knee pain 1st time ever

[darine]

It's not a bad pain. Just a tiny bit. I am 31 years old. I NEVER EVER felt pain in my knee. I am doing a lot of cardio. Is that it? Or am I going to have bone problems... I am worried because my mom and grandmother have osteoporosis. But obviously when they were a lot older than 31! I have been working out since I am 20. I am doing Cathe since 3 years. I use to run on the treadmill 4 times a week and never had any issue. Only 3 years ago I started Cathe and video workouts...

So should I slow down on the cardio? But I am so into it and I want to lose a few pounds and now I have to slow down... unless I stop all these HIIT and high impact for a while and do more of MMA, and less jumpong cardio

I am panicking because I don't want to be in a position that I can't workout. I started running outside last summer and I really want to do that this summer. I actually did my first run this year today... the pain is not a bad pain. I can still workout and I feel it only for few sec and then it's completely gone...

anyone experienced anything like that. any advice?

 

[morningstar]

It may be related to your form or overtraining. It's hard to say when it's only a little pain, once. Maybe you just tweaked it the wrong way. Don't panic yet!

 

[Lisa7691]

Try adding some extra stretching in for your hips...a tight IT Band can cause pain in your knee. I am currently in PT for this very thing. It's amazing what a few extra stretches can do for you. I was relieved to find out from my physical therapist that my knee is structurally fine, it is just my IT band causing problems. runnersworld.com has some great info about IT band issues. Good luck!

 

[kathryn]

No need to panic, but it's good to get a (low impact) jump on this sort of thing before it gets worse, or before something that is acute becomes chronic.

Knee pain can be from a lot of different causes: tracking problems (patella-femoral pain syndrome), chondromalacia, etc. Imbalances between strength and flexibility in the muscles surrounding the knee (ie: one muscle is too tight, another is too weak, etc.) are one cause. Make sure you are keeping up a balance weight program for the lower body that includes strengthening and stretching exercises.

What has changed? Are you doing high impact more often? Are you doing more cardio and less strength training? Are you not stretching as much as before?

You may have to do higher-impact workouts less often.
Especially avoid doing them on consecutive days.
Everyone has different tolerances, depending on their age, physical structure, and a host of other factors. You have to figure out what your limit is.

Another thing to look at is your weight workouts. Make sure you are using good form in squats and lunges (knees not bowing inward, knees not going forward beyond the toe).

Lisa mentioned a tight IT band, and that's a common cause for tracking problems. The best way to hit that area is through foam rolling. I HIGHLY recommend that you start doing a lower-body foam rolling routine before your workouts.

 

[darine]

thank you all for the response

I am a lot less panicking... i did a bit of research and looked and search some info in your answers. Yes, I am doing more high impact and loving the fact that I am getting better at these jumps and feel stronger. so I am doing these jumping workouts more often and I NEVER stretch enough and with these workouts I guess it just got worst. I am terrible at stretching. I almost always skip it or do a 30 sec stretch. So I will go for a while doing less impact and I will definitely take the time to stretch.

I just clicked how important it is. I don't even like to do the stretch at the end of the workouts. I just get so bored. But now, I have to remember this knee pain and enjoy the stretch and understand the importance of having the muscles stretching after being contracted. I have been stretching my legs just watching TV and I didn't feel the pain again.

thx all for the advice. Even if it didn't last a long time, this is a lesson to never underestimate stretching. And I will decrease the high impact workouts to once a week. I thought I would never be someone who will have any problem. But I guess I am like everyone else and I am not 20 anymore it's hard to realize!

 

[Autumn68]

I hurt mine by overtraining. And everytime I thought I was feeling better, I jumped back to it, and made it worse. It's a strain and nothing worse thank God, but take a break if you need to. My suggestioin would be to just do walking or elliptical for cardio and do upper body. Also, doc told me to use Aleve for the pain. Just keep an eye on it so it doesn't get worse. - autumn

 

[LeanneM]

I've been having some knee issues the last few years, and a DVD that really helps me is called Strong Knees by Chantal Donnelly, who is a physical therapist.

There is a longer stretching/workout section on it, but I tend to do the seven-minute stretch and strengthening section more often since I don't have a lot of time to sneak in the longer workout. If I'm good about tacking the seven-minute segment onto the end of my workouts twice a week, I notice a lot less knee pain.

Both Amazon and Collage carry this DVD.

Hope that helps!