Need help! Bad knees

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Jocampgrl
Jocampgrl Posts: 59 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had major reconstructive knee surger 18 years ago. They said I would need replacements bt 35 and 40, I'm now 33. I used to love exercise like Jillian michaels, tae Bo, step aerobics, etc. I have recently had my 3rd baby and the stress of pregnancies has not been kind to my knees. I can do Pilates but am looking for an aerobic/cardio workout. Recently did a Leslie sans one 4 mile walk but that fatigued my knee joints. (2 days later and stairs are still pretty painful). There is not a pool by me so swimming isn't an option. Any suggestions are appreciated.

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  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Hi,

    I had knee surgery 5 years ago and bilateral hip surgery 7 and 3 months ago. The bike is my friend. I joined a gym to use their equipment. Bikes and elliptical, pool and weights.

    Good luck. I know how miserable orthopaedic issues are.
  • FitForFunKanata
    FitForFunKanata Posts: 41 Member
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    After years of Rugby wear and tear my knees are not the best either. I ride my bike.. a lot. I find it's the one exercise I can do that does not bother my knees at all. I do use the treadmill to walk/run but always ride the bike as much as possible. Keeps my knees from swelling and complaining :)
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I would suggest using an elliptical because it's weight bearing with very little joint impact. After my mom's knee reconstruction her PT's started her with a "seated elliptical" which is sort of like a hybrid between a recumbent bike and an elliptical. It was very good because it allowed her to re-train the muscle firing patterns with almost no impact, but she had to join a special gym to find one, they're not that common.

    Swimming is another good option, BUT, I would tend to favor weight-bearing exercise at least for some workouts if you can tolerate it, because of the good it does for strengthening your bones.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    when i was a freshmen in highschool, i started playing football.

    I had honestly never run much before in my life. And doubles was basically four hours of running, eat lunch, and then four more hours of running.

    within two weeks i could hardly bend my knees they were swollen and painful.

    I didn't know how to run. I MUST come down on the balls of my feet or me knees start objecting quickly. if i come down on my heal, its like the knee takes all the shock.

    i'm pretty sure marathon runners do come down on thier heel. idk, my body doesn't like it.

    the doctor also had me do leg extensions. He said this would strength the muscles and tendons that held the knee cap in one place. he said the fact that they were week allowed it to come into contact with the other bones/cartilage in the joint and creating undue friction. it helped, but i think coming down on the balls of me feet while running is whats kept me painfree ever since.

    not sure it thats going to help at all in your situation tho

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