bad knees

J

JaneJ

Cathlete
I know I have read quite a few posts about people's knees bothering them. I have not paid attention to them because my knees were fine. Well, about 2 months ago my knees started bothering me and I was wondering what you do about it, how you modify your workouts, does it go away. My own therory is the pain is from years of high impact. Just my left knee hurts. and for a short period of time I could not even walk. I hope to continue to exercise as it is a part of my life. Any comments, ideas or suggestions would be great.
JaneJ
 
I switched to low/lower impact for just about everything and wear those athletic knee brace-thing-a-bob-ers for cardio workouts. Getting GreatMats puzzle mats helped tremendously on my concrete basement floor. I've also found that doing lunges and squats has really helped strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, even tho they were initially (and sometimes still are) bothered by the lunges/squats. HTH, Deb
 
best info I can give is tailor workouts to suit your body. Don't skip an entire dvd that you love b/c it's high impact. it's so easy to modify. Good luck and welcome to the club ;(
 
It's frustrating, isn't it? I put down some of the foam puzzle mats on my basement floor recently and that helps a great deal. I think my basement floor is cement under the carpet! When my knees are bothering me I wear a knee brace which helps. I modify higher impact moves and for one video (is it KPC? I forget) there's some things I do on a mini trampoline. I don't do jumping jacks, I'll tap my toes instead, and I find that I can still make big movements without having my feet leave the ground.
 
Here's what has helped me:
1. Lowering the step height. One riser only.
2. Puzzle mats to absorb the shock.
3. Modifying super-high-intensity moves. I don't do tuck jumps, I jump-rope instead.
4. Mixing up your cardio. If you've got a treadmill, or elip, make sure you use them, too. Sometimes on the treadmill, I just do a fast incline walk instead of a run.
5. Don't forget your rest days!

These things have really made a difference for me. Once in a while, though, I mess up. Yesterday, I did MIC, and, stupidly, did the entire hi-lo segment. My knees (and lower back) definitely felt it today. Good luck!!
 
Make sure to check you shoes as well. Enough cushioning, and proper fit for your potential under/over pronation.
 
I thrashed my knees playing basketball through college - so I have ongoing knee issues. Lowering my step height to 6" has really helped me - although I would love to still be on the 8" since I am so tall - my knees just love me a lot more when I am on the 6".

I also doubled the puzzle mats so I have two layers...

HTH!
 
I have this problem, too. I try to minimize high impact moves - in particular for me are "twisty" moves. I wear Ace braces when I do kickboxing or leg workouts. I have found that step is particularly bothersome - last time I tried, literally every step hurt - so I don't do it. I may occassionally try it with a very low step - I may try the suggestion others have posted of using no step at all. Basically, figure out what bothers you the most and then don't do that. Strengthening the legs (via careful squats and lunges) and actually help by improving the supporting structures of the knees, so try to do that.
 
I am sorry that you are experiencing knee issues. They stink! I have had 3 knee surgeries, so here's my $.02. Make sure to stretch out your leg muscles. If your leg muscles are tight they are putting stress on your knee and will cause pain. I religiously stretch my quads, calves, hamstrings, and IT band after every workout. Also, I have needed to work on strengthening my VMO (inner part of the quad) because my knee cap was not sitting correctly. All knee problems are different and it depends on what the deal is with yours. I would lower step height, not do high impact, not do torquey moves, etc... Also, ice it after working out.

ETA - biking and elliptical trainers have been great for me to get in intense workouts without hurting my knee
 
Totally agree with the stretching. My knees bother me a great deal and I can tell that I need to do some yoga/stretching. When I would do it religously my knees never bothered me. I tend to neglegte that aspect because you really need to dedicate the time. The stretching at the end of a workout is never enough for me.
 
As always, I got some excellent ideas and help from you all. I think I am going to buy some of those exercise puzzle mats as well.
janej
 
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