Advice needed for exercise with bad knee

[bethanysmum2002]

So I started this year very overweight and determined to fix myself, inside and out.

The journey so far has been hard but great.

After about 10 weeks I had lost 8.3kgs (18.3 pounds) by just watching my calorie intake and walking 30mins a day on top of my daily steps.

Then I started getting bad pain in the right side of my left knee. This pain has gradually worsened and worsened to the point of my whole knee hurting and it making me limp after doing my 30 minutes continual walk and causing great pain and discomfort for quite some time after doing the walk. I doesn't hurt while walking unless I am going up a step (like up and down of a path onto a road), the pain starts once I have stopped.

I have been to see a doctor and at the end of last week had a MRI done but I am still waiting for the results. For the last week I stopped walking altogether and I know this isn't a good thing.

I have been using Google to lookup advice for people with bad knees and the big one I found is " If the goal is making exercise a part of a healthy lifestyle, then continued participation is more important than intensity" so 3 days ago I started walking again, but only ever so gently. But walking at that much a reduced rate kind of frustrated me as I have managed over the weeks to increase my ability and I feel like I am back at day 1.

I went again last night and increased the intensity ever so slightly, I only spent 10% of my 32 minutes in Cardio zone, the rest was fat burn. I had some pain when I got home but took some pain killers and it passed.

So I went again this morning before walk. This time it increased the intensity considerably, spending 62% of my time in cardio and the rest in fat burn but now I am in so much discomfort and I am regretting in.

I supposed what I am really asking, will just exercising in a fat burn zone be enough to continue losing weight? I still have 23kg (50 pounds) to lose and I know the more I lose, the harder it is going to get and I am really worried that by having to restrict my exercise will impact this.

I had just started doing a HIIT class once a week and had planned to do a fundraising 4km (2.5mile) walk next month and I am feeling really down that this is happening.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Dominique]

I wouldn’t pay too much attention to HR zones, but rather focus on picking up activities (and intensities) that you can sustain safely. If your knee is hurting as a result of your current activity (walking), try something else. Do you have access to a pool? Exercising in water considerably reduces the load on your joints (however, note your Alta HR isn’t waterproof). Nutrition also usually plays a much bigger role than exercising in weight loss.  

[Corney]

@bethanysmum2002  I would wait till you get the results from your MRI.  My advice to you is never train through pain.  Pain is the bodies way of telling you something is wrong, and that what you are doing could be making it worse.  Walking in a pool is a good idea because it takes a lot of your weight off your painful knee.  If the knee is painful and swollen, cut back and use ice to reduce the swelling and pain.  If your are taking NSAIDS for the pain like Aspirin, Advil, or Ibuprofen, you may actually be slowing done the bodies healing process since inflammation is the first stage of healing.  Good luck!

[emili]

hey @bethanysmum2002 I feel your pain literally and figuratively. It is so frustrating to be working towards something and be sidelined. I will tell you what I did when I had knee pain- that I caused through exercise. I stopped walking and running and found different cardio. I did spinning on the bike that you push out not up and down (hate the bike, but good for a sweat) and the elliptical (no resistance, just speed). I used them interchangeably for almost a month while my knee healed. I would recommend giving it a break. You could potentially damage it more and sideline yourself for way longer.

[lennythek]

You don't mention any history so I am assuming you are new to an exercise program.   I am curious as to what type of shoes you are using?

Broken down sneakers are not  a good idea.  If you haven't done so,  go to a running store (not a big box store) and get a good pair of running/walking shoes AND socks (socks are important).  

When I started walking I also had knee pain- I ended up getting orthotics to realign my foot and knee.   Took some time to adjust but now never go out without them.

on those occasions i run (very slowly) - when i come home I usually apply an ice pack on one knee- helps a lot.  Knee pain can come from many things and take a while to heal (in my case - sometimes months).   I would second the advise to use an elliptical, cycle or swim.

Congratulations on having the courage to start.  The road has many obstacles, which requires focus (see your goals) and commitment (I don't wanna go today) and celebration (yes- it is ok to brag!!)

Godspeed

[Corney]

@bethanysmum2002  Not to pry into your medical condition but have you got the results back from your MRI yet?  That should give you the insight on how to proceed.

[bethanysmum2002]

Sorry for the delay in updating, have had a busy week with kids on school holidays and also I have been unwell with the flu and just as I was recovering from that, a stomach bug.

Finally got the results of my MRI at the end of last week, there is no major damage although there is some stress of the tendons and ligaments at the back of my knee (or knee cap, I can't remember now which one he said). On discussing this with the doctor (my usual doctor was on holidays) he had a look at my knee and noticed straight away the constant clicking and also the fact that my knee cap seems to sit diagonally on my knee instead of straight up and down.

I explained that 30 years ago I had an accident and broke my left ankle. This resulted in me developing a big turnout of both of my feet. My left one is more severe than my right (almost a 45 degree angle) and my mother was told the only way to fix it was to rebrake both of my ankles at the same time and she didn't want to put me through that.

I showed him by walking across the room. I then told him though, that when I walk for my exercise, I do actually walk parallel (normally) because I try to power walk and even jog on some occasions.

He said that this could be what is causing the pain because me making my feet face parallel is an unnatural position for me as my bones have adjusted over the years and I am making my kneecap move out of place while I walk this way. And when I started jogging is probably why the pain changed from just behind my knee to my whole knee.

He also advised no jogging or running for me ... even if I drop another 25kgs (55pounds) my bones just aren't able to let me do that. And now, because my bones have been set this way for so long, the only way to fix it now would be to rebrake both of my LEGS and reset everything. Ummm, no thanks!!!

So now when I walk, I am going to try to increase my intensity again but make sure I keep my walking style natural. Fingers crossed.

I tried it for the first time Sunday night and unfortunately, when I got home, after cooling down, I got pain on the right side of my knee. Maybe I haven't let it heal enough before trying again.

However, I haven't been able to exercise for the last 2 days due to this stomach bug, so have given it some more rest, will go out again tonight and see how it goes.

I am supposed to be going back to my HIIT booty burn class this Saturday, I will just have to be careful on how I do the exercises I suppose. I really don't want to stop them, I enjoy them.

Thanks everyone for your advice so far.

@Dominique - Unfortunately I don't have access to a pool, our local one is closed due to redevelopment and it is now the middle of autumn in Australia so a bit cool to be going to outdoor centres.

@Corney - luckily I have no swelling around the knee and it is not painful all of the time, just the 30 minutes or so after exercising - it doesn't even hurt while exercising. If I need to I take paracetamol for the pain but only on rare occasions, most of the time I just let it pass.

@emili - thanks for the advise about the Elliptical, will definitely look into that.

@lennythek - I wear Asics Gel sneakers - always have due to needing the support because of the way I walk.

[Corney]

@bethanysmum2002: Bad news. You Patella should set vertical so that it
glides between the Femoral Condyles, if not the Patella will suffer from
unnatural wear and tear on it's under surface which will transfer to uneven
wear and tear on the Femoral Condyles which will eventually lead to uneven
wear and tear on the Tibial Plateaus . This will eventually lead to early
OA of the knee. Just about any exercise you can do with your legs will
probably aggravate what is called Patellar-Femoral syndrome. My only
advice I can give is never exercise through pain and listen to your body.
If it hurts while you are doing it or after you have done it, your body is
telling you to stop. I wish you the best of luck. It's possible that
surgery could correct the position of the Patella, but I doubt any surgeon
would guarantee success.

[russsss]

@bethanysmum2002 ... WOW!!!  you'll accomplish what you set out to ... the sig says it all ... inspiring ?  yup you're that for sure .