Knee Pain

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mjhart2011
mjhart2011 Posts: 6
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been working out for two weeks, 4-5x per week. I do aerobics in front of my TV. I started having knee pain in my right knee a few days ago.
The pain, on a pain scale, is probably a 2-3 right now, but the last time I worked out it was a 7-8. My quad above the knee was also really sore at that time. I'm not sure if it's related.
My question is how do you tell normal pain from an injury? Also, should I keep exercising or stop for a few, and should I ice/heat it or just ice or just heat?
I have a great range of motion. I am not limping or anything. I can tolerate it fine without ibuprofen. I haven't iced it. But I know when I start working out it's going to KILL because I can still feel that dull ache.
I don't have health insurance so if you're going to say "see a doctor" you can save your breath. I wouldn't waste a doctors time with a 2-3 on a pain scale anyways.

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  • runningathena
    runningathena Posts: 218 Member
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    If it affects your ability to walk or do normal activities, it's an injury. If it's just sore, then it's just soreness from exertion.

    R.I.C.E. is best - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Heat is only really useful on strained muscles. I'm not a doctor, but it sounds like you might have patellafemoral syndrome (aka "runner's knee"). Not much a doc can do for that anyway, so seeing one might be useless. If you were having a "giving way" feeling or tons of pain affecting your ability to walk, I'd be making a different recommendation.

    For now, I'd suggest a day or two of rest with icing 2-3x a day, then icing before your workout, maybe take some ibuprofen an hour or so before, and look into a knee sleeve for extra support. The quad pain could be related; it could also be causing your knee pain because of a muscle strain. Everything is connected!

    Good luck!

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