Knee Can't Handle Daily Walks

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  • jeagogo
    jeagogo Posts: 179 Member
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    I totally feel you on how frustrating a knee injury can be. I started my weight loss journey years when I was about 26 years old ago because I injured my knee hiking; 6 miles down an inline (after 6 miles up) was just too much on my body. That first injury took a good couple weeks to recover before I could walk comfortably again so in the meantime I swam as often as I could. I didn't do bike because that was actually uncomfortable for my knee as well. When I was trying to lose weight my instinct was to go running, because that was how I'd lost weight in the past and I enjoyed it well enough, but anything more than a mile and I would re-injure my knee.

    I do still deal with knee issues if I'm not careful, even at my maintenance weight. I do more strength based exercise than cardio now, and that has been huge for helping with the stability of my knees, actually. It may not be the same calorie burn, but things like yoga and strength training may be beneficial to you in your overall health and care for your body.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Sounds pretty simple.

    Break up your walks into more or less frequency and lower the distance and allow your body to develop a adaptation to your end goal. You might consider doing another exercise for most or half of your cardio needs in the meantime.

    Doesn't sound concerning when we think long term.
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Not sure why you can’t do it with diet alone? I’m one inch taller than you. I’m doing it with diet. I can’t exercise bc of my hip but I plan on doing water exercise soon. Maybe you need to find a number you lose at? 1200 was too low my weight started coming off with ease at 1500 Withrow the carb cycling I did at the time. Right now my window is 1200-1500. Whenever I start carb cycling again it will be 1500 on low carb days and 1800 on high carb days and 2000 on my fun day.
  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
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    You might look into getting an athletic knee brace. I have found them helpful when I bang up my genetically wonky knee. The ones I have use Velcro straps so they are easy to put on and adjust. You can see videos on them on YouTube and check out reviews on Amazon to get a feel for how other people think they help with their issues.

    Here are the descriptions for the ones I have so you can look for such keywords (there are many different brands to consider):

    This one is cheap:

    Bracoo Knee Support, Open-Patella Brace for Arthritis, Joint Pain Relief, Injury Recovery with Adjustable Strapping & Breathable Neoprene

    This one is not so cheap but I got it on deep sale - it's sturdier than the Bracoo but that was helpful because I preferred using different ones at different times in the healing process:

    EXOUS Knee Brace Support Protector - Relieves Patella Tendonitis - Jumpers Knee Mensicus Tear - ACL Lateral & Medial Ligament Sprains Comfort Design True Non-Slip FIT for Arthritis - Sport - Running



    Still be careful, but you have to do some walking in daily life and those braces really help minimize the pain and also remind me to not do anything stupid like twisting the knee. I start taking them off part of the time as the knee heals, since I figure the activity is better for it within reason. But pay attention to any pain and don't push it.

    Glucosamine supplements also help me a lot. I keep them up all the time because of genetics, but when I first used glucosamine, my knee was injured and not healing well - I could see a difference before the bottle ran out (month's worth of pills).

    I usually do a lot of walk in place and some daily stretching, but adjusted and didn't do anything that hurt while healing. Maybe walk in place would help you get back into walking regularly again when the time is right.

    You also might try chair walking. Just make walk-in-place and exaggerated fidgeting movements while sitting. This doesn't load your legs, feet, and knees the way real walking does, but lets you get in some movement so you don't feel so much like a slug.
  • momrev1kk
    momrev1kk Posts: 1 Member
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    5’4” 204
    You may want to look into kinesio tape, marketed under many brands. The adhesive on this tape is wavy on the back and the tape has give and take. The companies have videos online to teach you how to tape your own knees. When my patella goes out of its groove, it hurts so much that I won’t exercise. But, the tape helps keep it in place! I can wear the tape for up to a week before changing it. It can be worn while bathing or swimming!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    jwoolman5 wrote: »
    You might look into getting an athletic knee brace. I have found them helpful when I bang up my genetically wonky knee. The ones I have use Velcro straps so they are easy to put on and adjust. You can see videos on them on YouTube and check out reviews on Amazon to get a feel for how other people think they help with their issues.

    This may be a great idea but I would recommend checking with your ortho or PT first. Depending on what the damage is, knee braces can sometimes make them worse. I started wearing one and ended up with synovial fluid leaking and forming a bursa which needed to be drained. Ortho told me it was because of the brace and told me to stop using it ASAP. My pain was from a multitude of tiny tears in the meniscus and losing weight was the only thing that would help, short of a knee replacement which is in my future. My Ortho did much of his specialty training in New Zealand and he called my problem a "Hiker's knee", which was the majority of what he saw in training because of the walking/hiking culture there. Yes, I walk and hike a lot.

  • gt0186b
    gt0186b Posts: 78 Member
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    Try some knee strengthening exercises.https://webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/injury-knee-pain-16/slideshow-knee-exercises
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    MassEffectFan88 wrote: »
    I honestly don't think stationary bikes are even as effective at burning calories as walking outside.

    Say what?
    I can burn up to 700 net calories on a stationary bike in an hour and in winter regualarly burn 500 - 600 net cals.
    Net calories for walking at 4mph for an hour would be 205 for me (weight in lbs X miles walked X 0.3 efficiency ratio).

    Not as enjoyable as exercising outdoors but a far higher potential for burning calories and as a fellow knee sufferer cycling is very kind to my damaged knees. Hope your bursistis clears quickly.

    I can still lose weight at 60 so please don't think you are past it at 32!!

    This. I burn a lot more cycling because I can do it comfortably for much longer and more frequently than running. (they worked out to be pretty similar in number of calories per time for me, but I definitely can't run 2 hours per day, 5 days per week) (with walking not in the same ballpark). Alas, both my winter rides and runs are much shorter and slower. (I have yet to embrace hamster wheels, Zwift included). The local cycling club has a fairly large number of (very fit, very fast) retirees, quite a few of whom had transitioned over from running due to knee issues.


    Ditto what others said... Very likely just too much too soon.

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