Knee Injury Update

[ashaw]

I'm now a little over a month and a half since I injured my knee doing Cardio Slam. I've really enjoyed the P.volve workouts I've been doing for my lower body because I still work my legs and glutes without weighted lunges and squats. I'm still doing my heavy upper body lifting with Cathe and can fit that in after P.volve and a I have a ton of variety with STS, ICE Muscle Meltdowns, Fit Split and next on the upper body radar is XTrain's Chest, Back & Shoulders and Biceps and Triceps workouts. I miss high impact, high intensity cardio though. I've done the Low Impact Hiit Cardio workout from Fit Split with no issue. Last Friday, I did PHA 3 and the next day I did a Turbo Fire cardio workout. My right knee was sore all day Saturday, but I woke up Sunday with no problems. Today I did ICE Rock 'm Sock 'm kickbox with a lot of modifications and my knee is sore. I was overly aware of my knee the whole time I was working out. I'm trying to be ultra conservative because worsening an injury that could results in MRI's or expensive surgery just isn't in my family's budget right now. I would love to have an MRI of my right knee so I could know exactly what's going on, but at this point, I have no pain, no swelling, I can walk, I have mobility of the joint, so its not absolutely critical. I'm still looking online for a compression type support sleeve, but I don't think its going to be as simple as put on a compression sleeve and suddenly I can blast out of the gate with To The Max, Cardio Core Circuit, HIIT 40/20 or even Cardio Slam. I don't know when or if I'll be able to do high impact cardio again. I'm certainly not rushing back into anything either. And, earlier this year, I had finally increased my Cathe dvd collection to almost all her current series and some old favorites so I'm using the ones I can use with upper body and hope to get back to the others eventually. I'm just thankful that I can do P.volve and upper body.

 

[Hazlady]

Hi Ashaw. I've been working on trying to deepen my squats and lunges and some of the material I've come across also covers knee issues. Knee pain can be caused from misalignment in other areas such as the hip, ankle or foot. It could also be muscles that are tight and weak that are pulling the joints out of alignment. You could try recording yourself when you workout to see if you can spot any issues but this could be difficult to see on faster paced workouts. Also, Tom Morrison on his YouTube channel has some information around knee pain, the causes, and exercises. I suggest you check out Tom's posts and see if they are helpful to you. I know how frustrating it is when your body won't do what you want it to do and you can't figure out why.

 

[ashaw]

Thank you! Its funny you mention videoing myself because a month or so ago, my husband did a short video of me lifting during Total Body Giant Sets. I was pleasantly surprised that my form was so good because my workout area doesn't have mirrors. I truly think mine is just joint wear and tear. What's amazing is that I have no discomfort when I do P.volve, lift heavy for upper body or just go about my day, walking my dog, etc. I'm hoping because there isn't swelling and I don't have constant pain/discomfort that it isn't something serious. Again, I would love to have an MRI so I'd know for sure and wouldn't have to speculate and worry if its ACL, MCL, meniscus, etc, but right now erring on the side of caution is my best treatment. I noticed that Cardio Slam has an option with modifications on quite a few of the exercises. Also, I've thought about maybe using gliding discs on the moves like the power scissors and jacks to completely remove any impact. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say!

 

[Debinmi]

What an interesting idea to incorporate gliding discs in Cardio Slam, or any cardio for some stuff! Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[dr.mel_PT]

Thank you! Its funny you mention videoing myself because a month or so ago, my husband did a short video of me lifting during Total Body Giant Sets. I was pleasantly surprised that my form was so good because my workout area doesn't have mirrors. I truly think mine is just joint wear and tear. What's amazing is that I have no discomfort when I do P.volve, lift heavy for upper body or just go about my day, walking my dog, etc. I'm hoping because there isn't swelling and I don't have constant pain/discomfort that it isn't something serious. Again, I would love to have an MRI so I'd know for sure and wouldn't have to speculate and worry if its ACL, MCL, meniscus, etc, but right now erring on the side of caution is my best treatment. I noticed that Cardio Slam has an option with modifications on quite a few of the exercises. Also, I've thought about maybe using gliding discs on the moves like the power scissors and jacks to completely remove any impact. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say!

Have you seen a physical therapist about your knee? Even just a consult might get you on the track for what to incorporate into your training re: hip/knee/ankle/core exercises targeted to hit what might be affecting your knee whether that be strength/endurance/mobility/all of the above. There are a lot of sports-specific PTs out there that can help; just an option I wanted to throw out there cuz you mentioned not wanting surgery. I'm actually suffering a hamstring/calf tear myself so I totally feel your pain (literally)

 

[ashaw]

Have you seen a physical therapist about your knee? Even just a consult might get you on the track for what to incorporate into your training re: hip/knee/ankle/core exercises targeted to hit what might be affecting your knee whether that be strength/endurance/mobility/all of the above. There are a lot of sports-specific PTs out there that can help; just an option I wanted to throw out there cuz you mentioned not wanting surgery. I'm actually suffering a hamstring/calf tear myself so I totally feel your pain (literally)

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I haven't thought about physical therapy mainly because of the fact that I'm not in constant discomfort. When I do my P.Volve workouts (which are rooted in physical therapy), my knee doesn't bother me at all. The only times I've had flare ups of discomfort is when I do cardio with more varying impact. Right now our family budget is just so tight. My husband is self employed in commercial real estate and deals he anticipated to progress further have stalled. The problem is nothing in his line of work moves quickly. I know that if I was in excruciating pain and couldn't walk that we would find a way to pay for an MRI and such, but at this point, I'm trying to err on the side of caution and not try to jump back in too soon. Back in 2007 when I had a knee problem that forced me to quit running, I had the luxury of getting an MRI and an elliptical machine. I used the elliptical for several years before carefully venturing back out into higher impact workouts, which I did with no issue until mid June. I regret selling the elliptical, but I did so in order to get more floor space in my workout area. I hope you get to feeling better as well!

 

[dr.mel_PT]

Thank you so much for the suggestion. I haven't thought about physical therapy mainly because of the fact that I'm not in constant discomfort. When I do my P.Volve workouts (which are rooted in physical therapy), my knee doesn't bother me at all. The only times I've had flare ups of discomfort is when I do cardio with more varying impact. Right now our family budget is just so tight. My husband is self employed in commercial real estate and deals he anticipated to progress further have stalled. The problem is nothing in his line of work moves quickly. I know that if I was in excruciating pain and couldn't walk that we would find a way to pay for an MRI and such, but at this point, I'm trying to err on the side of caution and not try to jump back in too soon. Back in 2007 when I had a knee problem that forced me to quit running, I had the luxury of getting an MRI and an elliptical machine. I used the elliptical for several years before carefully venturing back out into higher impact workouts, which I did with no issue until mid June. I regret selling the elliptical, but I did so in order to get more floor space in my workout area. I hope you get to feeling better as well!

TOTALLY get it!!! I like the slow & steady plan!

 

[ashaw]

Today was an open day in my P.volve schedule so I decided to try Afterburn from the Low Impact Series and I got a fantastic workout! I was extremely careful on certain moves to be aware of my knee and unlike the last time I did a workout with some cardio in it, I don't seem to have any soreness right now. The last time I did PHA3 and then a Turbo Fire workout back to back, so I think that maybe was too much too soon on my knee. I'm waiting for my annual MLR (medical loss rebate) from my health insurance company which is usually a couple hundred dollars and then I'll order some type of knee support. I was going to put it on a credit card I hadn't used in a while until I saw that they decided to raise my interest rate and this month's minimum payment is more than last month's and I haven't even used the card. I called and asked for a lower rate, but they said they will review my account in 2 months and make a decision. And, our home and auto policy went up, our electric bill went up.....It just never ends.