Help! Knee Pain :(

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KhuloodF
KhuloodF Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! I'm 18 years old and I've decided to finally stop being lazy and take life into my own hands.
I weigh around 160 and want to be 145, as my height is 5'7".

I started working out the week of thanksgiving using Fitnessblender's 37 minute fat burning cardio. Just recently, I've started doing Cardio 1-2 of P90. All of a sudden, the past few days, however, my left knee has been hurting. I did a combo of these 6 times a week, with my rest day being tuesday.

At first, it was a slight pain and I thought nothing much of it, but then when I walked it hurt. So I went light on it, applied medicated oil as well as massaged in muscle rub, and this is day 2 of rest. Now the pain when I walk/go up and down the stairs has decreased significantly to the point where I don't feel it. But when I still try to do a squat, I feel pain in my left knee. Keep in mind, my right knee is perfectly ok.

Now, I hate wearing shoes so I had been exercising barefoot on my carpet. I'm not sure, but is this why my knees hurt (along with bad form/doing too much too quickly?)

I don't want to stop exercising so I just switched to a very light cardio walk/stretching/high march exercise. I can't go swimming or do ellipticals at the moment, btw. Now when I exercise, I put on my new shoes to help lighten the load.

Do you think my knee pain will subside if I continue to give it rest? How long should I continue until I can go back to my higher intensity cardio workouts? I'm just a little panicky because I don't want to permanently damage my knee :(
I really don't want to go to the doctor right now because it's only a subtle pain and is slowly receding.

Oh, and when I massage my knee, there is a joint in the side of my knee that is particularly sensitive. If I apply a lot of pressure, it hurts, but not too greatly. After the massage though, it feels much better.

I'm sorry this is so long, I'm just trying to give you all my details so I get the best help.

Replies

  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
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    You probably have Patellar Tendinitis.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patellar_tendinitis

    Ice it to the point where it goes numb. Do this several times a day. Rest it for about a week. Try Aleve pain killer. Get a knee brace.

    You're too light for it to be weight related. You are PROBABLY too young for it to be arthritis. You just had an injury. Look up some exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles around your patella. Do those often.
  • KhuloodF
    KhuloodF Posts: 5
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    So do you think it's healable for now? :(

    And how would yoga be for exercises? Will it put too much strain on my knees?
  • janessanessa
    janessanessa Posts: 299 Member
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    I agree with the patellar tendonitis, you've overworked the tendon. My recommendation would also be no exercise. When I have flares I stick to floor pilates only until it heals. Sometimes I deal with it for several weeks if I don't take it easy.
  • vwbug86
    vwbug86 Posts: 283 Member
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    Depends on the yoga position. There are a few articles on poses that will help with joint pain.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    Knee pain can be caused by trigger points in your quadriceps, hamstrings and IT band. All those muscles prop your knee in place and permit movement and flexibility.

    I suggest you get a foam roller and roll out the kinks in your legs. Then look up trigger point therapy and work on your trigger points. You can do it manually or with a tennis/lacrosse ball.
  • KhuloodF
    KhuloodF Posts: 5
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    Does the pain recede over time? Also, does that mean I should stop taking the stairs to my classes at school?
  • KhuloodF
    KhuloodF Posts: 5
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    I just iced my knee and now it's stiff and it hurts more. Is that normal? :(
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    Avoid any activities that cause pain. But do keep the joint moving - don't become sedentary. When you start exercising again, begin with 5 minutes of the video, and add 1 minute each workout. Joints & tendons take longer to strengthen than muscles.

    If it's just one knee, check if the arch of that foot is flatter than the other, when standing barefoot:

    ioPCd.jpg

    If your arches look normal, it's ok to go barefoot. When you squat, run, and jump, check that your knees aren't adducting (caving inward), and when you lunge, keep your knee behind your toes.
  • KhuloodF
    KhuloodF Posts: 5
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    I have flat feet. :( is there any way I can arc them again?

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