Exercising with a bad knee?

amandanndel
amandanndel Posts: 47
in Fitness and Exercise
My Knee Story.....I have had knee pain since an injury during my track days in high school. It seems that every time I overwork it the pain comes back. The pain occurs when I bend down or go up stairs, It's a ripping like feeling which causes a feeling like it will give out. This happens after either a full week of work (I work retail including freight) or exercising more than one day in a row....

I finally went to the doctor last month who than referred me to a specialist who basically told me I had a torn meniscus.

The doctor said its not a bad tear and that I may exercise still. She wanted me to do physical therapy to build my "core." Although physical therapy seems kind of ridiculous and expensive!

So with the "go ahead" from my doctor I started running again. I have been more so jogging and doing it very slow with as little impact as I can....but I still get knee pain. I have also tried dance/aerobic DVDS which all seem to include lunging and jumping which is killer on my knee.

What are some good exercises I can do to help build my "core" leg muscles to take off some of this pain?
Thanks so much in advance...:smile:

Replies

  • WhaddoWino
    WhaddoWino Posts: 146 Member
    I am a runner with knee problems too but I found that strengthening my leg and abdominal muscles has helped considerably. Try squats.. and if you can handle it w/o pain, do lunges. Find some excellent strengthening routines for lower body and core on FitnessBlender.com. It's free and easy to search.

    Ideally, do leg and ab work 2-3 times a week. Be patient! It will take a good 6-8 weeks to really reap the benefit --and you will definitely have muscle soreness to start. In the end, you will provide more stability for your knee and you will be a fastest, stronger runner!
  • xcta
    xcta Posts: 1
    Try some Bikram Yoga. I injured both of my knees two years ago. One playing racquetball, the other running. They would be uncomfortable at night and painful if I overworked them. I began to just live with the pain after a while. I went to a Bikram yoga session with a friend and noticed I didn't wake up with an uncomfortable feeling in my knees the next morning. Continued to go 2-3 times a week for a month and my knees have gotten so much better. If I push it too far some days, it will still hurt for a day. But they both have come an incredible way from just doing Bikram yoga for that month.
  • dreppard
    dreppard Posts: 1
    I had surgery for my torn meniscus and the doctors said I'd be running again in a year. I really don't think I'll ever jog again, my knees just can't take it. Yoga has many of the same moves and stretches that I had in physical therapy in a more relaxing enviroment. Spin and cycling have the least stress on the knee's. I'll also use a mini tramp to take the stress off while doing jumping jacks or jogging in place.Squats and lunges are the worst but can at least be modified. I miss my Zumba but can usually manage low impact with modifications. Good Luck!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    need to build up the muscles that stabilize your knee?

    1. squats
    2. squats.
    3. squats.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    I am a runner with knee problems too but I found that strengthening my leg and abdominal muscles has helped considerably. Try squats.. and if you can handle it w/o pain, do lunges. Find some excellent strengthening routines for lower body and core on FitnessBlender.com. It's free and easy to search.

    Be patient! It will take a good 6-8 weeks to really reap the benefit --and you will definitely have muscle soreness to start. In the end, you will provide more stability for your knee and you will be a fastest, stronger runner!

    I completely agree with strenghtening your muscles that support the knee - weighted squats (lots of variations on this), deadlifts, lunges (if you can). Weight training is very low impact too, so you will give your knee a break while strenghthening the muscles and ligaments that support it.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I have knee problems and was to the point I couldn't really run much anymore. So I started incorporating some strength training such as lunges, tire flips, and bleacher squats. Then did heavy sprints instead of distance. Low and behold, my knees feel MUCH better than they did just a few months ago. Less pain and less "cruchy" sounds.
  • rwhawkes
    rwhawkes Posts: 117 Member
    I've been diagnosed with osteo arthritis in my right knee which looks as if it's going to prevent me from running for a while.

    I can cycle, though, and a round trip to my day job is a bit over 40km which I hope to do several times a week. That's my exercise for now.
  • 0OneTwo3
    0OneTwo3 Posts: 149 Member
    I had part of my meniscus surgically removed and thats no fun at all.

    I think you would benefit more from some physical therapy or at least some mobility work than from heavy leg-workouts or excessive amounts of running until this gets better. especially the heavy squats and sprints suggested here may only make things worse. stabilizing musculature is typically build by slow and controlled movements anyway.


    take your time warming up and maybe use knee wraps for increased stability; and go easy for a while but keep moving.

    edit: i realized a haven't given any concrete exercise tips: yoga, general mobility drills, balance board exercises, ballet or dancing in general.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Cycling is a good alternate form of cardio as is boxing and swimming.

    If you can handle weights without causing pain then go with the squats, lunges etc. as has been suggested already.

    I had knee injuries over summer and found that the only pain-free leg weights I could do were calf raises, weighted hip bridges, straight leg dead lifts and hip abductor machines. Not ideal but it seemed to keep me in good enough shape that when I recovered enough to start squatting/dead lifitng/lunging again I hadn't gone too far backwards
  • amandanndel
    amandanndel Posts: 47
    Thank you everyone for your great advice! I'm going to look into a yoga class. Also I'm def going to start some more lifting, although at this point lunges are a no go..I hope in due time I can rock them with little to no pain!!!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    So with the "go ahead" from my doctor I started running again. I have been more so jogging and doing it very slow with as little impact as I can....but I still get knee pain. I have also tried dance/aerobic DVDS which all seem to include lunging and jumping which is killer on my knee.

    What are some good exercises I can do to help build my "core" leg muscles to take off some of this pain?
    Thanks so much in advance...:smile:

    A couple of DVDs with knee exercsies

    http://www.amazon.com/Quickfix-Rx-Kneehab-Health-Miller/dp/B004Z6N6XS/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1368812172&sr=1-2&keywords=knee+rehab

    http://www.collagevideo.com/searchresults.aspx?type=all&search=knee

    Re: lowering the "impact" of jogging ... you might look into a rebounder .... this is a mini-trampoline. Some of the really inexpensive ones have a very firm bed ... while higher end (bungee cord) rebounders have more "give"
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
    I have a bad knee too. Mine probably came because of either standing with my knees locked or adjusting my hip (I have scoliosis and one hip tends to have a tendon get in the wrong place and I have to "pop" it by putting the ankle on the other knee and flexing my hip so the bent knee drops). Anyhow, when I was doing P90X, certain moves would make my knee hurt. I asked my husband to get me a knee brace. I put it on and found the moves were now painless. After using it consistently for a few weeks, I didn't need it for those moves anymore.

    That was a year and a half ago. I still have the brace, and I will put it on any time I feel like my knee is a little weak, and sometimes just because I feel like it--like if I'm doing squats and lunges with some extra weight. I figure I'd rather support it than get a worse injury.

    Since the doctor gave you the okay to exercise, this might be just what you need.

    On the other hand, I am a firm believer in physical therapy. It helped me tremendously after my last pregnancy (scoliosis + pregnancy - regular exercise = issues). But if you can't afford it, see what the brace will do for you. You can pick one up at the pharmacy for less than one physical therapy session (I think we paid $25-30 for mine). Mine is the slip-on kind with a hole in the knee. I would have preferred an adjustable kind, but I didn't have time to replace it before needing it.
  • zlauerMom
    zlauerMom Posts: 183 Member
    I think it is a mistake to skip the physical therapy. My knee guy sent me to physical therapy in the hopes of avoiding surgery. My knee was actually giving out on me at random times. After doing the full round of physical therapy, I could feel how much stronger my knee was. The doctor and therapist said I would have to do the exercises for life if I wanted to stay out of surgery. I went on to run a half and a couple of full marathons. I don't do exactly those exercises anymore but I do exercise regularly incorporating similar types of things. Yoga will be a help.

    There were a lot of different exercises-
    - Squatting against a wall like you're sitting in a chair.
    - Squatting against a wall like you're sitting in a chair with a ball between your knees.
    - Lots of other exercises squishing a ball between your knees.
    - Standing with one foot on a block or step and lowering your other foot straight down towards the floor but don't touch it and come back up.
    - Balance board type exercises.
    - Balance, balance, balance.
    - Don't ever sit down to put on and take off socks and shoes. (You'll even learn to tie them well while standing on one foot.)
    - Elastic band exercises.
  • latinlady435
    latinlady435 Posts: 33 Member
    bump...have horrible knees and extreme pain. Need to find exercises that I can do with having such bad knees

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