Bad Knees

[RitaCeleste]

Okay they hurt, they hurt a lot. I have no insurance so I just have to work around it.
I can walk, I can shoot hoops with my girl and chase that ball some. But stairs, bending up and down, jumping up and down, not happening. If I work out with weights which I haven't done in years, I can't do a lot of the leg ones. So pretty much, I'm at walking and some light running and I'm not real sure how the light running will do but I'm gonna try.
If anyone has to work around this themselves, post what different things you've found that don't hurt that bad, please.
I want the weight off, I want to not get winded so easy. But having my knees swell up and feel like someone hit them with a bat is not something I can just deal with. I can starve quiet well if given a choice between the two.

[julirama723]

Re: Bad Knees

Do you know what is happening with your knees? Is it general pain, or something diagnosed like bursitis, tendonitis, ACL injury, etc?

Generally speaking, knee injuries usually happen because of weak surrounding muscles or because of our gait or foot type. The key is to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knees (the quads) so said muscles can take some of the work off the knees.

Strength training is GREAT--in fact, that's what I relied on when I was having knee trouble in May and June. If you use machines, do the leg press. Start small and slow with something that you can do. If you do free weights and toning, I suggest doing squats and wall-sits to build your leg muscles. Make sure that your FORM is good. Good form prevents injury and gives you the most "bang for your buck." When doing a squat or lunge, your knee should NEVER go over your toe. If this is happening, sit back in the squat, or put your back foot further back in the lunge. If you have a stability ball (also called exercise ball or Swiss ball) you can do wall squats. Put the ball against the wall and lean on it. The ball should be touching your lower back. Push against the ball as you do the squat. You can either do "normal" squats, or wide-legged squats.

For cardio, I would suggest the stationary bike and walking. Those activities are usually quite gentle on the knees. Since you have knee problems, try to stay on flat ground until those quads are stronger. The bike is great exercise because you are using your leg muscles to pedal, but there is very little pressure on your knee.

I would also give up the running for a while--that is probably aggravating the problem and preventing healing from happening. Take at least 2 weeks off.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Bad Knees

I've had knee trouble for a long long time, 10 years ago I had to quit dancing because my knees swelled up bad bad and on the sides were what looked like greenish bruise. It hurts more when it rains, my mother is crippled with ostioartheritus. I got a good idea of what is wrong. They stay swollen, that is every day. They ache, they get stiff. I try something that isn't right, the pain is sharp. If it was something that could be worked threw, exotic dancing would have done it a surely as any excecises I'd think. The only way they have gotten as good as they are is by me babying them for years and years.

But on the bright side, I was reading threw the excercises of the day and saw a LOT I could do!!! I won't be dancing much though.