Doc says take it easy on the knees

Kitterfly

Kitterfly

Cathlete
hi! So in your opinion what exercises are hardest on the knees?
I have been having alot of knee pain esp. with bending! Had them xrayed and the Dr. didnt find anything shes says take it easy, back way off on working out or none at all until I can see the physical therapist. ugh:(
It almost seems like a Hiit workout doesnt bother my knees as much as a step workout like low impact circuit ? I was thinking it was because there are more turns in the step workout, I would of thought that all the jumping in hitt would hurt more ? I dont know? Any ideas what to avoid? and if you have any ideas for knee pain that would be great to. :D
 
I have had a lot of knee pain in the past and even ended up getting a lot of injections in my knee. I found that the better knees dvd really helped me strengthen my knees and now I never have knee problems. I can do HIIT double wave pyramid because it doesn't use a step and I try to avoid doing too many step workouts.

I find stretching my legs and hamstrings really helps.
 
Don't do any step for a week or 2 but continue your other workouts. See if your knees feel better w/o the step. Alternatively, try the step workouts w/o any step at all.

If you want to know, what's hurting your knees you it's easiest to eliminate one thing at a time to see what the culprit is (the choreo, the step itself, or the impact).

Also, I've had great luck w/ Osteo Biflex & Move Free Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements. I do better w/ the the name brand versions of this supplement than the generic ones. The generic ones upset my stomach and w/ Osteo Biflex & Move Free, my knees felt better after only 2-3 days.

HTH!
 
Ah, knees issues! Fun stuff, no?

I have had knee issues in the past, but they've been resolved for a good long while now. I occasionally get an achy day, but not a painful day. I can tell you what my knees don't like. I've had 2 surgeries on my left knee. On both my knees, I can tell when the weather/air pressure is changing - they get achy.

BOSU - OWOWOWOWOWOW!!!! Hurts both knees

LowMax - *sigh* I like this one, but both my knees ache for days afterward

Biking - stationary or real bike - hurts on the downward push, on the bad knee

Swimming - I can't swim anyway, so no big loss. The kick motion aggravates my left (bad) knee

Squat thrusts - I can do them, but I have to be slow and controlled about it. I broke my knee cap doing these. Ouch!

Flat shoes - makes both knees achy - no ballet flats or flip flops for me, they also aggravate my PF

What I can do - hi/lo (blech), step, kickbox, high impact on floor or step, run, lift, squat, lunge, yoga (blech), HiiT, walk, wear high heels, Imaxes, Insanity, elliptical, and so on and so forth.

Funny thing is Dr said I should cut out the high impact and stick with things like biking. The physical therapist said I could do what I want as along as it doesn't hurt. I went with her idea.

I think the key is building up the surrounding muscles to stabilize the knee. Braces aren't something you want to use all the time, they will actually eventually weaken the muscle because it doesn't have to work, and make things worse in the long run.

You say you have pain when bending, is in on the front of you kneecap down to the top of you leg? Maybe tendonitis? That hurts. What worked for me with that was ice, ice, ice and a hard massage across the tendon. Left to right, not up and down. It hurts at first but will eventually loosen up. Learn that one from my PT, had a flare up of tendonitis after my 2nd surgery.

I also find that keeping moving an being consistent with my workouts helps. If I take too much time off, they start to ache, and then they hurt the 1st couple days that I'm back in it.

I think trial and error is the way your going to have to go. Hopefully, you find a solution. Knee pain sucks.

Nan
 
The hardest exercises for me, lunges. This is a lack of leg strength. Focusing on form with full range of motion, and upping the weight has improved this exercise.

I'm not a doctor, and would encourage you to listen to yours. For me, after my third surgery, second on right knee, my PT said go up down stairs, one at a time ten times day until you can do every other leg, continue until you get your strength back. I was so fed up with the "knee" I did ten times that, every day. That's what initially took my knee pain away. (circa 1993)

Fast forward to 2009, I started Cathe's Beginner Rotation, Basic step & Body Fusion, for someone who never exercised really, regularly, it was hard! You do strength exercises in that rotation too. Follow up in January with PUB/PLB from Fit TV, as well as LIC & Low Max Step combo premix on 4" platform. I can tell you my step got better, and the moves easier as my legs got stronger. I also gained a lot of confidence with the step, but not more pain, less. I continued in March with a rotation based on Cathe's beginner rotation, with intermediate substitutions. Following up every month with new challenges for strength, cardio endurance, and flexibility.

Let's go with that Strength & Cardio, one, strong muscles around the knee will support it, making it less likely to come out of alignment. Two, big muscles need to do big muscle work. When I used to fatigue during a step workout, I would lose form, this causes little muscles to compensate, and that can hurt. I'll probably always have leg workouts and cardio in my weekly routine for this reason. Also, stronger legs can absorb more impact.

Now, flexibility, having a good range of motion helps to prevent knee pain. You can get that by strength training with a full range of motion, stretching exercises like yoga or athletic stretching. I currently use alignment exercises from the book Pain Free, it's not exactly stretching, it's more like loosening, and it works quite well for me.

The three pillars of fitness, Strength, Cardio Endurance, and Flexibilty...works for the knees, and everything else too. I don't believe stepping is bad for the knees, I think weak legs, poor cardio endurance and a lack of flexibility is bad for knees. (still working on that last one too)

Linda:)
 
:pThanks for all the great infomation.!! Its very helpful to hear from others. I waiting to hear from insurance about pt :). So far knees are getting better as the week goes on but I cant help staying off them much at work having to get up and down off the floor all the time holding pets and such darn it.

spyrosmom- I totally agree about low max and the biking! Bending seems to hurt above the knee cap area and somewhat on the sides if that makes sense and my knees are crunchy sounding but always have been. they have always locked up after sitting in a movie theatre.
 
For some reason, any kind of Hi/Lo workouts bother my knees. I find that off road jogging is very gentle even though there is impact. Its the softer ground that seems to make the difference.
 
One other note on the the knees and step, it really makes a difference what shoes I wear. I started with Avia 6196, and have used Avia 1399, and the Avia 1371. They have to have lateral support, good cushioning for impact and, this was a biggie, the toe had to flex easily for me. One shoe that did not work was the New Balance 608, it's a nice shoe for weight lifting, very stiff & does not flex at the toes/ ball of foot. I found it too stiff for kickboxing as well.

I noticed right away how my knees felt when working out in different shoes. I know a lot of people don't step because of knee pain, that's unfortunate because it's so much fun, and gets the job done! Hope that helps some.

Linda
 
First check w/your dr ..

but IMO .. If you do step workouts a lot .. I would lay off of them for a while. I tore a tendon in my knee and the sports doc said that is was an overuse injury - caused by YEARS of teaching step classes. Once healed he recommended using a stationary bike to help w/the worn joint - even it out - and to limit my step workouts.

I only will do one to two step workouts a week now - and if I do an hour long all step cardio workout my knee puffs up and hurts.

Now every injury or person is different .. but for me .. as bad as I hated it .. it WAS the step workouts.

I too can do HiiT workouts fine - plyo workouts fine - running fine - power walking fine - shaping fine - but if I overdo on the stepping I will start hurting/limping again. Kickboxing does bother it some (the twisting moves) but seems everything but the stepping is ok.

HTH!!!
 
I feel for you sister!
I ignored mine for long enough that I eventually needed surgery. I had my second knee surgery in two years this past summer. I am like you with the higher impact vs. step workouts. I can get through a HIIT and feel ok the next day, but Low Max is another story. I ache for days after that one unfortunately. You are right that it seems so counterintuative, but we are listening to our bodies! You've recieved good advice on better shoes too, I need to do the same and invest in some new ones soon. Good luck and let us know how you are doing:)
 
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