Training advice for bad knees

[Palahniuk_101]

I have torn the meniscus in both my knees and for financial reasons, cannot afford the surgery to repair them. Any ideas that would allow me to continue training at or near my normal routine? I usually do 45 minutes-1 hour of cardio a day, and lift weights 2 hours a day 3 days on/rest another 2 days and rest.

Usually unless a sparring session gets very intense or I'm really turning it on with the heavy bag, my knees aren't a problem, but when I do manage to tweak one or both of them, this can keep me out of the gym for weeks at a time.

[mmabytom]

Originally Posted by Palahniuk_101

I have torn the meniscus in both my knees and for financial reasons, cannot afford the surgery to repair them. Any ideas that would allow me to continue training at or near my normal routine? I usually do 45 minutes-1 hour of cardio a day, and lift weights 2 hours a day 3 days on/rest another 2 days and rest.

Usually unless a sparring session gets very intense or I'm really turning it on with the heavy bag, my knees aren't a problem, but when I do manage to tweak one or both of them, this can keep me out of the gym for weeks at a time.

Be careful about Knees and shoulders ... either is an easy break and a long road to recovery. I would work with low impact cardio Bike & eliptical come to mind. Also don't be afraid to use a hand bike or speed bag for cardio. It will give you speed and it burns about the same as lower body. You'd be wise also to supplement your diet with foods and vitamins that naturally help your body heal on it's own. Hope I could help you. Good Luck to you!

[Evil Eye Gouger]

I have damaged posterior meniscus in both knees, but refused the operation many years ago because I was too young.

I've had to quit playing football because it was too hard on my knees, but I've kept doing TKD all this time.

You'll have to be careful with stretching and have to make sure that none of the normal movements in your training actually hurt you. If any of the movements regularly causes you pain, you'll have to change your technique to work about it. In TKD, we pivot a lot, without planting the foot into the ground. Because of this, there is very little rotational force on the knee, and it's fine. I don't have a problem with locking the kicks either, but you'll have to see how you react.

You'll want to be careful about injuries too. If you sense pain in your knee after a training session, TAKE A FEW DAYS OFF, and it will likely be better after a short break. If you train through it, you will be out of commission for weeks, as you notices, and my experience confirms this. Once I trained through pain for a week because of a demonstration and had severe pain walking for a few weeks. It took 6 weeks to get back to light training. Since then, I'm extra careful. If I feel pain, I'll take a day or two off.

But this rarely happens, and most of the time, it's training at full intensity.

You should also work on strengthening your knee. Stuff like stepping, running upstairs, step-ups, lunges and squats are good for knee stability (if done properly -- squat by sitting bac, and not by bending your knees forward!!!). In general, do exercises for the quads and hamstrings, but avoid shearing forces on the knee and avoid twisting the knee. So no leg extension machine and the like.

Hope this helps. The doctor told me that I'll have to operate, and that I should simply run until it breaks and then go and do the operation. That was 7 years ago, and I'm feeling stronger than ever.

Just know your limits, understand that you are injured, strengthen your legs and learn to live with it, and you'll have no problem.

[CK 187]

That was a good post ^^^^^^^


I too suffer from some failing knees. Most of my cardio stuff comes from biking and stair workouts, as well as lots of bag work. I'd say on the average i put down around 60-75 miles a week on the bike, whether it's indoors on the trainer (winter here) or out in the breeze.

Slow, looooong stretches will do you wonders once you get into your workout. I never rush my stretch time.

[Geistkrieger]

i too suffer from knee problems! but not to this extent mine is from (aus good slaughter(?)) which if you dont know is a cartiledge defficiency in my knees so my knees grind when i work out and do my kickboxing, TKD and other stuff. so i went to the doctor but all they said they could do was do some sort of opperation but i didnt want it so i opted to quit training for a few months and went back in for a check up, it didnt really change so i started working out again and i just wear knee braces for added support, again i know its not near the severity of you injury but i would suggest wearing braces for added support when you work out! i mean its worth a shot cant hurt you any worse right? but good luck to you and i hope you can find the best solution to your problem!