Cardio with a bad knee?

Cianos

Hey,
I hurt my knee a while back, and while it's not too sore, I don't want to do a lot of jogging because I don't think the repetitive shocks would be too good for it. So I'm hoping someone can suggest a good cardio exercise that would not further the strain on my knee.

Thanks

floggg

Have you been to a physio?

Its hard to really suggest anything without knowing exactly what the injury is or how you did it originally.

i would suggest a physio visit for a quick diagnosis. they should be able to tell you quite quickly what the problem is, and how best to manage it. without an accurate diagnosis, it could be quite easy to aggrevate it and set yourself back even further.

**Timbuk2**

I would advise you to be careful, especially when you're knees are concerned - knee pain can worsen over time if it keeps getting 'aggravated'

Maybe instead of running, consider cycling. It is not perfect on your knees, but it is a lot better than running as your whole weight is not on it.

If you're a member of a gym, perhaps try the cross-trainer, rowing machine or even swimming (would be ideal for your knee and might help to build it back up).

Or instead of going jogging, how about going walking? It's not exactly a cardio workout, but it will get your knee used to it if you know what I mean. Try a 10-minute walk first, upping the time by about 5 minutes each time (or take it at a slower pace if you like, it's not a race). If you can walk for about 40 minutes without pain (audiobooks on your ipod are optional :P) then you probably are ok for jogging.

But remember: If it hurts - stop.

fullback4glin

I had an op on my knee so and i'd 2 do a pretty intensive rehab to get it back to the way it was.. my physio tol me to do closed kinetic chain exercise. this is where your leg is not free to move about hence preventing chance of injury. Some closed chain exercise can be done on a stepper, bike, cross trainer (low speed high enuf resistance) and rower.

The leg press is also a good idea but definitely discontinue if its hurting!! go 2 a physio if u haven't been.

My knee is perfect now, I began these exercises 2 years ago

MooseJam

my knee isnt the best and i cycle a lot and it does no harm, however mine is just general wear and tear i didn't injure it so i don't know if the same could be said for you, it is non impact though, i use a machine though, i'd imagine tearing down a mountain and all the bumps that would occur wouldn't be the best, but i'd say a static or road biking shouldn't do much harm, you could always try it out and you would learn pretty quick whether it was ok without doing yourself any harm

Baraboo

Swimming?

joey54

Baraboo wrote: »

Swimming?

+1, this works wonders.

RHunce

aqua jogging worked wonders for me when i damaged my knee

son.of.jimi

Baraboo wrote: »

Swimming?

Swimming is where you should start till you feel your knee is solid enough.

I'm actually getting back into the swing of things now (Got lazy and haven't excercised in near 4 years!) and swimming is where i'm going to start before i start into any type of jogging/running (Torn ACL in left knee) after a while i'll get onto the rower then work my way onto the treadmill then onto the weights. . . again

joey54

RHunce wrote: »

aqua jogging worked wonders for me when i damaged my knee

This is something I'm interested in. Did pools facilitate you when you anted to do this or was it awkward?

Transform

get the knee fixed.

Do weights - it will increase fitness when its done properly with little recovery.

Cross trainer is non-impact.

Red Alert

I was given Bike, cross-trainer and stepper for the knee - and told to stay away from the treadmill.

floggg

Transform wrote: »

get the knee fixed.

Do weights - it will increase fitness when its done properly with little recovery.

Cross trainer is non-impact.

Seriously, get the knee fixed first. You can either limit yourself to certain low impact exercises indefinitely, or else nip the problem in the bud, and be back in a position where you can do any exercise you want!

Transform

stepper and bike are in general is not great options for the knee as they are heavy on the quads (bike) and calves (stepper) both of which can be very tight for most people.

Again - get it diagnosed asap so you can work from there

RHunce

joey54 wrote: »

This is something I'm interested in. Did pools facilitate you when you anted to do this or was it awkward?

im sure that your local pool will have the floatation belts, just ask the lifeguard. they should have no problem doing it.

joey54

RHunce wrote: »

im sure that your local pool will have the floatation belts, just ask the lifeguard. they should have no problem doing it.

That's great! I'll try get down to them this weekend. Its something I've wanted to try for a long time now.