Joint pain, is it okay to train through it?

sheenaahmed123
sheenaahmed123 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
So it's been 2 months now and I've been on a weight loss mission. I have a major problem which is making me wanting to stop training altogether, joint pain in my knees... I don't know if I should just get through it or what should I do? I'm doing so well, I've lost 11lbs so far and I really want to continue. Any advice or help anyone can give me?

Replies

  • Dan_Runs_In_Sandals
    Dan_Runs_In_Sandals Posts: 6 Member
    That's a tough one, since ideally you want to figure out if the joint pain is due to injury or overuse or some other cause. I think one way to test is to try and use a massage ball or foam roller to see if your hamstrings, quads, IT band, or other parts are sore, because if those muscles are sore, then it will put extra pressure on your knees. You've got meniscus, cartilidge, tendons, etc, in your knee, and you want to keep them healthy so you can keep exercising long term and don't have to stop or slow down because of injury. If you use the massage ball or roller and your joint pain alleviates, you'll know it was partially or mostly due to muscle soreness rather than something deeper in your knee. Here is one massage ball that I'm using frequently now to recover from running. http://www.pro-tecathletics.com/57038/783190/Massage/The-Orb-Massage-Ball-5.html
  • Venus_Red
    Venus_Red Posts: 209 Member
    Or, don't self--diagnosis something you call a major problem by using a method you heard of on a web forum. See a doctor.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    I take glucosamine and it works like a charm.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Can you take out the moves that hurt your knees and see if it clears up? That would also help the doctor figure out what's going on.

    But it's not a good idea to ignore knee pain, no. I have permanent grinding damage from ignoring what I thought was a normal amount of knee pain in lots of things. My patellas don't track right and I never knew that.
  • treetownmama
    treetownmama Posts: 12 Member
    I'm going through the same thing right now and I'm just going to skip the high impact elements of my workout. I'm doing Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 and I think it's a couple cardio moves in particular that are giving me problems. Hopefully losing more weight and letting the knee rest up will allow me to come back to those sorts of workouts in the future. I tried working through it for a few days, but it just keep getting worse, so I'm gonna listen to my body and take it easy on the knees. There are plenty of things I can do that don't involve jumping and running in place to get a good workout. :)
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    When I first started walking my knees were killing me. They started getting puffy, but I just kept doing it and they started feeling better. The other week I tried to do a walk/run for a mile, and when I was running I could really feel the impact on my knees. I hurt my right knee, but just kept walking on it and taking Tylenol for the pain. I had a checkup with my doctor last week and told him about it. He didn't seem to have a problem with me walking on it, but told me to just take it easy on it for a while. It feels much better now.

    You should definitely talk to your doctor just to make sure that you don't have an injury, and see what he/she recommends. Make sure you tell your doctor what kind of exercise you are doing and make sure it is ok to continue with it.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    I take glucosamine and it works like a charm.

    I give that to my dog! I don't know if it helps her though!
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    sheenaahmed123 wrote: »
    Any advice or help anyone can give me?

    Yes. Don't ask for medical advice on the internets.
  • barryplumber
    barryplumber Posts: 401 Member
    Doctor Doctor give them a call. ...and we won't see you fall off your wall.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    sheenaahmed123 wrote: »
    So it's been 2 months now and I've been on a weight loss mission. I have a major problem which is making me wanting to stop training altogether, joint pain in my knees... I don't know if I should just get through it or what should I do? I'm doing so well, I've lost 11lbs so far and I really want to continue. Any advice or help anyone can give me?

    See a doctor, you don't want to guess and do more damage.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
    Only you know who bad it is. I have worked out with sore muscles and tendons before. Got through it somehow. Only you can judge.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    NO do not train through it until you know what it is. It's ok to be weeping and unable to sit on a toilet from delayed onset muscle soreness, but your joints shouldn't hurt during or after exercise.

    In my case, a years-long saga that has affected multiple lower body joints started with an occasional twinge in one ankle, which led to a weird pain that went incorrectly diagnosed for too long, which set off a chain reaction, leaving me to do extremely limited exercises in a pool only (this week, anyway. I am def coming back form this).

    Get that **** looked at asap.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    I think that a LOT of people overestimate how bad their pain is and stop when they don't need to do so. On the other hand, you don't want to cause more injury by pushing too far.

    See an orthopedist. If PT is appropriate/available, get as much out of that as you can.

    Are you doing high-impact exercise every day? One thing that you could try is alternating high and low-impact exercise days. I like to alternate swimming with more high-impact exercises.

    Still--see a doctor.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    You are 19. Joint pain is not normal at your age, get an appointment with a dr.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited September 2015
    azulvioleta6 wrote: »
    I think that a LOT of people overestimate how bad their pain is and stop when they don't need to do so. On the other hand, you don't want to cause more injury by pushing too far.

    See an orthopedist. If PT is appropriate/available, get as much out of that as you can.

    Are you doing high-impact exercise every day? One thing that you could try is alternating high and low-impact exercise days. I like to alternate swimming with more high-impact exercises.

    Still--see a doctor.

    Disagree. NEVER ignore joint (or ligament) pain. Your muscles should also not hurt DURING exercise (1-3 days later is ok).

    If you're just a little winded, you could probably do another 5 minutes on the bike.

    I cannot overstate how wimpy and seemingly inconsequential those first little twinges that I ignored were. HUGE consequences.

    Do not ignore JOINT or ligament pain that occurs during or after exercise.
  • sheenaahmed123
    sheenaahmed123 Posts: 4 Member
    edited September 2015
    I've been to see a doctor and he's absolutely rubbish. He told me to take painkillers and that I will be okay but thank you to everyone for the advice and personal experiences !! I do high impact exercise (Jillian Michaels DVD and gym) and have been doing it for about 2 months but before that I hadn't worked out in 2 years as I used to be really active, so maybe that's why.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    You are 19. Joint pain is not normal at your age, get an appointment with a dr.

    Wow, didn't realize OP was 19! Definitely go to a doctor!
  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    I have some feedback on Jillian Michaels programs... They are murder on the knees. I have zero knee problems when I am not doing her programs. I adore Jillian but the way she has us stepping forward into lunges is a mechanics problem for many of us.

    Stop doing Jillian.

    Strong hips and glutes help take stress off the knee joints.

    There are other programs that will get you the best legs without causing issues. I do PIYO now. Barr legs, Pilates...all great.
  • supadux
    supadux Posts: 6 Member
    If you're experiencing knee pain it's definitely a good idea to visit your doctor and get an informal excercise clearance.

    General guidelines for excercising through joint pain are that you need a good warm up and warm down (about 10-12 mins a piece), avoid high impact and ballistic movements and work at a lower intensity around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. For weight training, you should deload to about 75% of your max and do warm up sets for each excercise.

    But all that's assuming it's just muscle strain, you'll need to see your doctor to see if it's not something more serious.

    I hope it gets better soon!
  • AlexisUPenn
    AlexisUPenn Posts: 76 Member
    I would say be careful... Consider getting evaluated by an orthopedist. I worked through shoulder pain and turns out I have tendinitis with a small partial tear of my rotator cuff. Doing physical therapy now to prevent further injury. Ice is your friend. Try icing it a lot.
  • TheopolisAmbroiseIII
    TheopolisAmbroiseIII Posts: 197 Member
    Muscle soreness, train through it. Joint pain, stop, rest and ice, see a doctor if it persists.
  • Pinkranger626
    Pinkranger626 Posts: 460 Member
    Is the joint pain only during your workouts? Or is it a constant thing? If it's only during your workouts it may be a form and technique issue. If it's constant then I would get a second opinion from a different doctor. Joints are not something to mess around with
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    My doctors at your age were rubbish about my knees, too. They never checked anything, lol. But I did have that patella tracking problem, and that's what was causing it and did the damage over so many years. I didn't have a doctor actually check my kneecaps until a few years ago. Eejits.

    But if the pain comes during certain moves, you could be smarter than I was and avoid those moves :)
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