Chondromalacia

Hi all. I have worn away about 50% of the cartilage behind my knee cap. I need some cardio in my life (no access to a pool) with the repetitive motions of an elliptical or bike also being painful. Any suggestions that are more effective then just walking. I already get my 10,000 steps a day.

Replies

  • soapsandropes
    soapsandropes Posts: 269 Member
    Boxing, it is great cardio and if you can walk then you can shuffle around a bag.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    if you can handle kickboxing, that too. i know it requires movements of the knee, but it depends entirely on how forceful they are.

    i am used to this condition as well as torn acl and lcl.

    i do a lot of walking, honestly, i used to run but i cut it out because i just can't. but walking does a lot more than you would think.

    but yes, boxing all by itself, or upper body martial arts are great. i have done martial arts for a long time. i've had to adjust with knee problems, but those exercises are good cardio.
  • suzyloveskoalas
    suzyloveskoalas Posts: 20 Member
    edited August 2015
    Jump rope. There's so many ways of doing it, check out Sara Solomon on YouTube. She's got great HIIT workouts using it and weights.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    Jump rope. There's so many ways of doing it, check out Sara Solomon on YouTube. She's got great HIIT workouts using it and weights.

    i'm just going to say, coming from someone with a knee problem like this, jumping rope is ..... difficult...
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
    Jump rope. There's so many ways of doing it, check out Sara Solomon on YouTube. She's got great HIIT workouts using it and weights.

    i'm just going to say, coming from someone with a knee problem like this, jumping rope is ..... difficult...
    +1

  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
    I have Achilles tendon issues that limit my walking/biking. At my gym, they have a rebounder (mini-trampoline) set up at an angle so you can bounce a ball off of it. I use the 6 or 8 pound ball & do about 100 rebounds. Instead of a chest-level throw&catch, I use an overhead throw&catch that really gets my arms into it. Really gets the heart rate up & gets me into that deep steady respiration zone that reminds me of my running days.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    OP .I have the same problem since last three- four years. Any high impact exercise like running or jump rope etc caused pain .Squatting ,lunging,climbing stairs etc was very painful. Then , a few months back I chanced upon a Pilates video on fitness blender. I did it regularly 2-3 times a week . Now my pain is almost gone. And I have started with squats and lunges too.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    An "Arm Bike" -- good for cardio. :)
  • kcrocfer
    kcrocfer Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all. I really appreciate it :)
  • RoadtotheRAN
    RoadtotheRAN Posts: 55 Member
    You could always try cleaning, power snatching, ring rows, push press, push jerk, small ROM squats, push ups,
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    +1 do not jump rope
    if you can handle kickboxing, that too. i know it requires movements of the knee, but it depends entirely on how forceful they are.

    i am used to this condition as well as torn acl and lcl.

    i do a lot of walking, honestly, i used to run but i cut it out because i just can't. but walking does a lot more than you would think.

    but yes, boxing all by itself, or upper body martial arts are great. i have done martial arts for a long time. i've had to adjust with knee problems, but those exercises are good cardio.

    +1 - For home - there's a Jillian Michaels cardio kick box vid floating around YouTube, it's short. You could replace kicks that involve bending the knee with straight legged kicks (like in ballet). If you can you do teensy mini squats to any depth at all, you could do those instead of anything painful.