A bit OT: I'm so annoyed with my knees!

[SuzieC]

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping you can all share your wisdom with me, because I have no idea what's going on.
I'm a bit annoyed. Everytime I get into a good exercise groove, my knees start being really painful!
It got bad when I *tried* to do Tracy Anderson's Dance Cardio, my knee became really painful. After a while, it subsided, I had no pain (although both my knees crack very very loudly when I go up the stairs or straighten my legs when i'm sitting). I talked to my doctor about it, but by then the pain had subsided. He said if i had no pain, not to worry about the cracking and I'd "probably have arthritis later on in life". (ummm, thanks for nothing!).

So I started exercising again, this time taking care not to jump like a maniac if I wasn't wearing Kangoos or using the mini-trampoline.

Then, I did the cardio from Jillian's Body Revolution (which isn't high impact, IMO) and my knee gave out again. It was so bad yesterday I limped around everwhere and going up and down the stairs is really painful.

I'm hesitant to go back to my doctor because he will tell me (again) that I need to lose 40 pounds. The thing is, how can I lose this weight if I can't exercise! Argh! I feel like i"m stuck in a vicious circle and i'm just really deflated by this.

Maybe i need to look for some really low impact cardio, but most "time crunch" workouts are high impact. I can realistically dedicate 30-40 min to my workouts, 6 days a week...

Any advice? Anyone had knee problems like this?

Thanks for listening.

[cfwb]

Doing low impact workouts is better than not being able to do any workouts. So, one option would be to make your low-impact workouts as intense as you can - with big movements, or by adding hand weights to some moves.

You might also experiment - is it the impact that causes the pain, or is it the turns? (For my knees, the turns are a lot worse than impact.)

You might also look into water aerobics classes. Some are low intensity, but others are pretty high intensity. If you can't find a class, even jogging across a pool, or "skiing" across a pool (in chest-deep water, ideally) can really get your heart rate up. One water aerobics class I was in had us do suicides across the pool. Step workouts in the pool are pretty fun, too. You can really build strength and stamina through a good water aerobics class.

[Castella]

See a different doctor (seriously). I haven't had good luck myself with sports medicine, but that is worth a try. You might also look for someone who specializes in bones or arthritis.

Strengthen the muscles that support your knee and avoid torque-y movements.

My bones are somewhat misaligned so the best I can do for myself is wear good shoes, no heels, I do a lot of squats and lunges and avoid impact on unforgiving surfaces. The second I feel a hint of pain I stop. I want to be able to keep going for a long time!

[Lucky Star]

As a fellow wonky-kneed vidiot, I sympathize! I find that slow, perfectly-executed squats help. I also have that Gaiam Strong Knees video which I'll use periodically to rehab. It's a useful video.

The thing is, how can I lose this weight if I can't exercise!

Losing 40 lbs may help but isn't a guarantee that you won't continue to have problem knees. Plenty of thin people do. But anyway, I'm sure you know that weight loss has much more to do with how you eat than how you exercise.

In terms of how much time you have to work out, you should do what you can and what is healthiest for your body, especially at this time. There's no point hurting your knees further and risking becoming incapacitated. So if this means some Pilates or knee-strengthening exercises along with a daily walk then logically that's what you should do. For instance, doing Classical Stretch along with a Leslie mile every morning sounds good to me! Maybe you can do another 1-2 Leslie miles (or equivalent gentle cardio) in the evening. No jogging or 'boosting', just gentle walking steps. Keep it low-impact. And if you can do that every day while reducing your caloric intake, you'll feel better, improve your posture, and lose some weight as well.

[gradgirl]

Suzie,

I am having the same problem. I get all hard-core and finally get my workout groove, and then my left knee gets wonky. It even gets wonky if I walk the dog too much--but that got better since I changed shoes. Apparently I had been wearing a stability shoe but needed a neutral one. I thought that was a load of crap, but it really has helped reduce the pain since I now use the neutral shoe for all of my walking/working out.

I bought a foam roller and a ice pack knee thing at Academy, and I am now rolling my IT bands, hamstrings, and quads almost every day after I workout. If the pain is really achey, I wrap the knee in an ace bandage and use the ice pack. That helps a lot.

Other than that, I am having to rest more than I really want. In Jan, Feb, and Mar I've had to take off at least 5 days in a row each month because my knee was wonky. I have 20lbs to lose (maybe 25 after all the crap I've eaten today), and I'm frustrated.

Some days I feel like I'm falling apart.

[flowerpotcat]

Have you tried kettlebells? They are intense but low impact. I felt that kb training helped strengten the muscles around my wonky knees but my knees are still wonky but not as much.

If I have to do any Debbie Sieber's lunges/squats/plies, I have to do them slowly and not do the pulsing or any fast paced move. I also do not do as much as they do. I also try to avoid any kind of jumping, or fast moving side-to-side plies. If ever I work my knees too much (e.g. feeling sore) I do a gentler workout the next few days until I know my knees are feeling better again.

[Aunt Famous]

In a kickboxing class in July, I heard a "POP" and felt pain. The orthopedist said I had patella-femoral syndrome (which is a fancy way of saying "bad knees"), and sent me to PT. Which my insurance wouldn't pay for. But in the one session I went to, the PT told me that I need to strengthen my hips and work on my flexibility. I thought that this was ludicrous -- I can put my palms on the floor with straight knees -- but I realized that I was the very knucklehead who'd gotten myself into this situation.

Words of advice: Continue moving, but take it easy. Ice. Try strengthening your hips and your abductors/adductors. Floor work -- Strong Stride, Original Buns of Steel, Exhale Core Fusion Thighs and Glutes -- has been my saving grace. And yes, weight loss helps take some of the pressure off; in my case, five pounds has helped a lot. (I am pretty much at my best weight right now.) Really work on eating right, drinking plenty of water. On my doctor's advice, I have tried some glucosamine and Omega 3 supplements, which have seemed to help.

I change my shoes frequently -- every 3 to 6 months, depending on the activity -- and I have two pairs of dog walking shoes, which I alternate daily.

There is life after high impact. Try Life Force; you can make it a 10-50 minute workout, as high or low impact as you need it to be, and it's about $4.99 on Amazon. Try a Leslie workout, and if you need to up the ante, use hand weights.

As I tell my spin classes, there is a difference between exertion and pain. Exertion good, pain bad. You want to make your original equipment last as long as possible!

Good luck, friend.

AF

[EnglishIvy]

Less cardio and more strengthening!!! If you strengthen the muscles around your knees and ideally the rest of your lower body, you may eventually be able to do higher impact programs without pain or injury. If you can't do squats or lunges, start with simple wall sits and work up. Start gradually and build.

I also second the foam roller suggestion. The cracking sounds you are experiencing can be caused by other factors besides joint surface wear. If your quadriceps become overly tight or have trigger points it can cause your patella (kneecap) to track improperly. That can cause noise and pain on the stairs. Foam rolling and strengthening can really help with soft tissue problems.

The most important thing is not to keep adding damage. Educate, strengthen and take the bull by the horns before it's too late. A lot of the discouragement you feel is probably coming from feeling helpless and not knowing. Even if there is a problem, having a plan and hope will make all the difference. And if your doctor can't work with you or appreciate that you are trying to lose weight, get a new doctor. It's sheer laziness for a medical professional to write everything off to weight. As another poster mentioned, plenty of weight appropriate individuals have knee pain.

[bee1forfitness]

Originally Posted by flowerpotcat

Have you tried kettlebells? They are intense but low impact. I felt that kb training helped strengten the muscles around my wonky knees but my knees are still wonky but not as much.

If I have to do any Debbie Sieber's lunges/squats/plies, I have to do them slowly and not do the pulsing or any fast paced move. I also do not do as much as they do. I also try to avoid any kind of jumping, or fast moving side-to-side plies. If ever I work my knees too much (e.g. feeling sore) I do a gentler workout the next few days until I know my knees are feeling better again.

Also you might want to try some of the walking DVDS to Good Luck

[andtckrtoo]

Originally Posted by Castella

See a different doctor (seriously). I haven't had good luck myself with sports medicine, but that is worth a try. You might also look for someone who specializes in bones or arthritis.

Strengthen the muscles that support your knee and avoid torque-y movements.

My bones are somewhat misaligned so the best I can do for myself is wear good shoes, no heels, I do a lot of squats and lunges and avoid impact on unforgiving surfaces. The second I feel a hint of pain I stop. I want to be able to keep going for a long time!

See another doctor. 40 pounds should not cause that kind of knee pain. Something is wrong and you need to get that checked out. I speak from experience.