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Old 03-19-12, 04:21 PM  
lila_says
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Canada
Hi SuzieC, I've had the same problem my entire life (started at elemntary school age). I must say nothing other than exercise has helped. As others have mentioned, strengthening the muscles around your knees is paramount. I strongly suggest you check out Yoga Tune Up Quickfix Rx KneeHab
http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/Yoga...ller-p/302.htm
Additionally I would strongly recommend that you do a move she uses --- a deep stationary squat with your back against a wall, multiple time daily. Do this frequently & regularly & within a very short time you'll feel a huge difference in your knees. The creaking & cracking however, are forever.
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Old 03-19-12, 05:00 PM  
Hej
 
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Join Date: Mar 2002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EnglishIvy View Post
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 agree with this 100%. Cardio is overrated when it comes to weightloss, so adding weight/strength work is a good idea. There are also rehab exercises that can strengthen lower body muscles so that weight is distributed properly and knees track correctly. As others have mentioned, there are rehab exercises on Yoga Quick Fix Kneehab. And Katy Bowman has an Aligned and Well DVD on Knees and Hips. Or you could try going to a physiotherapist.

Also how about trying cycling, swimming, or deep water aquafitness for cardio. You can even do intervals in these formats without putting as much stress on your knees as some other activities. Hope you feel better soon!
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Old 03-20-12, 07:03 AM  
SuzieC
 
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Canada
Hi everyone!
Thanks so much for all the replies. They've given me hope and I don't feel so bad now knowing I'm not alone. I did not think to strengthen the muscles around my knees, so I'm going to focus on that, and hopefully also pick up a Knee rehab DVD. That should help. My mum has rheumatoid arthritis and has been on a waiting list for knee replacement surgery for over a year (it's been a year since the doctor told her she has no cartilage left on that knee), and seeing her in excruciating pain, and thinking I may be on the same path, well it was all a bit deflating.
Thanks for giving me hope, and most of all, great suggestions on how to prevent things from getting worse without having to give up my weight loss goals. I really appreciate it!
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Old 03-20-12, 11:44 AM  
Vintage VFer
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Here are links to a couple of knee articles that I have found helpful:

http://thecorematrix.wordpress.com/2...bout-the-knee/

http://www.alignedandwell.com/?p=148...ess&Itemid=223

Less weight does put less pressure on the joints. More than a few VFers have lost weight doing Leslie and other low impact workouts. Leslie has workouts in a variety of lengths and intensities. Reducing calorie intake helps.


Take good care of your knees now and they will thank you for the rest of your life!
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Old 03-20-12, 01:18 PM  
lila_says
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Join Date: Sep 2011
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Suzie, another dvd that seems like it may help with your issues is Strong Stride
http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/Stro...son-p/2055.htm
There are modifiers that can take this from a zero to high impact workout so it'll be useful to you at every stage of knee fitness.
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Old 03-20-12, 01:31 PM  
Jewels5
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Virginia
Have you had your shoes fitted properly? I injured my knee almost 3 years ago and the pain kept coming back (still does occasionally). The pain became less intense after first going through physical therapy (to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee) then by getting proper fitting shoes. I wasn't aware that I over-pronate. That was preventing my knee from healing, because my legs weren't properly aligned.

When I first went low impact I was almost depressed about it until I realized I can find satisfaction in high intensity/low impact workouts. I do Leslie almost exclusively for cardio these days, and I mostly do barre work and floor/mat work for lower body. If/when I do lunges/squats I try to focus on the weight being in the heels to take pressure off the knees. Also, what helps almost instantly nowadays if I have knee pain is to stretch the IT band. I agree it's so important to take good care of our knees!
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Old 03-20-12, 01:38 PM  
Gams
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
I feel your pain - literally. In the past week or so I've developed a painful click in my left knee when I bend my leg. It doesn't hurt when my leg is straight or when it's bent farther than the angle at which it clicks, but it hurts a lot in the one spot when I bend my leg to a certain point. I'm concerned because I have a plate and several pins in my leg in that area. And I teach several ramping classes per week and can't afford to not teach and lose that money. Not sure yet what I'm going to do.
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Old 03-20-12, 07:12 PM  
msladybug
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
I found squats really helped my knees. Start off slow, with shallow squat, unweighted even. Make sure you really sit back. If you knees tolerate that, you can little by little go deeper, and add weight. You might want to avoid lunges until your knees improve. I found lunges were iffy and subbed squats for lunches. After a couple of months when my knees were better, I could add lunges. I couldn't do any impact prior to working with squats...but after I could.

I agree with other posters...see another doctor. The weight alone probably is not the cause. When my knees were really bad at 40, I was very thin. I had creaking in both knees and I wa diagnosed with arthritis. I'm almost 57 and my knees are great now, even better than at 35 and I'm overweigh now. And I don't have the popping and creaking now either.

Also take stock of your diet. I found that fish oil, flax and antiinflammatory foods really help. Glucosamine helped me also. Not going into any more detail on that as this is mostly a diet free zone.

If what you've been doing for cardio and weight loss isn't working for you right now, because of torque or impact, you can still workout in a way that will burn tons of calories, burn fat, strengthen the muscles and get your heart rate up. Look for weigh workouts that incorporate whole body functional movement....ie: lower and upper body working at the same time, with little or no rest between sets. That's what I did while rehabbing my knees, and it worked for me...my knees got better, and I lost weight/fat. I wore a HRM during the workouts, and my calorie burn and heart rate were really up there. I was getting my "cardio" via my weight workouts.

If any of your workouts involve turns or torque, consider dance sneakers. The allow you to pivot without putting stress on the joints. Blochs and Capezio are two brands.
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Old 03-20-12, 07:19 PM  
stitchywitch
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Kentucky
I have always had difficult knees (family history of arthritis here!) What helped me the most was strengthening the muscles around the knee. My doctor said that you can create an imbalance in the strength of your muscles by doing the same activities all the time (in my case lots of walking - gave me runners knee, it hurt to go down stairs for months!)

I do lots of squats and lunges, and I avoid repetitive cardio (in fact, I find that I can handle impact just fine, just not twisty moves or repetitive motions - I do plyo once or twice a week no problem, but Zumba is off my list forever!) I've also trained myself to sleep on my back with straight legs - I always slept with knees bent, but I've noticed a huge decrease in pain since changing the way I lie (I thought of this because I also have wrist tendinitis, and I had to learn to sleep without laying on my wrists.) I don't actually do much cardio anymore - just twice a week, and weight training the other days. It's easier on my joints, and the weight training strengthens them!
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Old 03-20-12, 07:28 PM  
PLS
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Missouri
I agree with the suggestions- strengthen the muscles of the knees, stretch the hamstrings, make sure your shoes are not over worn, I have 2-3 pair of good shoes for working out, dog walking shoes and work sneakers as well (3 pair) I rotate daily allowing the soles to completely recover for 24-48 hours before wearing again. And I replace them every 6 months or so (I keep an eye out for coupons and sales at Kohls or online). I over-pronate so it is imperative that I have shoes that are firm under my arches, my knees will let me know when the shoes must go.

Also if you do a lot of walking be sure to reverse your route daily, when I walk Frank I walk my route one way in the morning and the opposite in the afternoon, if I walk the same way and same side of the sidewalk it slopes and I get medial knee pain.

I work in PT and had been thinking about knee replacements because no matter what I did, I had chronic knee pain, it would go away for short periods of time but not consistently. My mother was diagnosed with celiac and through testing I found out I was gluten sensitive AND then lactose intolerant. 6 weeks after eliminating the dairy and eating a GF diet, my knee pain was suddenly gone. Do I still get knee pain? yes, every once in a while when there are 2 weather fronts moving in my medial right knee will act up and then its gone after the weather settles. So pay attention to the d--t, some foods are also inflammation causing. I am back to doing whatever I want- BUT I don't enjoy HIGH impact so if I am doing that I use my rebounder or modify. HTH's
Penny
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