Frustrating Knees

All I was doing was walking!  Just walking!  1.5 miles about 4-5 days a week at around 3 mph (usually takes 30 mins on the dot.)  I was stretching out with about 15 mins of yoga before and after, especially focusing on stretching my legs before.

Today, I get to the .5 mile mark and my left knee stiffens up and I get pain from my ankle to my hip.  Now, I have an old injury to the right knee that sometimes gives me trouble, and it's gotten better since I started walking.  The left knee has never given me trouble.  Anyway, I'm .5 mile in the middle of nowhere, so I have no choice but to continue on back towards the house.  The knee loosened up and stopped hurting by the end of the first mile, so I decided to go ahead and finish the last half-mile loop as well.

Well, I made it back to the house and tried to stretch out, but it was hurting by that point, so I didn't stretch out as much as usual.  I laid down for while and propped it up, but then I had to go in to work.  A coworker handed me an ice pack and I've kept ice packs on it most of the day.  I didn't notice it was swollen until the swelling went down with the ice.  Now the swelling's back.  sigh. 

I've got a workshop at the university this weekend, so I won't be able to do my regular workouts anyway.  I'll be staying off the leg as much as possible for a couple of days.

Any advice on how to keep this from happening again?  I'm just getting started trying to loose weight and get in shape, and this is very frustrating for me.  I'm a 40 yo woman weighing 206 pounds (down 14! yay!).

Thanks,

Patricia

I'm so sorry to hear about your knee issues. It can be frustrating when you're on a roll and don't want to lose any momentum with your progress.

I would check with a doctor.

I don't know your situation, of course, but it sounds similar to mine.

About 3 weeks ago, I started training for a half marathon.  I'm not a runner, so this was basically my first time.  After a couple weeks, BAM!  My knee is in considerable pain.  I ended up going to the doctor, and he basically concluded that it has to do with my hip muscles not being strong enough, which in turn added extra stress/etc, and causes pain in my knee.  Well, he explained it better than that.  Anyway, I have hip exercises now, which should make the muscles stronger and help the problem.

Of course, it could be totally different for you, but you never know!  There's also this GREAT hamstring stretch he showed me, and I SWEAR....  it helps so much.  Like, sometimes my knee will really flare up and it just hurts sooo bad, so I stretch, and it immediately feels a little better.  This is what it is:  "While sitting at the edge of a chair, straighten one leg in front of the body with the heel on the floor. Then, sit up straight and try pushing the navel towards the thigh without leaning the trunk of the body forwards. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds, then repeat 3 times for each leg."

Anyway, it might be a different pain, though, so who knows.  But I thought I'd pass that along, and maybe it'll help!  If the pain sticks around, definately check it out.

Good luck! :)

Thanks for the advice, folks. The knee's feeling better already, though it'll probably be a few days before I'm back to walking for exercise. I'll definitely try the hamstring stretch. My company has a contract with a local PT clinic, and a couple of their therapists are in the shop a couple of times a week. I'll put my name on the list for a consult on Monday. It's just very frustrating when things to have been going so well.

Thanks again!

Patricia

I would definitely consider some strength training.  I have arthritis in my hips and knees and keeping strong muscles in my legs keeps the pressure of my joints and helps me stay pain free.  If I stop lifting my knees and hips feel it within a couple of weeks.  Good luck

Do you have a knee brace? When I was a teen I messed up my knee badly. For the most part it does not bother me but when I exercise I have to wear a knee brace or I am in pain for the next few days.