What to do about knee pain?

B

B

Cathlete
Hi Cathe and members,

I started doing a CTX rotation (as is) about three weeks ago and I did it for 2 weeks until I started getting a slight pain in my left knee. Since then, I haven't done any form of cardio because my knee hurts even when I walk.

My question is, what do I do? I don't want to lay off cardio for too long because before you know it, a week will become a month and so on, but I also don't want to aggravate the pain. Don't get me wrong, it's by no means an excruciating pain, but I don't want it to develop into something worse.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Since you did include "members" in your request, I'll chime in. :)

Maybe give it another week, and take anti-inflammatories. If you are still having pain, get an MRI if you can. Your doc might want to first tell you to "stay off of it for a month (or more)," use ice, use ibuprofen, etc... Do that stuff NOW so that when you do get back to working out and the pain is there, you won't have to pussyfoot around.

Or he might send you to a PT right away. But if you have a tear or something, PT won't help much. Or at least it won't get you back to what you want to be doing.
 
fit@home gives good advice. From personal experience with a minor knee injury, rest is the only thing that will take care of it. I had to stop all activity, including weights, a few years ago to get it to heal. It wasn't serious enough for a doctor's visit, but I could tell it was getting worse. Take it easy. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it.
 
Thanks to you both. I will continue to take it easy and hopefully it'll get better REALLY soon! I don't need yet another excuse not to work out! :p
 
My knees don't like CTX either: too much step, too much impact, and too much step with impact!

When you get to feeling better, make sure to vary your workouts more. Some people can't do step more than 1-2 days a week without problems. Others can go 4 days a week (non-consecutive days) with no problem. Others can go more, but I wouldn't recommend it, as doing too much of the same thing can lead to imbalances and overuse injuries.

Try adding some antiinflammatory foods to your diet, like flax (the lignans help with inflammation), dark cherries, ginger.
 
Thanks, Kathryn.

I've seen plenty of your posts regarding CTX and your knees, but since I never had a problem with my knees before I thought I could handle it. Guess not. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
 
Hi B and Everyone!

B - I hope that you will feel better soon. I feel for you. A week or 2 without excercising to Cathe would drive me nuts.

But please try resting it up for a few weeks or so, and let us know what happens.

I do step a lot (3-4 days a week) and I notice that my knees crack whenever I bend them! There is no pain though, and I hope to God that I will never have pain.

Make sure you have "rest days" in between the step aerobics. I hear the impact can do a number on your joints over time if you overdo it.

My doctor knows about this knee cracking, and she told me if I ever experience pain, to stop what I am doing immediately and then come see her.

Please take care!

:)


"Life is too short - Be the best you can be every single day!"
 
I too have developed knee pain on my right knee (doing lunges is a major challenge these days, I can get by with the use of a knee brace). I discovered a new piece of equipment called the MatStep.

This mat can be used in place of a step bench to replicate the choreography and moves normally done on a regular step, without the stress to the joints. It may not give you the same intensity as with a regular step, but you'll be surprise how fast you start to sweat.

Check out their website at: www.MatStep.com, or try
www.power-systems.com.:-)
 
Someone recently recommended the MatStep here, and I bought one. I'm SO glad I did!! I love that thing! So, here's another endorsement for it. :D
 
Wow! Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'm still resting it and haven't done any type of exercise but it's killing me because I know there's a dress I need to fit into in a few weeks and without exercise I'm not sure if I'll manage to get in there. I've stepped up the "clean" eating part, but I don't know if that'll be enough since it's only like 3 weeks away.

Going off to check out the website now.

Thanks again!
 
Hi B! I am sorry to hear about your knee but it sounds as if you are already doing the smart thing by resting it and assisting in the removal of inflammation with ice and anti-inflammatory meds. I would continue to do this faithfully and you will notice a huge improvement within a week to 10 days.

You are generally best off doing step two to three times per week non-consecutively (less if you are prone to knee problems) to avoid overuse injuries. Also, always modify any impact that doesn't suit you.

You mention not being sure if clean eating will be enough to help you fit into a dress in three weeks. If you are eating clean, I mean REALLY eating clean....you will fit in the dress just fine in three weeks :) No worries there.

Good luck with your recovery and listen to your body every step of the way (no pun intended).
 
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