Fitness v injured knee

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Linafae

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Hi, I wasn't sure in which section to post my question. I thought the general "fitness" area sounded like the right spot.

Well I was wondering if anyone had advice on the best way to exercise for someone with an ongoing knee problem. I suffer from knee dislocation...what that means is I have a weakness in the structure of my left knee (think of a loose hinge on a door). If I just move or step the wrong way, my knee will buckle on me and down I go. I've been careful with myself - its been a few years now since I've had the knee buckle on me - but the weakness will always be there.

I'm not disabled or anything, but I do have to be careful what activities I choose to do. For example, running, aerobics etc are not a great idea as I find the heavy stepping strains my knee. I used to do yoga - which I loved - but because of how a lot of the postures use the knee to hold you in place I had to stop (again, the pressure on the joint encouraged the weakness).

So, I've basically been limited to gentler activities - like lots and lots of walking (but not too long in case I exhaust my knee...:( ).

Of course, because I'm limited to the exercise I can do - I find it harder to keep to my correct weight (which means I've gained lots of weight).

I'm working on my diet to help lose the weight but I'm not sure how to improve the exercise. I have an exercise bike in the house that I've started using (slowly and on the gentler setting).

Any ideas on what I can do? Is there something I can do to strengthen the muscle surrounding the knee? Any thoughts will be appreciated...


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Linafae

Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 200 lbs
BMR: 1670
 
im guessing you have a torn acl? if so i have the same problem going in my knee. for HIIT or any other cardio i stick to the bike and interval machines as for weight lifting the only thing that cause me problems are the machines that put alot of pressure on my knees same goes for free weights. my advice is if it feels funny then dont do it. my knee hasnt buckled for awhile so im sticking to the program.

i have to wait for my surgery wich is next summer so u gotta adapt and its truely not to hard
 
oh and make ur knee stronger the key is strong hamstrings, 2nd to that is ur quads.

start off 15 minutes on the bike
make sure ur positioned high. u want to make sure the knee is working

legs exstentions are good for the quads... do 2 reps of 15 or 3 reps of ten. then follow that up on a lower weight for the injured leg (just using the injuered leg)... as time goes on n u get stronger move the weight up.

hamstring curls- 2 reps of 15 or 3 reps of ten. go to the injured leg on a lower weight n do the same as above

leg press. same as the second 2

remembered not to put the wight to high were trying to work the knee but at the same time not injure it

finish the workout by putting a bag of ice over the injured knee for 10 minutes (if needed)
 
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Oh great, thanks for the help. Yes its an old ACL injury, although the main weakness in my knee is now in the MCL. I feel it straining when I overdo anything.

I had a vague idea about leg exercises but wasn't sure exactly what to do...thanks for clarifying for me. I feel ok using the bike, but again wasn't sure about how long to push a session. I have managed 20 mins or so on a low setting.

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Linafae
 
Certainly you can do what doesn't hurt. That's the rule I live by; I have myh own knee problems.

but you should have a professional help you out; don't you have a dr to ask?
 
A Dr...? Yes. A good Dr? Doubtful! That's yet another issue. The only advice I've had from my Dr is to rest the knee, watch what I'm doing and take ibuprofen when it hurts. Really? I'd never have thought of that! :rolleyes:

I live in the UK where we rely on NHS funded Drs (unless you can afford private medical). From my experience you have to be persistent and a bit of a tough cookie to get the treatment/information you need out of your GP.

Thankfully I've been smart enough to be careful, and managed to find a way to strengthen my knee to an certain extent. I'm wanting to step up the exercise a little bit more now though, and of course strengthen the knee more.

I thought I'd see what information was readily available before I run the gauntlet again and go to my Dr. At the very least if I educate myself I'll be able to say exactly what information/help I require and know enough not to be fobbed off with a painkiller prescription...

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Linafae
 
I have an ACL injury that required surgery many years ago. After the surgery I started doing leg extensions and leg curls. Started with minimum weight and 100 reps. gradually increased the weight and decreased the reps. Now I do 2 sets of 15 reps at the beginning of every leg workout.

There are lots of other exercises yu can do without putting any strain on the knee that will help you maintain your weight and keep fit. I would recommend something like this to start:

leg extension 100 reps
leg curl 100 reps
stiff legged deadlift OR hyperextension OR good morning
bench press
bent row
military press
leg raise OR crunch

2 set of 12-15 repetitions for the first 6-8 weeks, 3 times per week
 
I've also been working on strengthening the muscles around my knees to ensure that I can run or do sports without knee pain. I think the hardest thing is knowing what is pain and what is necessary discomfort for building up those muscles.
 
I have a similar situation, i was sliding and picking up a heavy wooden box and it slowly banged my knee... the pointed end hit my right knee on the left side (when fully bent)and the pain was comparable to getting shot in the groin. I mean this box hit my knee at .05 mph i couldn't believe i took any damage let alone this... anyways touching it with a finger would cause insane pain, but after a few hours could bear weight on it fine straight up to 180º-100º angle. I heard a slight clicking noise, and it felt like something got crumpled up in my knee... Months later... and ill rarely have some pain in a very specific part of my knee, almost feels like a minor chip... I don't do cardio out of fear of causing an injury to this knee... Any advice..
 
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