Knee pain is a very common ailment, with one in four adults suffering from recurrent knee pain. Exercise has been shown to be exceptionally effective at reducing knee pain. However, it can frequently be difficult to get started if your knees are hurting already.
Discovering how to exercise without hurting your knees may be troublesome, however there are two main routes which you can take:
- Stop doing any exercise which hurts your knees, and
- Strengthen the tissues around your knees in order to make them stronger as well as more resilient.
Regrettably, avoiding any exercise or activity which hurts your knees isn’t practical, feasible or even advisable. A substantial amount of research has demonstrated that not only does activity tends to reduce pain in the long-term but also that sedentary behaviour will make it worse.
That leaves us with the more sensible, practical option of strengthening the leg muscles as well as tissues so that you are able to exercise without hurting your knees. For most of these exercises, you’ll require equipment such as an exercise bike, yoga mat, bench, or some resistance bands.
Make Sure That You Warm Up First
You can ride a stationary bike for approximately minutes, taking a brisk two-minute walk while pumping your arms, or doing between 15 and 20 wall push-ups followed by the same number of calf raises. Doing this will assist you to get more out of your workout, prepare you to stretch as well as lower your risk of an injury.
What Are The Best Cardio Exercises If You Have Knee Pain?
Once you understand what’s going on with your knee and have clearance from your doctor, you are able to start exercising. Cardio exercise is a great place to begin and one of the absolute best choices for strengthening the lower body, boosting your heart rate as well as losing weight.
If you can access a gym, there are a number of different options to choose from when it comes to cardio, including the kinds of workouts below.
Swimming
Swimming is one of the absolute best choices if you are suffering from knee pain. The water keeps your body afloat, taking the impact off the rest of your body while – at the same time – allowing you to get a great cardio workout and strengthen the muscles that support your knee.
The best swimming moves are freestyle and the backstroke, however you can also try out other drills and exercises:
- Reverse kicking: Wrap your arms firmly around a kickboard, and then flip over onto your back. Kick, bringing your knees high with each kick. It’s almost as if you’re marching.
- Walking: If it doesn’t trouble your knees, you could wear a flotation device and then walk across the pool. The resistance will make sure that you get your heart rate up, however there’s no impact and you are able to strengthen your knees. You can walk forwards, backwards, and even sideways. This gives you great variety while allowing you to strengthen all the muscles in the lower body.
- Water aerobics: Group exercise is a lot of fun and doing movements in the pool will give you a fantastic cardio workout without any impact on the joints.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Keen on becoming an exercise expert? If you are then you need to do our Personal Training Diploma. Follow this link to find out more and to register.
