Knee Pain, told not to exercise

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concealedpearl
concealedpearl Posts: 206
in Fitness and Exercise
My knee pain was getting out of hand, so I did an x-ray and the doctor said I had arthritis(blame my mother) on my left knee and fluid on my right knee. He told me to see a physiotherapist and just limit exercise to low impact cardio.
So when I went to the physiotherapist for my knee he told me I can't exercise for a while not even walking on the treadmill. The only exercise I could do is strengthening the quad exercises, and if anything extreme only the stationary bike at the gym.....ummm I have a hard time believing this. My knees don't really hurt as long as I don't do my usual high impact cardio and any weight baring on the knee exercises. I just have irritation, and I feel it when sitting down or getting up. The doctor prescribed me celebrex for the pain, but I don't want to take it and instead have decided to take glucosamine and chondroitin supplements and fish oils.
I don't think not exercising for a while is an option for me, but at the same time I don't want to do something that would make my knees worse.

Just want to know if there are any others in my situation and can give some advise. And I want to go to zumba class tonight :)

Replies

  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    Excluding exercise is NOT an option if you want to reach your goals.
    There are always possibilities, but the choice is yours.

    You can swim. Not only does swimming burn an incredible amount of calories (close to what you’d burn on a run), but it offers a wide variety of options to get your heart pumping in the water. As an alternative to your usual laps, try putting a buoy between your legs (squeeze it tight!) to get more of an upper-body workout, or hold on to a kickboard in front of you to work just your lower half.

    The choices are endless, but again, you must decide.
  • nyyrule
    nyyrule Posts: 28
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    I have had bad knee pain too from having flat feet where it hurts to do anything high impact... even tai chi/yoga can hurt. Trust me, don't push it where it gets worse and you end up in a wheelchair or crutches. It's not worth it.

    Your best bet is low impact stuff like a bike/elliptical, or also a swimming pool...exercise in a pool is always lower impact.. I've also done a lot of walking (and found some neat places in town because of this!)... but still ask a doctor. Perhaps orthotics would help? Also, see more doctors to find out why you are getting the knee pain at such a young age so it can be corrected...
  • 0RESET0
    0RESET0 Posts: 128
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    If it is arthritis, you need to keep the joint moving. Not sure about the fluid. My knees make a terrible crunching sound when I bend them so I have been taking the same supplements that you are planning on taking. The grinding is not getting worse and I have no pain so I guess it is all good. I have told my doctor about it and he said that if there is no pain then keep doing what I am doing. Getting the weight off will solve most of the problems. If they aren't swelling up after exercise I think you should be OK. Just keep an eye on it and don't push it if it starts to hurt.

    ****I am no doctor, just speaking from experience****
  • StarIsMoving
    StarIsMoving Posts: 437
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    I have RA, and lung issues.... my daughter has RA worse than I do and lung issues as well - excluding exercise has not been in our vocabulary, though we have made sure all we do is monitored by doctors. My daughter's is so bad that has 6 hr infusions, has chemo therapy treatments, and PT 3x/wk, and has surgery on one knee to where she is bone on bone. Now this has made it so she cannot go speed walking, but she does do recumbant bike, she does swim a ton, and she does a bunch of toning in the pool as well, and she will bike next to me while I walk/jog (depending on the joints and the day). We both use a brace for stability, I am also able to do elliptical for cardio as your feet never leave the pedals, so low impact - though daughter can't as it's too much weight for her knee (she is only 102lbs, but again, she is bone on bone). We feel your pain, but there are ways to work around it - I still do strength training.. but adaptable (squats I only go to 90 degree bend, etc)... and was amazed...the more muscle I built, the less fluid I would keep in joints (my daughter and I call them our "squishy", lol)... and the less pain I have. However... there are some things I am not able to do that I would love to do... that doesn't mean I am out of the picture all together though, and neither are you - just time to change up what you are used to doing...and that can be good for the body too ;)
  • concealedpearl
    concealedpearl Posts: 206
    Options
    If it is arthritis, you need to keep the joint moving. Not sure about the fluid. My knees make a terrible crunching sound when I bend them so I have been taking the same supplements that you are planning on taking. The grinding is not getting worse and I have no pain so I guess it is all good. I have told my doctor about it and he said that if there is no pain then keep doing what I am doing. Getting the weight off will solve most of the problems. If they aren't swelling up after exercise I think you should be OK. Just keep an eye on it and don't push it if it starts to hurt.

    ****I am no doctor, just speaking from experience****

    Yes the knee with the fluid makes the most crunching sound when I bend it.
  • concealedpearl
    concealedpearl Posts: 206
    Options
    I have RA, and lung issues.... my daughter has RA worse than I do and lung issues as well - excluding exercise has not been in our vocabulary, though we have made sure all we do is monitored by doctors. My daughter's is so bad that has 6 hr infusions, has chemo therapy treatments, and PT 3x/wk, and has surgery on one knee to where she is bone on bone. Now this has made it so she cannot go speed walking, but she does do recumbant bike, she does swim a ton, and she does a bunch of toning in the pool as well, and she will bike next to me while I walk/jog (depending on the joints and the day). We both use a brace for stability, I am also able to do elliptical for cardio as your feet never leave the pedals, so low impact - though daughter can't as it's too much weight for her knee (she is only 102lbs, but again, she is bone on bone). We feel your pain, but there are ways to work around it - I still do strength training.. but adaptable (squats I only go to 90 degree bend, etc)... and was amazed...the more muscle I built, the less fluid I would keep in joints (my daughter and I call them our "squishy", lol)... and the less pain I have. However... there are some things I am not able to do that I would love to do... that doesn't mean I am out of the picture all together though, and neither are you - just time to change up what you are used to doing...and that can be good for the body too ;)

    Thanks this helps a lot.
  • concealedpearl
    concealedpearl Posts: 206
    Options
    Excluding exercise is NOT an option if you want to reach your goals.
    There are always possibilities, but the choice is yours.

    You can swim. Not only does swimming burn an incredible amount of calories (close to what you’d burn on a run), but it offers a wide variety of options to get your heart pumping in the water. As an alternative to your usual laps, try putting a buoy between your legs (squeeze it tight!) to get more of an upper-body workout, or hold on to a kickboard in front of you to work just your lower half.

    The choices are endless, but again, you must decide.

    I have a fear of swimming, I drowned twice in grade 7, need to seek professional help for this fear :)
  • concealedpearl
    concealedpearl Posts: 206
    Options
    I have had bad knee pain too from having flat feet where it hurts to do anything high impact... even tai chi/yoga can hurt. Trust me, don't push it where it gets worse and you end up in a wheelchair or crutches. It's not worth it.

    Your best bet is low impact stuff like a bike/elliptical, or also a swimming pool...exercise in a pool is always lower impact.. I've also done a lot of walking (and found some neat places in town because of this!)... but still ask a doctor. Perhaps orthotics would help? Also, see more doctors to find out why you are getting the knee pain at such a young age so it can be corrected...

    I have flat feet as well, but doc said I don't need orthotics...I'm getting the knee pain at this age, because I feel down the stairs couple of years ago and landed on my left knee. It didn't hurt back then but because I didn't get medical attention for it back then it's acting up now.

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