Dr. said NO more high impact workouts!

[andtckrtoo]

I have that surgery coming up on Thursday. I have been continuing with some impact. I've been doing P90X3 Agility X which has some jumps, etc - as long as I land correctly, I'm fine. My DD21 does parkour and was watching me jump and said, "No wonder your knee hurts, try this..." And she coached me through a proper landing and it made a HUGE difference.

That being said, my doc has also warned me that low impact will probably be in my future. My concern with the rebounder - and I have a Jump Sport, too - is the unstableness. I actually feel less pain when I do something like Insanity on the floor than on my JS. So definitely follow doc's advice. I really recommend following his advice to a T at least for a while. I plan to, as much as it'll kill me. I'm not looking forward to this, but I am looking forward to having some of the swelling gone. I can't even do child's pose because my knee is so swollen and painful.

[Sollamyn]

I have a torn meniscus in my right knee that was diagnosed over 7 years ago, and so far I've managed to avoid surgery and lead a relatively pain-free knee life. I did have to trade or donate many of my DVDs that were high-impact or step cardio and I don't run any more. Walking and low-impact cardio (I don't like swimming) are my main forms of cardio now. I still do an occasional low-impact, very short, step workout because I love step!! I also do just about anything else I want, which is mostly intermediate strength, circuits (with low impact cardio) and yoga workouts. Oh, and I do p.t. exercises for knee about three times a week, and I stretch out daily.

A while back (a few years ago) I experimented with walking on my parents' treadmill and I borrowed my sister's mini-tram to see if I could expand my cardio workouts somewhat. Boy, did I have a major pain flare up from those experiments. I talked with my doctor (after getting a script for some pain meds) and he said while those are low-impact workouts, the impact is different and not good for my condition.

Again, I must add that I have not had surgery, so YMMV. Still, I thought I would give you my thoughts, based on my experience.

I wish you well in your recovery and continued success in your fitness journey.

Donna

[horsemom2]

The 370 Jumpsport mat aggravated my Plantar Fasciitis problem when barefooted. I took a gamble getting the 550F PRO after reading reviews by others with PF who tried a Bellicon unsuccessfully. The Bellicon mat is like soft sand and soft sand is bad for PF.

The gamble paid off because the 550 mat is much firmer and more stable than the 370's. It has never bothered my knees even though my right knee can hurt just lying in bed. I was going to suggest sitting and bouncing on a large stability ball as an alternative but that sometimes aggravates my sensitive right knee.

Getting the Jumpsport 550F PRO was a great choice for me.
I do not jump up off the mat much because my head would go through our basement ceiling LOL
Even with keeping at least part of one foot in contact with the mat, I can easily raise my heartrate. I do 90% of my workouts on it.

Barb S

[Sarah-lara]

I don't know anything about meniscus tears. I do know many PT's use slide boards for ACL tear rehabilitation and those are now finally back for sale to home users at generally reasonable prices.

[lreidgreen]

You might be able to do kettlebell swings. I think that is pretty Knee friendly. Other moves with the bells like squats and lunges might cause problems though.

[PLS]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and feedback.

Sarah- I just ordered and received my Obsidian slide board through Mary, I have the other 7 workouts plus the cardio workout for slide board that was a download. I had an old reebok slide and I love sliding- but of course I knew I wouldn't be doing any sliding without a repair- I had a major flare up the last time I tried sliding. I am looking forward to getting back to using those workouts soon.

I also have lots of barre workouts.

Barb- thank you for the feedback on the JS rebounder.

I do plan to take my list with me of questions for the surgeon to see what I can and cannot do. I am very good at following doctors orders, that is never a problem, I see enough of the patients who don't do what the doctor recommends.

Penny

[Eibhinn]

Personally, as good as rebounders are for some people, I would be a very wary of it. As Lucky Star says, even the softest rebounder has some impact, unless you just sit there health-bouncing (which, honestly, doesn't look too enjoyable to me). More importantly, I'm not sure rebounders, being unstable, bouncy things, are a great idea for people with joint stability issues - and given the fact that a stabilizing shoes previously helped for your issues, I'm guessing stabilization factors into your problems. I got a rebounder because I avoid impact due to chronic ankle instability. I was surprised to find that the rebounder actually felt worse for my body than full impact on my hardwood floors (full disclosure - it was a cheapie rebounder, but it had elastic/bungee connections and wasn't a really jarring bounce). The spring upward and air time caused my joints to loosen and relax, which is a nice relaxing feeling initially, but bad when I land and everything wobbles. And landing on an unstable surface like the rebounder mat is extra stabilization work. So if the things that are holding your joints together are already overworked - like my overstretched ligaments - I feel like rebounding puts excessive pressure on them. I tried with the rebounder, but bouncing on it, even low and easy, caused my ankles to wobble and hurt - a lot (more than running on concrete sidewalks). Continuing would have been a recipe for a serious sprain. I'm not all that familiar with knee anatomy, but it is my understanding that the meniscus is an important contributor to knee stability. Based on that, I think rebounding is a very bad idea, at least until the tears have healed.

ETA - Oh, and lest I sound like a Debbie Downer, I will say that despite doctors telling me that my ankle stability issues are essentially irreparable/insurmountable, I have made enormous progress by doing research, rehabbing them on my own, and finding gentle physical activity which support, rather than punish them. Despite having suffered through numerous serious sprains/tears over the years and grumbling through numerous long recovery periods, my ankles are now working better than they have in 15 or 20 years. Oh, and Kettlebells are one of the fairly joint friendly exercise techniques I've found. Weak glute medius contributed to my ankle stability issues and addressing that has helped (I think it also can contribute to knee imbalances). Wearing YogaToes regularly also seems to have helped with stability by providing a wider and stronger base to walk on. Just thought I'd add a little glimmer of hope that, even though it looks bad now, I'm sure you'll recover and find a healthy balance of activity, strength and comfort again.

[Bebop]

Can't give you advise but I was thinking, have you asked your doctor if you could wear a knee support while rebounding or walking?

I use my rebounder to lessen impact. I have a reboundair. For the record, when my knee is acting up, even rebounding aggrevates it. I have a Reboundair which is a soft mat. If you have stability issues, I would be very careful. The rebounder can take some getting acclimated to.

Good luck.

[bzar]

a good friend of mine, who was a collegiate swimmer, had arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees. he has a bulky build. i'm not sure how he got his knees injured, and not sure how extensive the surgery was.

his PT advised using 2 rebounders to build up the muscle in his legs after surgery. IIRC, it was fairly immediate (like w/in a week) of the surgery that he was advised to begin using the rebounders.

when he told me what therapy was prescribed, i was surprised.

he was told to use one rebounder for each leg, bouncing left and right. he was able to rebuild his legs using this therapy.

[horsemom2]

Not sure but believe the unstable Bosu was also recommended for knee rehab?

Barb S