If you hurt your knee........

A

angela123

Cathlete
I hurt my knee 2 weeks ago doing lunges. For the past 2 weeks I have continued to do cardio but I have modified and haven't done any of Cathe's step workouts mostly KPC & Kickmax. I have only lifted weights for my upper body except yesterday I did PourHour but did not do the lunges. My knee is not completely better but it doesn't bother me as much. Do you think it would heal faster if I did nothing (which would be hard, I just got my new Cathe DVDs) or if I modified the workouts.
I do not have insurance, so I cannot go to the doctor unless it was really serious. I have injured this knee before and it eventually got better. This knee is really vaunarable to injury bc of a car wreck I was in 5 years agox(
Thanks for any input Cathe fans!
 
Modify thats what I do. lunges are hard on my knees. I never do explosive lunges I also wear knee braces on both knees for support.
They are black stretchy and padded. it really helps me

Susan
 
Switch to floor work. Don't use bands or ankle weights at first, just use your body weight -- add them later, when your knee is much better. When you feel confident enough to try stepping again, resume your step workouts without the step. It will feel funny, but it's better than shocking your knee and risking injury. Don't do pivots and turns, and keep it low. Widen your range of motion to work your body harder while keeping it low impact. Once you feel that your knee is strong enough to handle a step, do so but only with the topper. Restarting very slowly is key.

These are things that have worked for me before and still work for me whenever my knees feel ornery. Icing my knees regularly also helps. I avoid those pulsing lunges as well. There's only so much I can do before my knees say enough. If I do them, I only do half of Cathe's sets or I do regular lunges at a 2-2 count, which feel more comfortable to me.

Pinky
 
Some suggestions (though having one PT session would be the best!):
Warm-up thoroughly, so that the knee joint has plenty of circulation going before you start the main workout. 10 minutes isn't out of the question. Also, gradually work into a bigger ROM, starting shallow in most moves.

Try to reduce inflammation. You can do that by icing the knee right after a workout. Also,, "Blue Mangosteen" (which I get from here: http://www.oneluckyduck.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=207 ) is an excellent anti-inflammatory made from dried/powdered mangosteenn and Klamath Lake Blue-Green algae. It takes a while to work, but it does seem to work well. I've been taking it daily (the contents of two opened capsules in a smoothie) and I notice the difference when I skip it for several days. Eating antioxidant-rich foods and avoiding too many acid-producing foods (animal products, most grains, most nuts--except almonds) can also help with inflammation.

Making sure that the muscles around the knee are balanced in both strength and flexibility is important. The vastus medialus (the "teardrop" muscle on the inside of the knee) is often a weak link.

You can strengthen this and other muscles by doing 'quad sets': sit on the floor with legs straight (either prop your uppper body up on elbows or lie down, whatever is most comfortable). Bend one leg and keep the other straight. Tense the quad in the straight leg, keep the knee locked thoughout the move, and lift the leg under control until the knee is about even with the knee of the bent leg. Hold for a count of two, then lower under control. You can target the VM more by turning the toe of the lifting leg out to about a 45-degree angle. After you work up to sets of 15, add a light ankle weight.

If your knee hurts too much to do that, you can do this alternative exercise: in the same position, but with a folded towel under the knee of the straight leg, press down into the towel to activate the quads.

Also, make sure to stretch all the muscles around the knee, especially the hamstrings, hip flexor and IT band.

You may want to look into your biomechanics when doing lunges, since that's the exercise that gave you trouble (and obviously it was because something was not right). Make sure the knee doesn't buckle in, keep the knee back of the toe. Once you get back into doing lunges, it may help to stick with static lunges (even while holding onto something for help with balance and form) and/or doing lunges with the front foot on a 4-6 inch platform).
Also, as a general rule, if it hurts, DON"T DO IT!
 
> Don't do pivots and turns, and keep it low.

A good point.
I find that pivoty moves increase risk of injury more than impact. If you are working out on carpet, especially, but even if you are working on a smooth surface.

Also be aware of moves in some of Cathe's step workouts where you transition from the back to the side of the step or vice-versa. You often have to make a larger move or move in a certain way to avoid torque, and while Cathe does this herself, she doesn't cue it, so you have to figure it out on your own. After I figured this out (and also remove a lot of pivoty moves from my workouts), my knees started feeling better!
 
Thank you all for your suggestions. I hurt my knee last week and was going to post a similar question.
Lorrie
 
My knee doesn't usually hurt when doing lunges but last week I used heavier weight and incorrect form. I can't wait till it gets better. I miss my "jumps" and step videos.
 
>How long do you apply ice to your knee after working out?
>
>10 min? less or more?
>

20 minutes is often what is recommended. You can also do an ice massage: freeze some water in small paper cups (those 'bathroom'-sized Dixie cups) and keep them handy, then after a workout, rub the ice over the knee area, being sure not to stay too long in one place. This combines massage and ice in one.
 
Have checked with a trainer or someone to see what kind of injury you have...overuse...ACL...etc.. If your just icing or bracing to keep going you could be in for some trouble in the future?
 
Good question! I just starting stepping right around the time the new workouts came out for the first time in my life and before that I could do endless lunges pulsing and squats (using no weight to light weight) and now my left knee is tweaking out and im so sad :-( I have never had knee issues before.

I am taking off stepping and leg work Sun - Wed this week and will just use the platform when using the step and will go back to doing no weight with my leg work and will be careful going down too far on the lunges and cross my fingers that my knee will be happy again.

In addition to the knee issue I have plantar facitisis (sp?) and I can cope with that better than the knee issue and even though my feet hurt more than my knee does!

ETA - I am going to get knee braces as well.
 
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