hurt knee turning into a BLIMP!! hellllppppp!!!

[Yasdnil]

ok, so back in June I slipped and fell on a wet kitchen floor. My knee hurt afterward, but I figured it would just get better with time. Well, it didn't and has been hurting for the past 7 months. I went to the Dr last Friday and he thinks it's probably a meniscus tear which I'll have to have surgery for, MRI is tomorrow. ew ew ew!

 

I was very active before I fell; walked everywhere, played volleyball, and hacky-sack, swimming...well, you get the picture. Ever since I hurt my knee EVERYTHING I do makes it sore and stiff. The kicker to this being that I've gained 15 POUNDS since it happened!

 

I am getting so depressed about not being able to do everything I love and gaining weight and it seems to just make me want to eat more for comfort or something!

 

Does anyone have ANY suggestions about what I can do to lose some weight? Has anyone else had to go through this before? THIS SUCKS!!!

[sophia34]

Bummer! There's nothing worse that losing one of your "wheels." I've sprained my ankle before (not the same seriousness as your injury, but still painful) that put me out of commission for six weeks. No more walking, running, etc., that I used to do.

 

When that happened, I first went to a recumbent bike, which wouldn't be an option for you, because of the knee thing. And it turned out not to be an option for me--all that knee bending started wearing out the cartilage in my knee so I couldn't even get out of a chair without pain. So, the doctor told me to stop it.

 

So, I turned to strength training. You may need a gym and a supervised workout to work around your knee, but you could still do upper-body workouts and maybe even some carefully chosen lower body workouts that didn't involve squats or lunges. Push-ups, sit-ups, bicep curls, tricep work, etc. Extra muscle can work wonders when it comes to burning off fat and keeping fit.

 

This probably isn't an option now, but as your knee heals from surgery, you may also turn to some low-impact aerobic activities such as the elliptical trainer and the Gazelle (which looks pretty boring, but could work for you until your knee healed), which involve low-impact and little bend in the knee.

 

You could also take this opportunity to work on your flexibility. Yoga and pilates each have elements that you could do with out serious stress to your knee. But again, you may want to work with an expert once or twice to develop a workout that works around that part of your body.

 

Good luck! It sucks, for sure. Hopefully, surgery or other therapy will fix it and you'll be back on both legs in no time!

[Craig]

You could still go swimming, just don't use your legs. If your leg hurts when you let it drag throught the water you could try supporting it with a float. Ask the staff they may have a selection of different types of floats and one mght work for you.

 

If you can also do a google search on "wheelchair athlete." You might find some ideas and inspiration there.

[Yasdnil]

Thanks! I've been trying to do sit-ups and lifting arm weights. It seems to be helping some.

 

My mom is a nurse at a nursing home and she gave me this excersize video for people who are chair-bound. it is sooooooo freaking funny! but hey, whatever helps right?

 

I'm going to looking into some sort of floatie for my leg too...good idea!!

 

I get the results from my MRI on Friday...eeeek!!! hopefully it's something they can fix!

[tattoomytoe]

swimming is what i would say too. i am a swim instructor, i teach a lot of adults too. and most of my adults are older with joint problems. they tell me how much our 30 minute sessions once a week help to strengthen their muscles and help with strecthing.

 

plus i know the benifits.... if i do not swim, my ankles and knees get really sore too.