[NinaV]

I have been doing my elliptical for 30-40min 6 times per week for the last 3 weeks now. I’m pretty proud of my self for that since it requires me to wake up at 5:30am, which is no small feat since I am not a morning person.

Anyway, my knees have been a bit sore and it doesn’t seem to be getting better, so my question is:

Do I need to give my self a few days off and see if it gets better, or should I just stick to it and it will get better eventually anyway?

[mandalinn82]

What part of your knee hurts/where is the pain located? Inside of the knee? Outside? Behind?

Try adjusting your posture on the elliptical so that, in the entire path of movement, your knee never extends past your toe...it should always be behind it. See if that small posture change helps (our knees are weakest and most painful when they are bent such that the kneecap extends past the toe on the same foot).

If the pain persists, you probably want to get it checked out. No sense in taking something mildly painful and letting it progress into something serious!

[beckatz]

I was having some problem with my knee also and I find that if I ice it for 20 minutes in the evening it helps with any inflammation. I keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer just for this sort of thing.

[GatorgalstuckinGA]

i would take a few days off...see if it gets better...despite the no pain no gain theroy...you should be careful with your body. Try other forms of exercise like walking. Then go back...if they still hurt...then see your doctor. It may be simply the amount of weight your knees have to carry or it may be something more serious. I find when i start to lose weight..my knees feel better when it comes to running. Good luck and keep up the exercise. Remember there are all sorts of exercise you can try that don't stress the knees out.

[NinaV]

Originally Posted by mandalinn82

What part of your knee hurts/where is the pain located? Inside of the knee? Outside? Behind?

Try adjusting your posture on the elliptical so that, in the entire path of movement, your knee never extends past your toe...it should always be behind it. See if that small posture change helps (our knees are weakest and most painful when they are bent such that the kneecap extends past the toe on the same foot).

If the pain persists, you probably want to get it checked out. No sense in taking something mildly painful and letting it progress into something serious!

Thanks for the replies, everybody.

Mandalinn,
The pain does feel like it is inside the knee. And I don't know exactly how my posture works when I am doing the elliptical. I haven't really noticed it to be honest. I suppose it makes sence to take note of that and see if I can adjust it.
I know what they will say if I go to the doctor to have the knees checked out. They will just tell me that I need to lose weight (Duh!) as they do no matter what health problem I am trying to sort out.

GatorGal,
I'm not sure if walking would have less impact than elliptical? I always thought that it has more impact. I could be wrong though, wouldn't be the first time

Becka,
Do you ice it in the evening no matter when you do the exercise? Would it still help even though I exercise in the morning?

[mandalinn82]

I just had knee surgery, and my physical therapist had me try the elliptical. It hurts when my knee extends past my toe, but its fine if it doesn't. So posture really can make a difference!

As for the doctors, I faced this problem also. To me, I was taken more seriously re: pain complaints if I said something to the effect of "I am working on losing weight and have begun an exercise program. I have a specific pain, right here, that is preventing me from proceeding with my program, and I want to continue losing weight to improve my health. I need to get the knee working so I can continue losing weight." That way, they see the "weight" issue as already being treated and focus more on the issue at hand. You have to frame things carefully with docs or they go off on the wrong problem altogether.

[almostheaven]

Originally Posted by mandalinn82

As for the doctors, I faced this problem also. To me, I was taken more seriously re: pain complaints if I said something to the effect of "I am working on losing weight and have begun an exercise program. I have a specific pain, right here, that is preventing me from proceeding with my program, and I want to continue losing weight to improve my health. I need to get the knee working so I can continue losing weight."

I would add to that that the pain started after you began exercising. So they may want to look at the type of exercise you're doing in relation.