Personal Injury to Knee.. Workout suggestions?

[BrianaNicole]

Hi, all! I'm a new mom to a 4 month old baby. Prior to becoming pregnant I was running 3.5 miles a day. Due to the pregnancy I really slacked off and now that baby is sleeping through the night and I regained some of my energy I was super stoked to hit the road and the treadmill again! Or so I thought....About 3 weeks ago I was hit by a car as a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Due to the accident I have some soft tissue tearing in my knee and a sprain.

The doctor said definitely no running for the next four months and no cardio that's going to pound or put stress on my knee. Meanwhile, I have to take steroids and do physical  therapy. Needless to say I'm devastated that I won't be running this spring. I'm still trying to lose the baby weight and want to exercise where I can.

Does anyone have any recommendations for workouts I COULD do to promote weight loss and not injure my knee any further?

[SoliDeoGloria]

Hi Briana,

I am sorry to hear about the accident! I hope you recover quickly. 

If I were in your shoes, I would focus on muscle training, especially upper body and core, considering your injury. Toning and adding lean muscle will cause your body to burn additional calories through an increased BMR. You could also ask your doc if there are leg workouts he would recommend to help you maintain strength there as well.

Hope this helps!

[WendyB]

I agree with the muscle training.

Also do you have access to a pool? I would ask the Dr. but it might be a good alternative

[kaelarenee7 · Accepted solution]

Swimming could be a possibility, but clear it with your doctor first.

Anything exercises that they tell you that you can do at home or any exercises that you do at physical therapy would be your best option for awhile.

I was on crutches for a knee injury and doing physical therapy about a year or so ago, and it's best not to push it too much. I just went to physical therapy and did the recommended exercises at home and was able to recover pretty quickly. It's better to limit what you do right now to what is doctor recommended so you can heal properly and then get back into a routine once you are healed rather than trying too much while you are healing. When I was in physical therapy for my knee, they usually had me do a few minutes on a stationary bike or treadmill at an easy pace for warm up and then strengthening exercises like squats and lunges. Stick to what your doctors recommend for now, worry about the weight later. Trying too much, too soon is just going to make things harder in the long run because your injuries won't be able to heal as quickly or as well.

[boxerlover]

I can totally sympathize!!!  

I'm having knee surgery on May 11th and have been told that it could take 6 months to a year for full recovery.  Just saw my surgeon this morning actually.  

I bought some hand weights and will be doing what I can with those while I'm non-weight bearing.  

I hope you feel better soon!!!

~ H ~

[BrianaNicole]

Thank you all for your solutions!

It is getting nicer out and out community pool should open soon. I was contemplating on getting a membership because my 3-year-old loves to go swimming. I guess I should just take it easy for now and not worry about the weight so much and worry more about my overall health, especially when it comes to my knee. For now I can just watch what I eat and working on toning my arms and core.

[HaphazardHen]

Get on a bike! Bikes are very gentle on your knees. If you have access to a stationary bike start on low resistance and just pedal. I broke the head off my fibula and partially tore my LCL in January and I could barely walk but I could sit on my bike trainer and pedal until it hurt. My Dr told me not to walk much for a few weeks but said I could ride a bike from day one.

[DavisUCR]

I am lucky enough to have a pool across the street that is into fitness.  They have arthritis classes and hydrobike as well as aerobics.  I am having my knee replacement in 3 weeks, but I can do water walking and the balance and range of motion exercises.

[Crank]

Do very light weights with legs to help build the muscles around the knees as to relieve the workload off the joints. Going to have to be careful with which excersizes you chose to do. Ive had knee issues before, not as severe i'm sure. random note - Make sure you don't ever try to slide anything across the floor sideways with your leg either...

[Ukase]

If you have access to one, my best advice would be a swimming pool. Walking/wading around, and work up to a swim, depending on how your knee feels. 

[Corney]

What Physical Therapy are you doing?  I retired after 38 years as a Physical Therapist, maybe I can give you suggestions.  Did you have a MRI.  What soft tissue tearing and what was sprained?  Right know the only thing I could suggest would be a stationary bike with little or no resistance just to reduce the swelling, maintain or improve range of motion, or a rower, once again with very little resistance.  Ice after either exercise.  They should have given you a written home exercise program to include. Quad sets, SLR supine and long sitting, active range of motion and strengthening using theraband, if not they are not doing their job and you should ask for one.

[BrianaNicole]

Originally they said my injury would heal by August 2015. They did an MRI but couldn't find anything wrong and chocked it up to bruised tissue. They didn't send me home with anything. Just said to continue to do light walking and everything would be fine by August. It's been almost a year and I'm still in pain. Doing one set of 10 squats puts my knee in pain for days. I scheduled a follow-up for next week.

Edit: They had recommended I see a physical therapist, but I have severe transportation issues and wasn't able to follow through.

[Corney]

It's time for a second opinion!

[Corney]

The second opinion should come from another Dr. not in the same clinic or department.

[Corney]

I would never advise anyone to do a full squat, doing a full squat puts all 4 knee ligaments ( MCL, LCL, ACL, and PCL ) on slack leaving the knee with no ligaments to give it stability.  The most I would do would be a half squat.

[DavisUCR]

Look at water exercise. The water takes out some of the stress and you can
do more.

[irish_yooper]

My ortho doc diagnosed me with osteoarthritis with bone on bone on my left kneecap...and needing a total knee replacement...but I need to lose 80 lbs first.  I advocated for water therapy....which has been great.  In deep water, you only weigh 10% of your body weight.  I am getting stronger from the inside out, strengthening my left leg and knee while toning up.  I have worked up to an hour of deep water X-C skiing...and feeling so much stronger.  Check with your doc...but get in the pool!