knee pain getting me down

My advice would be to strengthen the muscles around the knees first. Things like Peterson Step-Ups, Goblet squats, etc can be done without gym weights (you just use stuff around the house). Focus on proper form. Make sure your knees don't go past your toes, etc.

Of course, going for a bike ride could be a great way to get some exercise with low impact. You could maybe look into yoga or pilates. A total gym can often be found on craigslist for under $100.

Avoid impact like jumping jacks, step aerobics, etc.

I have had knee issues for years. I've found that regular chiropractic work can really help a lot. Once you have one joint throwing off your alignment it will affect everything around it. Also make sure that your shoes are not worn out of balance. If you pronate and tend to wear them a lot to one side or the other it can put a lot of strain on your knees. For me wearing shoes like Vibram Five fingers or some other zero drop shoe was helpful. I also take a joint supplement which does help a great deal with the pain.

And don't force yourself to do things that cause you more pain and damage. I don't do any running, jumping or knee walking (a martial arts thing) anymore. I never sit on my knees or kneel for more than a few seconds. And I avoid walking down stairs or steep hills as much as possible. Up is fine, down puts pressure on my knees that fees dangerous as well as painful . But it does not stop me from doing other things. I really feel the weather when it changes and have a harder time in the winter. When I ride my horse I always use a tall mounting block both to get on and get off to avoide any shocks to the joint.

In spite of needing to be really careful with my knees I still have a very physically active life. You can too.

I also struggle with knee pain and have had a lot of success with physical therapy. I've got a lot of old injuries that I'll never undo, but my stability was very poor and I was in pain daily, especially during climbing stairs, kneeling and squatting. I learned that knee pain, offkilter kneecaps, and muscle imbalances are very common in women due to the more extreme angles associated with our pelvis to knee connection. Daily low-impact exercises specific to your needs might be very helpful to reduce your overall pain and allow you to work on things like squatting and lunges that are out of reach. I finished PT a few weeks ago, and have significantly reduced my daily pain and have been able to start doing unweighted squats, which I could never do before due to instability.

When I was first getting more active I had the best luck with water aerobics (you could also do something like water walking), biking, and ellipticals. Some machines might put you at an angle that is uncomfortable, so I've been the most active while attending a gym that has a few types to choose from. My PT taught me the value of keeping things in balance once you're active by engaging in a variety of activities that will help develop/maintain all of your leg musculature. I used to mostly just cycle, but to avoid throwing things out of whack again I now do more walking and elliptical time to balance the cycling out.

I have had a bad knee for decades, since a ski injury. The bicycle is the best overall exercise. Swimming is fabulous. Avoid impact: running, jumping. For the last couple years, I have been working with a trainer and he has been great about working with me such that now I can do lunges and squats (carefully) where I could not have before. My knee is also much more stable because the muscles in my leg are balanced and strong. Highly encourage working with a PT or knowledgeable trainer.

I'm not a trainer, but walking sounds like a great idea...and yoga? It may help with strength and some of the pain.

I have RA, and have had knee pain for years. I also developed serious damage in the right knee, so it has been recently replaced. Walking, swimming, and bike riding are highly recommended by the doc and the physical therapist. I prefer mat Pilates to yoga, but have not recovered enough to restart them. However, the core muscles I had built by doing Pilates were immensely helpful during the first 2 to 3 weeks of recovery. Yoga would probably do the same. And supportive shoes are a must for stability.

Yoga. It's amazing for the knees as it builds up your stabilizer muscles and your legs in general. I found when I start yoga then I didn't have any knee pain any longer. It also stretches out your hips, which often is the start of knee pain for me, which makes sense because your IT band gets tight when your hips are tight, which causes your knees and ankles to tweak.

My knees are in pretty sad shape, so I really have to work up to exercises and ranges of motion. Walking is good as a starter, and the elliptical is great for going faster without the impact (I will never be able to run on a treadmill). When it comes to lunges and squats, I take it easy. I don't try to make the full range of motion, I only go as far as the joints remain stable. The range of motion will slowly come over the next several weeks, without the instability, pain, etc.