though. If I don't give myself time to repair from the last hike I think it does me more damage then good, especially if on a calorie deficit. Keep at it, take it slow. The more you work muscles around that area the more strength they'll have to support the area that is causing pain.

danmcgarrigle5

I had a fairly bad knee injury playing soccer in Mexico as a teen. I lived there for 8th and 9th grade because my family was sent there to work. The medical care down there is... different. I should have had surgery at the time, ended up getting it 6 years later. For me the best exercise for the knee is the bike. I pop in an audiobook and pedal away for an hour. Difficulty doesn't matter so much as keeping it moving. Just enough resistance to give you a little challenge. Now I crank up the difficulty and get my cardio in that was as running wouldn't be good until I lose another 50-60 lbs at least

My main problem was I broke my knee cap in half and it healed out of alignment, along with some ligament damage and soft tissue stuff too, it was one of those horrible looking knee accidents, bent the wrong way... you know the ones. Well it doesn't help that I'm 6'5" 330lbs. So what my wonky kneecap would do is scrape against the femur and cause all sorts of trouble. Lots of people have the same problem from just not having strong enough muscles to keep everything in the right "track" so to speak. I can't do squats to this day, but I would recommend doing the leg extension machine with your toes pointed up, out, then in so you work the different parts of your quads, do the leg curls and leg press if you can't squat. Lunges would be good as well but be careful to keep you knee from going past your toes. Most of all spend time on the bike, start easy and take your time. Increase the difficulty when you can. Push yourself but not so hard that you hurt yourself. I'd expect soreness at first. Use ice for pain (some people respond better to heat)

foxro

Thanks for the post - one of the reasons why I'm here. Feet, knees and back.

shaunap3

Before I lost 30lbs my knees and lower back would KILL me constantly. I always said "it hurts too much to do that workout". But there's always ways around it. First off, you need to strengthen your leg muscles to better support your knee (an actual suggestion from my doctor), so go for walks if possible. Also, wear a well-fitting knee brace. Nothing crazy, just something to help stabilize. I bought mine at RiteAid. Not the best, but it was in my price range. Also, swimming in great for sore joints and an elliptical can be a great alternative to running/walking. Just make sure you use one that fits your stride correctly. (if it doesn't you'll be able to tell if your knee hurts) That's about the only suggestion I can think of. But don't give up just because stuff hurts and you're sore. Baby steps will eventually get you to where you want to be.

gimpygramma

I chose my user name because I the main reason I decided to lose weight was because my knees were bothering me a lot. I am older and my problem was osteoarthritis. I wasn't keen on the idea of knee replacement surgery so decided to lose weight and work on the muscles that supported the knees. I was not very overweight but every pound of body weight translates to four pounds of weight being carried by a knee. (No idea where they get this number but you will read it time and again.) I made an appointment with a physiotherapist who put together an exercise program for me.

I have always walked a lot and he suggested I pull back on that a bit. Also I was to avoid any high impact activities...(jumping, running.) I found a cheap gym and used a stationary bike, elliptical trainer and rowing machine for my cardio. Also did the exercises I had been given to strengthen my leg muscles.

I started this program in August 2012 and have lost 20 lbs. I have been pain free for months now.

Those who have responded to your question have a wide variety of experiences and different problems with their knees. That being said, while losing weight is not a guaranteed fix, it sure can't hurt and in my view is definitely worth a try. Wishing you luck with it.

pandabratt1

Two things I would suggest are a recumbent bike if you have access, and swimming. They are both low impact, and can be high calorie burners. I don't like recumbent bikes because I can never tell if I have it at the right length for me, but swimming is my new favorite choice for exercise. Just a couple ideas. I would like to believe that my knee problems will go away as I lose the weight, but I'll have to wait and see.

SanteMulberry

My knees hurt a lot and it's quite a strain on them just walking upstairs at my apartment. I've never had a knee injury (other than banging them really hard on concrete when I fell at my Aunt's pool when I was 11, but I don't think that counts lol) so I know it is my mostly my weight. Anyway, does anyone have any recommendations of low impact exercises so I don't hurt them more? Also, if you also have/had knee pain due to being overweight, how much did you have to lose before you noticed a big difference or just some relief? I am wondering if I will always have bad knees or if it's something I can reverse. Thanks y'all.

Well, you have your youth going for you--I am 65. I have lost about 52 pounds and I must say that my knees hurt a lot less but, at my age, you expect a little joint discomfort. There are supplements you can take--the best two that I have found (and I have tried them all) are bromelain (an extract from the pineapple plant) and turmeric (a bright yellow spice that they use in curry). Sometimes they come in combination products. I have found the water aerobics are great for cardio and actually make my joints feel better after a workout. I do a bit of weight lifting as well. I eat no sugar, wheat or processed food of any sort and I honestly think that this has been the most beneficial of all and really facilitated my weight loss. I still have 30-50 pounds to go but since I have totally changed my diet and exercise, I am confident that I will get there. Feel free to friend me so that you can see my food diary. I am never hungry and I lose 1/2 to 1 pound a week. I have been a yo-yo dieter for most of my life. I have been on this program for about two years and I have had no backsliding or regain.

p.s. Someone posted a link to some Youtubes today that featured very low impact aerobics (they call it "chair aerobics"). I'm going to try it. You don't need any special equipment---just a chair.

kennedyronna

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