I just turned 42 and my left knee gives me trouble. Also, due to a car wreck 7 years ago, I have a bad right hip and lower back pain. I just started exercising today. I exercised for 25 minutes. It was painful, but I know if I keep pressing on and keep prayer in my life, the knee, hip and back pain will subside, and I will be totally healed.
Personally, I have problems with my ankles. I was wondering if you guys knew of exercises that would help build strong ankles instead of destroy them as well. My ankles are in pain and swollen a lot, just from being on my feet in my normal day to day. It has gotten better though because for the past month I've been working out regularly (mostly dancing, belly dancing and a bit of strength training and crunches) and I walk for 40 minutes (20 minutes twice a day) for 3 days a week. I know walking is impact which is bad for my ankles, but I can't cut it out because it's how I get to work... so I make the best of it and walk briskly. But will my ankles just continue to feel better over time? Or should I be looking into things that I can do to insure that they are strong?
Thanks in advance!
If there is nothing wrong with them, perhaps you could try some ballet moves? Here is one weight bearing exercise to strengthen your ankles and here is one non weight bearing exercise to strengthen and stretch your ankles. I learned these from my girls' ballet teacher.
Weight bearing exercise. Simply stand up on your tippy toes as high as you can, place your arms above your head (like a ballerina, lol) then walk sideways across the floor in tiny little ballerina steps as far as you can. IT'S HARD!!
Non weight bearing exercise. Sit down somewhere comfortable. Straighten your leg and point your toe. DO NOT "sic" your foot inward. Push outwards concentrating on the big toe. Then simply begin tracing the alphabet using your big toe. You can do cursive, or whatever, lol.
It's strange, but I've always had knee problems even doing something as simple as walking too much. No matter what exercise I did, they hurt. Well now I've started this Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and her Cardio Kickbox EVERY day (which are HIGH impact exercises) and my knees feel the best they've ever felt. I haven't had pain in months.
I, too, was planning to post a question concerning my aching knees, but didn't know how to start a new post!! So, I was very happy to come upon this thread.
I started running/ walking when I couldn't/ about a week ago. I seemed fine up until about 3 days ago when the pain in my knees started becoming more than just what I thought should be a little muscle fatigue. In the days since I started running, I have done weights at the gym as well as one of my dvds. Lunges are really tough for me, but everything else didn't seem to bother me much. One of my dvd exercises simulates jump roping and I;m not sure if this is what ultimately aggrivated my pain.
I am willing to try most anything, but I haven't been able to sleep for the past couple of nights and don't want to give up running just yet (unless I absolutely have to). I just bought new running shoes lol
I think I will try to wrap my knees and see if that helps at all...
Thank you for this great knee info! I started jogging and had to give up after 3 months because my knees hurt so much I could hardly get up or down stairs. After a rest they are now fine. I have started to jog a little again but amdoing so on sand in the hope that the softer surface will absorb some impact. I'm off to use my step!
I love surfing this site! I've had wonky knees since I turned 40 in September... I don't like the feeling of constant pain...
Good advice on this thread!
I saw a Chiropractor recently... He says no weight baring exercise....
How the *bleep* am I supposed to get cardio in when I cannot ride bike... walk... or swim.... (No pool here.... there's an open well ... but going down a 15 ft ladder does not sound like fun to me... or my knees! ) I need to do something to move this weight down!
Any suggestions?
I live in rural India now so no gyms, pools etc...
Just read your post. We recently purchased an Elliptical. It is much less weight bearing than any other good cardio maching. You have to give it a chance. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake to use, but its been hard to get use to it. I'm 47, obese and bad knees. I can only do a couple of minutes at a time and then I rest for a minute.
Now I also own one of those tony little gazelle's and that is truly low-now impact.
Oh wow! I've noticed my right knee gives me crap when I workout but I did hurt myself a few months ago, I slammed my kneecap really hard into the edge of my desk, it hurt to walk for a few days and was badly bruised.
I'm out of work for two years now, so the option of seeing a doctor was OUT. It will probably be a while before I finally get a doctor and even then I'm sure he/she will be completely callus as they always are - they'll likely throw some "ya probably whatever" at me and will leave it at that.
I have problems with my right knee becuase I have scoliosis and carry about 10-12 more pounds on my right side. My right hip is slightly lower than my left, so this puts more weight and pressure on that knee. Hurts so bad , specially when I try to climb steps. Even when I bend my knee, I can feel and even hear it 'crunching". gives me the shivers.
Ok ladies, I'm hoping yall can help me out here. So mid June, I dislocated my knee cap (second time I've done this in the past few years! ARGH!). So I was on crutches, then a knee brace, and now I'm walking pretty normally for the most part-I just really feel it when I'm doing steps, etc. I've been really scared about working out on it-for over the past week or two I've started back working on my abs and arms just to try and do something, but I know I really need to work on strengthening my leg.
I'm looking for something really easy and low impact to help, without alot of squats, etc (I am afraid of putting that much pressure on my knee right now). I was contemplating maybe Walk Away The Pounds. Anyone have any ideas/or thoughts? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Now it's the Hips. I lost some lbs and the knees stopped hurting but now my hips give me troubles, but I hope like with the knees, once I lose some more poundage, the hips will stop hurting too.
I sympathise! Its a case of chicken and egg, but I think losing weight comes before heavy exercise. Extra weight played havoc with my joints! When the weight goes, the knees feel better. One step at a time if you pardon the pun!
So, folks, I'm also a knee and hip pain person. Actually it was my knee pain that drove me--day in and day out--to never cheat these past six plus months to lose weight. I just couldn't take the pain anymore. I am a dedicated calorie counter and followed volumetrics faithfully.
For my knees, I examined it from a few points:
1) Identify source of pain
2) Identify strengthening and healing moves
3) Lose weight no matter what
My sources of pain were weight mostly but also my bike was not set for my height. I also think I wasn't doing the lunges right and I usually OVER EXERCISED. I'd jump rope for 1 1/2 hours or even 2 hours.
I did physical therapy, have a joint specialist watching me, dedicated to yoga (even had a yoga specialist prescription who examined my hip and knee problems and gave a miracle 3 move cure), stopped biking for six months, and reduced my exercise.
From January 09, I slowly started exercising. I dedicated myself to core and upper leg strengthening. I did yoga. I wasn't biking. I calorie counted. I carefully increased exercise slowly over these past months. I'm so powerfully strong now. I still have knee pain if I carry heavy bags (basically my knees think I'm heavy again if I carry something).
I had to take a week break last week from exercise on doctor's orders because of stiches on my back. I did nothing for seven days. I over did it starting immediately and now pay the price in a very painful hip. I'm looking for massage to help (it's done wonders on other parts of me). Can't stop the exercise and am just trying to work through and be very gentle when NOT working out.
hello,
I was going thru here...i feel like i belong ;-)
It will be a year ago this month i had my acl surgery. Oh man it's been quite a year. For the most part i recovered remarkably fast...kind of shocked the doctor and my physical therapist...i'm about 330ish...you can imagine why :-)
What motivated me though is my bowling...i am an avid bowler... i still am struggling though, going down stairs...part of my leg is still numb which is normal. I just got back onto the fitness groove...kind of half to be...what is always in he back of my mind is my graft failing...i can feel it in my knee when i don't excercise. so i decided it's time to get addicted excercise...
Now i'm doing my excercise bike and wii active, hoping to purchase the wii golds gym.
I just wanna get to a point where i don't think about my knee though. I just can't believe how much i took my knees for granted. this has been quite a sobering expierence for me.
