i have a bad knee (and ankle and hip and hand) from an accident 2 years ago ... my doctors have conflicting advice about how to exercise, what I can and can't do so i'm trying to find my way through this. I recently tried running again, and after 3 runs my knee is screaming at me and i'm walking with a limp all over again. no I did not start too fast or too hard, by run I mean slow jogging intervals during my walk, of only 2 min at a time. i'm just so frustrated - I can't tell if this is a pain I should push through and know that my knee will strengthen or if this is the kind of pain that means I should stop this and try something else. my doctors can't tell me. i'm not expecting you guys too - i'm just frustrated and I know someone here at 3fc probably knows how I feel.

maybe it's time to start trolling craigslist for a bike ... I just feel like if I don't keep running i'm 'failing' - which I know isn't true but I still feel that way

I am a big fan of listen to your body. Have you looked into leg strengthening exercises? I think you need to supplement your workouts with that at the very least.

Also, I'd start with something like maybe walking or even hiking. Biking is a good idea as well. You could also try icing/heat and ibuprofen if you are in pain. You are probably getting some swelling causing pain, the ice and ibuprofen will reduce the swelling and heat after icing will bring blood flow to the area for healing.

Injuries happen and they can be overcome or at least dealt with. Think about how many runners overcome injuries. My friend just did a triathlon with a bum knee and a broken wrist.

I have injuries in both knees, a pelvis injury that's ongoing, and tendinitis in my wrists. I do exercise, but I do take care of my injuries. The main thing that's helped me is osteopathy. I've gone from walking with a limp to being able to do light jogging. Since I do like to push myself physically my pelvis injury persists. I'm going to be doing physical therapy to gain the strength I need to overcome it. It can be done and I believe. My doctor recommended accupuncture as well but I'll wait on that until I see what PT does to help.

As far as exercise that's easy on your joints, you can't beat swimming. For now listen to your body and take it easy but my guess is that with some light yoga, a little strengthening in the muscles surrounding your knee and perhaps an adjustment from an osteopath you'll be golden.

If you haven't already, you need to see a Physical Therapist or a Sport Medicine Doctor. They can help you to create an exercise plan that is safe and reasonable for you. They can also address any muscular imbalances. Please don't try to "find your way through this" alone. You could re-injure yourself and be set back even farther. Make sure you take your medical history, records and your shoes that you exercise in with you. In the meantime, biking could be a good way to build up some strength and endurance without putting pressure on your joints. Swimming is also good.

My husband was training for a marathon. He tweaked his ankle and had to take some time off. When it stopped hurting he started training again and re-injured his ankle. I then made him go to a sports med. dr and he addressed the issue (sidewalk he was running on had too much of an angle), gave him some strengthening exercises and a plan to start running again. He is now back on track and will be running a half marathon this fall (it was too soon to do the full). If he had gone to a sports med. dr from the beginning he would only have been sidelined for a few months instead of a year.

thanks guys, maybe I do need to go back to physical therapy. after my accident there was a question as to walking again, then it was walking within a year, etc. I graduated from pt in 3 months ... but maybe it's time to revisit. for now, until I have a little extra money to get back to pt or something else, i'm going to keep walking - walking got me this far, walking is something that from where I was, I will never take for granted. I think I just needed some help remembering that.

Agreed--it's amazing what physical therapy and sports medicine can do today.