Hurt knee interrupted workouts... I've lost all motivation

I have been right there with you for the past few months. My cardio has dwindled significantly (I can only do the recumbent bike a few times a week) but I have kept up with my lifting. And I have made sure to keep on top of how I am eating. I have lost about 15 pounds since then, so it is definitely doable. Don't panic or get down. If you need to, just go into maintenance mode until you feel better. But don't push it, otherwise you will end up in physical therapy and sidelined for a lot longer than you need to be!!!! Good luck!!!

I know what you mean about not workingout as at the moment I am having to stop running due to shin splints in my left leg and I did not want to go to the doctors but had to as it was not shifting and they told me to take pain killers a nd most of all no running for 2-4 weeks and thats been a killer for me and its only been a week but hope to be back for my 5k run next saturday as long as my leg lets me so please go to your doctor they know whats best

I wear elasticated tubular bandage on both knees when exercising as I have a problem with both knees. Using the bandages during exercise my knees are fine and do not give me any pain. Then with some exercise I just take it easy until I know they do not jar my knees too much.

You have to get treatment for the knee-some ultrasound therapy for example. Find a good sport physiotherapist. Meanwhile you can do some weights or some boxing exercises. Don't panic there are alternatives! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

For the last two months I have had chronic pain due to a shoulder injury. It doesn't take much to aggravate it so my exercise has been limited to one thirty minute walk or walk/run about every ten days. In the last two months I have lost seven pound just from keeping track of what I eat. I figured that if I'm going to be lying around watching movies and feeling sorry for myself, at least I can have a goal of losing the LAST ten pounds so that my suffering isn't a complete waste of time.

Please go to the doctor. Knowing will be much better than not knowing. Besides, if you don't go, you might be damaging it further by trying to exercise or even just walking with it hurting so much.

If a doctor tells you that you can to mild exercises, I would recommend water aerobics. I have a torn meniscus in one knee and I do both shallow and deep water aerobics throughout the week. I can also tolerate some walking, but have been advised by a doctor to steer clear of walking a 5K. Even so, there are some exercises that I can do and most likely you will find that there are some that you can do, too.

Hey guys,

So as a change up to my workout routine, I began the Insanity program a little over 3 weeks ago. I was doing great for a couple weeks and making progress and seeing results, and then last week (a week ago from wednesday) my knee, which has been hurting on and off for the last couple of years, really began to hurt. Minus a two mile run last monday, and the general walking I do during the day, I haven't been doing ANY exercise in hopes that I'll wake up and my knee will be fine (which is what has always happened before) and I'll be back to the videos. The problem is that my knee has been hurting more and more, even walking up and down stairs and sitting down, every single day. At least for a week and a half, it's been affecting my diet negatively and putting me into almost a depression because I can't workout and I mentally want to punch myself into a wall. I don't know what to do, I don't know which exercises I can do without hurting my knee more... I even tried an elliptical for a little while but it hurt because it requires I bend and unbend my knee.

I'm also afraid to see the doctor because I'm scared of being told that I can't workout for a while and I'll gain all my weight back. It was around this time last year that I stopped dieting/working out and gained all my weight back and I'm TERRIFIED of that now.

Help me.

Believe me, this is incredibly frustrating. I can't comment on what exactly is wrong with your knee, but seeing a doctor ( unless you live in the UK, where they only treat ingrowing toe-nails, coughs and colds) you will gain a better understanding, and then physiotherapy or even an osteopath can help your knee to recover and eventually heal.

It DOES feel so very frustrating..I am a new runner and suffered a knee injury that prevented me from running for 10 weeks and I missed my first half marathon....but I did seek the right treatment and did gain an understanding of what is 'over training', and now ran a half marathon 3 weeks after recovering.

Please don't do further damage by thinking you will wake up one day and your knee will be magically healed..thats not going to happen...but do seek qualified medical help and also consider doing alternative exercises whilst you recover, like swimming, bike riding etc.

good luck!

First of all ---- GO TO YOUR DOCTOR!!! You need to find out for certain what is wrong with your knee so it can be corrected and you can get back to doing the cardio you enjoy. I speak from first hand experience; I was walking 5 miles a day until one day my knee was bothering me a little. I figured I could just "walk it out"and did my usual evening 5 mile walk. By the time I finished my walk I was in tears and the next morning could not walk at all. Two x-ray and an MRI later the doctor determined I had a stress fracture at the top of my tibia. That put a 10 week hold on my walking and lower body strength training. To say I was bummed is putting it lightly. But instead of letting it stop my progress I looked for other ways to work out. I was able to find an indoor pool that I could join for a very low monthly fee and I started to swim. I found out that I loved it, I know swim and hour and a half 4 to 5 times per week. At the gym I had to stay off the treadmill and elliptical so I did 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. I hated it at first but I found if I mixed up my workout by increasing and decreasing the resistance I found I really could burn some calories and get a great cardio work out. Now that my fracture has healed and my doctor released me I have decided to combine the swimming and biking with something I've never done, running, and have started to train to do a sprint triathlon in the summer. This is something I don't think I would have ever thought of if I didn't have to find new and different ways to exercise. Therefore, I feel the fracture ended up being a blessing in the long run. So, you can make lemonade out of this or you can just suck on the lemons. Don't let this setback get you down, find a way around it and you will be stronger in the long run. You can do it!!!

I completely understand you not wanting to go to the doctor. I avoid them until it's no longer possible myself. However, if you want to find out if your knee will heal on it's own, you have to actually give it time to heal on it's own. Sounds like you are trying to push thru when it sounds like you should take some time to rest the knee. Give yourself two or three weeks of letting your knee rest and see if the pain seems to be subsiding (truthfully, it sounds like it's doctor time, but i don't know your pain threshhold so I can't say).

Second, you won't gan all your weight back because you had to lay off exercse for a while. You'll gain it back if you overeat. Budget your calories accordingly.

Best of luck.

I tore my rhomboid bad. I weight lifted around it. Sit on a bench, and lift some upper body weights!