# Exercise Suggestions for Knee Rehab



## Thesemindz (Mar 9, 2012)

I have a student coming over for class next week and she was telling me that she's been having some pain in her knees. She's recently kicked up her training and added some weight training as well, and I think she's probably just overdoing it a little, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for exercises she could do to help with the pain and strengthen her knees. I have some things I'm going to work with her on but I'd love to hear whatever you guys recommend. I have knee problems myself from a lifetime of obesity and several serious training injuries and have been working on strength, flexibility, and reducing stress by losing weight. So far I've recommended that she lay off anything that puts extra load on her knees for a little while so they can heal since the pain she's experiencing is a relatively new phenomenon that has occurred since she upped her activity level, and to work instead on slowly moving the joint, starting with small arcs and slowly increasing to a full range of motion. I'd also be interested in any advice you guys may have regarding nutrition or supplements that you think might help.

Thanks in advance!


-Rob


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## Buka (Mar 9, 2012)

Hard to tell anything from afar. And listening to any of us on the net might be shaky when it comes to health.
That being said...

I'm at work right now. (Just sneaking a peek at the forum on lunch) I work in a sports rehab unit, and there's been a lot of gals with knee problems over the last couple years. I'll try and get back to you over the weekend with some ideas.

How old is she?


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## Thesemindz (Mar 9, 2012)

Early 30s. Obese. Working out a lot with karate, cardio, and weights to try to get in shape. I think she's training too much. Whether that's the source of the pain or not I can't say.


-Rob


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## mook jong man (Mar 9, 2012)

I have cartilage problems in both knees , squats seem to aggravate it , so I don't do them anymore.
I do lunges now and that doesn't seem to hurt them , I also recommend holding a very low horse stance with both fists pulled back in the chambered position , hold that position for a certain amount of time.
Don't know if it will work for anyone else , but it seems to work for me.


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## seasoned (Mar 9, 2012)

Squat with just body weight. Don't go all the way down, but squat where it feels comfortable with back straight. Start high and work down about half way very slowly.................... Leg extensions are not good for the knees.


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## harlan (Mar 10, 2012)

Obese, approaching middle-aged, female and overtraining? Start a long term regimen for knee health:

1. Lose 50 lbs, and stop using exercise to accomplish it.
2. Since most people in that category develop osteoarthritis, start taking joint supplements.
3. Knee/leg strengthening exercise videos can be found on many medical websites (google 'knee osteoarthritis' for example).


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## Buka (Mar 11, 2012)

Rob,
I sent you a PM with a bunch of ideas concerning her knee. But I'm not sure if I did it properly, I'm not good with this whole computer thing.
If you didn't get a PM, let me know and I'll try again.


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## Thesemindz (Mar 16, 2012)

I worked with this student twice this week. We had a long talk about her training, and her diet, and how she was feeling and doing and I gave her the advice everyone recommended. See a specialist. That aside, after talking with her and working with her I really think she's probably just been overtraining, and probably not with perfect form. I told her to let me know if she felt any pain while we were training so we could try to get an idea of what was hurting her and avoid those activities. She only felt the pain in her leg twice, both times while we were practicing moving stances. The first time she didn't notice until after it came and went and she couldn't remember what caused it, the second time she stopped immediately and I looked at her stance and noticed her rear leg, which was the one that hurt, was turned out and almost back in her neutral bow. Her hips were pulled wide open by the way she was standing, and I think that was putting pressure on her knees. So I had her correct her foot position and we kept training and it never happened again.

I'm not saying I cured her, that's not the point. I don't think the problem is something we can fix in one session. I really think it's mostly a result of overworking the joint and under-recovering between training. I tried to re-emphasize with her the importance of patience and fueling properly and share some of the challenges I'm facing in the same pursuit and what I'm doing to work with my body. And I really hammered that if she continues to feel pain in her knee she really should see a specialist. Of course, she's in the same boat I am. No money, no health coverage, no way I can go see a specialist. That's why I ask around here. Because I either get my medical advice on the internet or not at all. But I always advice other people to get real, professional medical care when they're injured. Because it's clearly the right thing to do.

I appreciate all the help I got here and on KT. It helped me to have a productive discussion with my student and to point her in the direction of more information, and to have a safe, fun training session. Thanks to everyone who contacted me with information, both publicly and privately.


-Rob


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