Suggestions for cardio that will give my knee a break?

shanihib

shanihib

Cathlete
I'm feeling some pain deep in my left knee and I'm pretty sure it is the step that is doing it. I've looked to see if my form suffers with one leg over the other but haven't found that to be the case so much. Anyhow it has gotten to the point that walking in heels hurts, as does most step work. I'm concerned about Plyo legs on Weds as I think that has been making it worse...

Do you have any suggestions on how I can keep up my cardio but at the same time give my knee a break so that it can heal? (assuming it can - I am concerned about a meniscus tear but figure I'll wait to find out for sure until I know anti-inflammatories and rest aren't working.)

Thanks!
 
Sorry about your knee and you know the best thing to do until you find out what's wrong is to rest it.

The cardio that I do that is easy on my knees is walking with light weights, ellipitcal and step machine.
 
I started having terrible pain in my left knee after I had been doing step for quite a while (Step, running, weighted squats). I searched online and they were calling it either "runner's" or "jumper's" knee. They suggest this band that goes just below the kneecap. I felt relief within a week of wearing it and will not do any aerobic or weightlifting without it. You may check it out. As with you, resting, icing, anti-inflammatory meds did not help at all.

In the meantime, if you do choose to do step, try not to jump off that knee - keep everything grounded. If you have any plain old floor aerobic workouts, that's what I would go for or walking maybe?

Heather

shanihib said:
I'm feeling some pain deep in my left knee and I'm pretty sure it is the step that is doing it. I've looked to see if my form suffers with one leg over the other but haven't found that to be the case so much. Anyhow it has gotten to the point that walking in heels hurts, as does most step work. I'm concerned about Plyo legs on Weds as I think that has been making it worse...

Do you have any suggestions on how I can keep up my cardio but at the same time give my knee a break so that it can heal? (assuming it can - I am concerned about a meniscus tear but figure I'll wait to find out for sure until I know anti-inflammatories and rest aren't working.)

Thanks!
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walk with an incline

If you do treadmill workouts use an incline rather than a running/pounding speed to up the intensity. Also, when you land doing any kind of jump move land toe ball of the foot then the heel . Try to land as quietly and softly as possible. How about swimming? Do you have access to a pool?
 
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I've got the same thing going on. I ended up having to go to the ER because I couldn't even walk without extreme pain. They diagnosed it as patellofemoral syndrome. I've been basically off of my feet for a week, and I'm feeling a bit better. Today, I just sat on a high bench and did some upper body work while watching tv. I also did some abs on the floor and some "old school" leg raises on each side. I'm going to attempt a 10 minute walk tomorrow. I'm going to follow the upper body/walk alternating routine for at least this week. If I can, I'm going to revisit some of my older non-step dvds and do them with no impact.

I found out that my injury was relative to a previous injury from years ago and was severely aggravated by wearing running shoes while doing cardio/step. I since bought cross-trainers.
 
Sorry to hear about your knee. I know how that can be. I had very bad knee pain in my keft knee where I couldn't even do my job much less work out. I finally went to 2 doctors and found out I had a complete meniscus tear in the knee. I had surgery on Jan 20th of this year and within 2 months I have to say I felt better. Anyway I feel you should get a good sports doctor so you can get an MRI and then who knows it may be something else but just don't let it go on to long like I did. Hope you feel better soon.
 
Go to a Physiotherapist!!!

Hey

From one bad knee person to another. Get it checked out. Knee pain can be caused by many things and should not be ignored. Proper physio can get you back on track in no time. Doing the wrong thing does not help anything and may make things worse. Diagnosing knee pain by internet descriptions can be misleading.

Having said that alot of the bonus leg work that Cathe includes in Meso 1 were moves that my physio subscribed as ways to strengthen my stabilizer muscles in my legs which has helped my knees considerably.

Go to a sports doctor or a physio.... doing these workouts are the same as any other athletic workout... An athlete would go to a sports medicine doctor so should you.

Good luck... hope it gets better soon
Heather
 
Thanks everyone.

I guess I hesitate to go to my doctor because he nearly almost always dismisses any pains I feel, telling me to stop exercising! Then he'll tell me to take Naproxen and ice it. I don't want to stop exercising and don't think I should have to... I guess I need to find a doctor who is pro-exercise or into sports medicine.

I did a kickboxing routine today instead of a step workout and took it easy on any kicks and twists and NO jumping. Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, Plyo legs (week 3 of Meso 3... it is hard to stop!) or something else. I'm not in excruciating pain but I could be pretty easily if I don't watch it.
 
Today, I did The Firm's Cardio Weights and moved around like an 80 year old lady. I didn't do any lunges, squats, anything else. I also did upper body weights and abs and I barely broke a sweat. It's very discouraging after having done Cathe's dvds with high intensity, but I suppose that it's better than nothing.

I'm alternating that with Rip Cords circuit 7 and a walk. I've had to cut down on my eating since I'm barely moving around, which is also a bummer.

I've got an appt with an orthopedist on Friday, so hopefully I'll have some answers.
 
RapidBreath said:
If he is not interested in helping you, somebody else will be. What a quack!

"Ice it" seriously :mad:
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yeah, I mean, let's figure out what's wrong, how it is being injured, what I'm doing wrong, or what is wrong in there, so that I can return to normal! But icing and elevating *and* staying away from exercise long term isn't a good solution! Give me *real* answers! :mad:
 
Why don't you just skip the doctor and go right to the physiotherapist? The only other thing is that you will probably be told to ice it there too but at least you will be working towards getting it better. When I messed up my knee I was back to running in a week and a half.
It is worth the trip

Heather
 
GMonkey said:
I've got the same thing going on. I ended up having to go to the ER because I couldn't even walk without extreme pain. They diagnosed it as patellofemoral syndrome. I've been basically off of my feet for a week, and I'm feeling a bit better. Today, I just sat on a high bench and did some upper body work while watching tv. I also did some abs on the floor and some "old school" leg raises on each side. I'm going to attempt a 10 minute walk tomorrow. I'm going to follow the upper body/walk alternating routine for at least this week. If I can, I'm going to revisit some of my older non-step dvds and do them with no impact.

I found out that my injury was relative to a previous injury from years ago and was severely aggravated by wearing running shoes while doing cardio/step. I since bought cross-trainers.
Click to expand...



Please tell me, what cross-trainers did you get?

I need a pair.

Kelly
 
kellyp said:
Please tell me, what cross-trainers did you get?

I need a pair.

Kelly
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I got the Nike Reax CR. Nike used to be too narrow in the toe box for me, but these ones are great. I also tried on the Musique, and I think they would be great for someone in an dance class.
 
lightening16 said:
Why don't you just skip the doctor and go right to the physiotherapist?

Heather
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I totally believe in PTs but for my insurance to pay, I have to have a prescription and it is just too expensive to go it alone.

I have realized that I have no swelling in the knee area but some in the lower quad on the inside of my leg as it attaches to the leg/knee. Hmm...
 
shanihib said:
I totally believe in PTs but for my insurance to pay, I have to have a prescription and it is just too expensive to go it alone.

I have realized that I have no swelling in the knee area but some in the lower quad on the inside of my leg as it attaches to the leg/knee. Hmm...
Click to expand...

Definitely get it checked. If your doc refuses to give you answers, or refuses to investigate further, demand an appt with an orthopedic doc. You will get an MRI and a definitive diagnosis. I went to the orthopedic surgeon today. I have an MRI scheduled for Monday to see if the issue is a cartilage tear, which will require surgery, or something tendon/ligament related which requires PT. If it hurts, something is wrong. My ortho is part of a sports medicine ctr, so they understand that staying off my feet forever is unacceptable and that a solution will be found, somehow.

Good luck!
 
elliptical! my sis has had surgery 2 different times from a knee injury in soccer. she even has metal in her knee. the elliptical is the only thing that does not bother her. she has trouble walking too much,step,tredmill,and lunges

laura
 
I had horrible pain under my knee while I was training for my marathon. I let my husband who is not a doctor, convince me it was shin splints. I kept training and ran the race. As you can imagine, it only got worse. I was forced to take 3 mos off from running and all high impact activites. The only cardio I could do was bike and the elliptical trainer. I was not even allowed to speed walk. I don't have an elliptical trainer, and there is no gym in my neighborhood, so it was biking, and it got boring quick. My point in all of this is yes, you can still work out, but make sure you take care of your body. Had I not stopped when I did, I would have been having surgery and off workouts for a year. Yes, the band you wear under your knee called a cho-pat, does work by making you not feel the intensity of the pain, but it also allows you to think you're fine when you're not. Make sure you ice after your workouts and look for some stretches online for patella facitis.
 
Yup, they found that I don't need surgery, but oddly I'm not feeling much better. I'm doing the PT exercises and stretches on the sheet the doc gave me, but I'm going stir-crazy by not being able to do real cardio, or lunges and whatnot.

I'm getting a YMCA membership soon so at least I can do the water aerobics stuff. The bummer is that I don't think that it burns a lot of calories. It's hard to adjust the diet when I'm burning 700 less calories per day. :mad:
 
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