Knee pain - will it go or should I stop?

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hazellac
hazellac Posts: 90 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new to exercise. I've only been doing 30 Day Shred for four days and went for a run today.

My knees are in agony!! Is this common? is this purely just because I have only just started and my knees aren't used to this kind of exercise? or am I doing myself damage by continuing through the pain? I really really really don't want to give up before I begin but obviously don't want to injure myself. I know there are other exercises I could do which have less impact on my knees but I think I would find it hard to find activities/work outs that I enjoy that wouldn't use my knees. Do you think knee supports of some sort would/could help?

Sorry for all the questions.
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Replies

  • gracetillman
    gracetillman Posts: 190 Member
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    I would probably wait a few days and see if the pain subsides. If it does I would start to exercise again but maybe not as intense as before. I would probably also take a supplement that helps with joints.

    If the pain persists or returns as soon as you start exercising again I would make an appointment with your doctor.
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    Stop, now!

    RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation. Don't do anything strenuous until the pain is gone then start up very gradually. If it niggles, slow down, take a step back.

    I've had a bad time with shin splint training for marathons in the past and I can tell you the last thing you want to do is ignore a pain. Try swimming, it's great low impact exercise and will still keep you fit. If the problem persists go see a doctor, they can get you some physio.
  • gracetillman
    gracetillman Posts: 190 Member
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    Posted to fast -- I meant to add --

    My knees hurt when I exercise if I do a high impact exercise. I can weight train, Zumba, Elliptical, Swim, Walk, and low impact aerobics and it is not bad at all -- if I try to run or do high impact aerobics forget about it my knees are screaming out in pain and I cannot continue.

    I know my limits and I know what I cannot do. You may need to figure it out for you as well -- assuming you don't have an injury which is why you need to wait it out a bit.
  • hazellac
    hazellac Posts: 90 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I think I knew the answer before I asked but was hoping I was wrong.

    Going to skip doing my nightly 30 Day Shred and will see what the pain is like in the morning. I think I'll still do Shred as I really enjoy it but switch the jumping jacks for something less strenuous on the knees and see if that helps.
  • harleylady2012
    harleylady2012 Posts: 10
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    Stop, now!

    RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation. Don't do anything strenuous until the pain is gone then start up very gradually. If it niggles, slow down, take a step back.

    I've had a bad time with shin splint training for marathons in the past and I can tell you the last thing you want to do is ignore a pain. Try swimming, it's great low impact exercise and will still keep you fit. If the problem persists go see a doctor, they can get you some physio.

    My knees hurt because of arthritis, walking helps mine after two knee surgeries. walking and biking are the only exercises my orthopedist recommends. Rest, elevation and ice in 20 minute intervals helps immensely. Also compression. And when they are bad I do a hot Epson salt soak before elevation and ice.
    Hope they get to feeling better.
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    Also do you have good trainers? That might help
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Posted to fast -- I meant to add --

    My knees hurt when I exercise if I do a high impact exercise. I can weight train, Zumba, Elliptical, Swim, Walk, and low impact aerobics and it is not bad at all -- if I try to run or do high impact aerobics forget about it my knees are screaming out in pain and I cannot continue.

    I know my limits and I know what I cannot do. You may need to figure it out for you as well -- assuming you don't have an injury which is why you need to wait it out a bit.

    This!^

    30 DS is high impact ...... I trade off mixed impact days with low impact days (I'm older .... so this is as much as I can handle)... YOu will need to find your limit as well.

    collagevideo.com is a website that reviews workout DVDs and rates them for impact level. If you have any questions about a particular DVD ..... look it up if you can.

    Also, to swtich out moves ...........here is a LOW impact circuit workout (it should give you some ideas) I really like the workout and Chris Frytag is very motivating

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm0C8awjNIQ
  • michail71
    michail71 Posts: 120 Member
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    Knee issues are often caused by inflexibility, shoe issues or muscle imbalances. I had problems with my hamstring tendon (behind the knee on the outside) and finding the right hamstring stretch cured the issue. Make sure the quads, IT band and hamstrings are well stretched.

    If you can anatomically pinpoint the problem the solution is usually easy to find.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Knee pain is not common. RICE em, and then make sure you are using good form, or you may run the risk of causing some permanent damage.
  • hazellac
    hazellac Posts: 90 Member
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    Also do you have good trainers? That might help

    I do 30 Day Shred barefoot but for the run I had to use a friends trainers as I didn't have time to buy any today, they were a little loose so that probably didn't help at all. Will buy some knee supports and decent trainers tomorrow and see how I get on, maybe slow down a bit and if it's not improved in a week I'll definitely go to my GP and see if he can just give my knees a once over to make sure they're okay :-)

    Thanks so much everyone for your advice.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    Google 'knee injuries' and 30DS....
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    The number one thing you should do is go to a running store and have your feet and stride analyzed (they do this for free). Then they will recommend the shoe you need. There are 3 basic types of runners: Pronators, supinators and neutrals. If you don't have the correct shoes, it will put your entire leg out of alignment and cause pain and long term damage.

    Best of luck!
  • JewelsinBigD
    JewelsinBigD Posts: 661 Member
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    You might be surprised by what is causing the pain - for example I found out that I didn't need to stop (in fact my ortho said PLEASE DONT!) I just needed to stretch - you have tendons in your knees that need stretching and if you don't stretch them they feel like you are injured or have arthritis.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
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    30DS is NOT meant to be done everyday.

    Having the right shoes for running helps too

    And resting is always a good thing, especially if you're in pain.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
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    Soreness (DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness) = normal
    Pain (ouch, ooh, yikes) = not normal

    Never train through an injury. You can train around one, though. Hurt knee? You can still train you upper body, for example. BTW, I've attempted to train through many injuries and regretted it every. single. time.
  • jessykab74
    jessykab74 Posts: 167 Member
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    Posted to fast -- I meant to add --

    My knees hurt when I exercise if I do a high impact exercise. I can weight train, Zumba, Elliptical, Swim, Walk, and low impact aerobics and it is not bad at all -- if I try to run or do high impact aerobics forget about it my knees are screaming out in pain and I cannot continue.

    I know my limits and I know what I cannot do. You may need to figure it out for you as well -- assuming you don't have an injury which is why you need to wait it out a bit.


    This is the same exact thing I was going to say. Don't give up, no your limits and listen to your body! There are so many things you can do that won't be hard on your knees.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    Please take knee pain seriously.

    I twisted my knee very gently opening a door while trying out those balance-ball style shoes and the swelling didnt go down for 5 months. Yes, months! Every day things hurt. I could hardly bend my knee by 10 am most days. I had x-rays and an MRI. I still have to be careful and pay attention to pain signals. I have a knee cap that is serratted or jagged instead of smooth and a condition called chondromalacia patella which basically causes "Abnormal "tracking" allows the kneecap (patella) to grate over the lower end of the thighbone (femur), causing chronic inflammation and pain."

    Please see your doc!
  • hazellac
    hazellac Posts: 90 Member
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    The pain is more a dull aching all in the general knee area (kind of how I imagine arthritis would feel), almost how my legs felt when I had growing pains in my legs as a teenager. It's not sore to touch or swollen or anything.
  • swat1948
    swat1948 Posts: 302 Member
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    I have had my knees replaced, and I am sure I am quite a bit older than you, but my point is I have done 30 day Shred level 1 and I do modify the jumping jacks so that the impact is less, the rest of the stuff like jumping rope doesn't hurt my knees. I just kind of bounce and keep moving as fast as they do but put out one leg at a time instead of jumping. The rule of low impact is one foot on the ground at all times. I do keep those arms moving. I would recommend that you do as much low impact as you can handle until the knee pain subsides and an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen works wonders in keeping down the pain. I have modified lots of these kinds of workouts so that I can do them and alternate with walking and elliptical. One of my favorites at the moment is Jillian's kickboxing that is on YouTube. Good luck!
  • tallulah81
    tallulah81 Posts: 15 Member
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    I'm also doing 30 DS, my trainer has told me while doing this 2 things:

    1- make sure when doing your squats, that your knees do not come over the toes... you need to push your butt out to wards the wall to avoid your toes going over your knees... or don't do a deep squat until you can do them properly...
    2-do nothing else, if you are new to exercise... that set of dvd's has so much high impact action, it's not even worth doing anything else. (Although I still walk my dogs) the only knee pain I have at this point is a bit of stiffness when I first get up, but then it goes away. My trainer said it was from the high impact nature of the dvd set.

    Biggest things to remember when embarking on a new routine: DON'T OVER DO IT!!!!

    BEST OF LUCK!!!

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