Need help with what exercise I can do with a damaged knee!

LisAllum
LisAllum Posts: 55
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on MFP for a little over 40 days. So far I have lost 4lbs and don't seem to be shifting at all! I damaged my patella tendon 3 months ago and, although I am allowed to walk (with crutches) and can do 5 minutes on the elliptical (on the easiest setting) as part of my physio; I am at a loss as to what else I can do to help get me off this *stuck* stage and starting shifting the lbs again. Maybe I'm being impatient, I don't know. I stick to my calories and eat most of the exercise ones back, I've given up a LOT of bad foods, keep the *treats* to a minimum, cut right down to 2 cups of tea a day (without sugar) and I've managed to increase my water intake to 2 litres a day over the last month, which is a huge achievement for me!

ANY help, advice or suggestions would be gratefully appreciated and taken on board :-)

Replies

  • kazhowe
    kazhowe Posts: 340 Member
    bump for later
  • Babalaila
    Babalaila Posts: 9
    Try doing more :

    a) Push ups
    b) More ab workouts
    c0 Other core work outs like planks etc..
    d) Pull ups
    e) Weights

    Have a similar problem with weak knees..and use the above to work a sweat!
  • iSpuggz
    iSpuggz Posts: 39
    Have you tried doing upper body cardio (seated punches) or doing some weights? Having a key element of your lower body is a pain in more ways than one but then you just have to switch it to upper body workouts for a bit, as well as your rehab stuff.

    There's probably a few guys qualified to give better advice on these situations, hopefully they'll find your post and reply

    And well done on your achievements so far, keep up the good work!
  • briteshadow
    briteshadow Posts: 87
    Swimming?
  • Pacileo4Evers
    Pacileo4Evers Posts: 129 Member
    2 blown ACL swimming is the way to go for me :)
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I tore a ligament in my knee last year and trying to keep walking on it didn't help at all. It didn't start to get better til I gave in, took to the sofa to rest it as much as possible and used crutches to get around when necessary. It took about a year for the knee to get back to normal and not give trouble, even when going downhill, so be prepared for a long rehab period.

    For exercises you can do now, have you heard of "chairobics" - it's a seated exercise program. When your knee is getting better, aquarobics may help, provided you don't force your leg through the water too roughly at first. Your weight is supported by the water, so you can jog in place barely touching the bottom.

    Edited to add - I had a look at your diary and you're sticking really well to 1200 cals. Your activity level is probably way down on normal but you're being really "good". I prefer to eat most of my exercise calories - worth bearing in mind if you burn some more with exercise you manage to do.

    Having read the above posts, I'd stay away from planks til your knee is better.
  • najla56
    najla56 Posts: 195 Member
    I'm not sure about this, but maybe swimming? I have a week knee, and its been advised for me.. but i think it would depend on your range of motion
  • laus_8882
    laus_8882 Posts: 217 Member
    Ask your physio! Mine showed me loads of things I could do without further damaging my knee. Failing that, ask to be referred to an exercise physiologist. They're ace for things like this. Seriously, it's your knee... you need that sucker to walk so get your exercise advice from the professionals.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    First of all, 4lbs in 40 days isn't so bad, thats just under a pound a week, and based on what you have to lose 1lb/week is a good amount so well done!!!

    I've had runners knee since january, and am not allowed to do any sort of high impact exercise / lower body weights so Ive had quite a while to come up with alternatives! It doesnt seem to have affected my loss, apart from a 0.8 gain the first week I was totally unable to exercise, I have lost an average of 1.5 a week since then :-)

    Swimming - I do Breast stroke without using my legs so you should be ok for this, doesnt use knee at all
    upper body only weights (seated if you are unable to stand without crutches)
    Ab / Core work if you are ok to get down on the floor
    Not all gyms have them, but arm bikes are good for getting a cardio workout without using your legs at all.

    Ive recently been able to start spinning / cycling , on low resistance only as this is non weight bearing but gets knee moving - I find this is ok with my knee where as the elliptical aggravates it.
    Aqua aerobics is good for low impact, but there is still quite a bit of jumping about so you would have to see if this would be suitable for you.

    Once you are off crutches and able to do a bit more, pretty much any exercise can be adapted to make it 'knee friendly', I do boxercise 4x a week which involves a lot of running and getting up and down off the floor that I cant do, so I just use the punchbag or do ab exercises when everyone else is doing those bits!

    However....if you are seeing a physio, please check that it is ok for you to do any exercises people on here tell you about, as your knee damage could be different and you dont want to make it worse x

    ETA - Ive just checked out your diary, maybe a few changes there would help get your loss going too. At least 5 a day fruit & veg, try to keep processed foods to a minimum, add sodium tracking as this can cause gain through water retention.. Your cals seem low, what is your loss goal set to?
  • LisAllum
    LisAllum Posts: 55
    Thank you everyone!!! All great suggestions and I've been busy on Google checking out some of the exercises. Planks definitely aren't going to be something I can do for a long while yet as it would put strain on the knee, even at beginner level. I need to build up my quad in order to pull the tendon tight again and lift my kneecap out of the recess of the joint. At the moment, too much weight on my knee results in very painful crunches and clunks :-(

    Em, I've set my goal loss to 1lb a week ( I think that's the bit you mean?) I've cut out a LOT of processed foods and am happy to cut out whatever is necessary to get my weightloss moving again. I'm a fussy eater and that limits what I could replace things with, I am game, however, to try things at least once. I would love to hear any suggestions you have. The sodium count I will add as soon as I find it on here! Haha! My next appt with the physio is on Wednesday so I will definitely ask what other exercises I am allowed to do. :happy:

    I think my biggest frustration is that I had started one of Jillian Michaels workouts and was thoroughly enjoying it, then went to practically no exercise allowed
  • Wallisky
    Wallisky Posts: 1
    A gym I was at a while back had an arm exerciser, sort of like a stationary bike where you pedal with your hands instead of your feet. You might want to call around to the gyms in your area to see if any have one of these.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
    I hurt my knee during a netball accident a couple of years back and could barely use it for months.

    I asked my physiotherapist and he said I would be best of swimming, so I got a subscription to the local pool and went for a swim every morning before work. Got me energized for the day as well.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    What do you weigh at the minute / how tall are you if you dont mind me asking?

    Im on around 2100 cals to lose 1-1.5 but that includes about 4000 exercise cals a week, so if you take the exercise away I get about 1550. (im 5'5, 190lbs, aiming for 140 so have a bit more to lose than you).
    My diary is open if it will give you any ideas, I dont cut anything out just get the healthy stuff in first, try and have 2 portions of veg with my meals, then any cals left over go for treats, especially fri / sat :-)
    Its more about getting a healthy, balanced way of eating that you can keep up long term, rather than depriving yourself of things for a temporary 'diet'!

    I know what you mean with the planks, I'm ok with them now for a bit but at first anything that invloves locking knees out straight like planks / pressups would make it worse. I get crunching when bending further than 45 degrees with weight on, and my kneecap seems to 'pop' when i fully straighten my leg, if i overdo exercise it gets really stiff and i have trouble bending my leg. Physio has said its due to quad imbalance knocking kneecap off centre so sounds pretty similar to yours then! I had just got up to running 5k when mine started, I was gutted when I had to stop, thought a few weeks rest and i'd be back to it, now 6 months later its still not right :-(
  • LisAllum
    LisAllum Posts: 55
    I'm 161lbs at the moment Em, and 5ft 3. Sounds like you know exactly where I'm coming from with the knee imbalance, and I know it's a pain but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one. :-)
  • after_the_rain
    after_the_rain Posts: 30
    Swimming! I have some calf pains and can do certain exercises, but I have pain after about 10 minutes, I can swim for hours with no pain. I also go to a water aerobics class and several of the ladies in the class use a cane or have pains, but no pain in the water! You should try it! Congrats on your weight loss!!
  • audradyar
    audradyar Posts: 2
    I joined a gym that has a lap pool. the deepest is 4'6" I walk laps and swim like a frog just using my arms sounds funny but it works. I started out 15 mins now I do 30 mins 2-3 times a week. I have bad knees. I do the stationary bike also.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    I'm 161lbs at the moment Em, and 5ft 3. Sounds like you know exactly where I'm coming from with the knee imbalance, and I know it's a pain but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one. :-)

    At least if you have a physio appt soon you can see what is ok for you to do and come up with a routine!

    I would say your loss slowing is doiwn to eating more than lack of exercise.
    The site I use to work out my cals gives you 1774 sedentary / 2032 for light exercise 1-3x a week, and says BMR is 1478. To lose 1lb you subtract 500 cals so would be 1274 for 1lb / 1532 for light exercise.
    Based on that i would say MFP's allowance is too low and maybe try upping to 1500 if you are able to do a little exercise.
    Certain people on here will argue till they are blue in the face saying eating below BMR doesnt make any difference, but I lose more weight now eating above BMR than when i ate only 1200 cals, and most of my friends on here are the same :-)

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