Re: Need help with leg exercises!

[Guest guest]

Hi Stevie

since I have had both knees reconstructed I feel pretty knowledgeable

in that area!!

First if I were you I would go see an orthopedic doc and have the

knee checked out. You may have some torn cartilage which could be

what is clicking and causing the pain...or falling on a hard floor

like you said you could even have a bone chip in there or something!

That said...

in going thru 2 rehabs for my knees the exercises that put the least

stress on the knee ARE the extensions for quads and curls for

hamstrings.

A lot or therapists tell the average person to stay away from squats,

lunges and leg press because they are " bad " but the real reason is

that they are the exercises are the ones most often done wrong! so to

the non-serious weight trainer/athlete who knows nothing about form,

they ARE bad. But I have been doing those exercises forever and am a

fanatic about form.

If it is not a cartilage thing, then I would just start with lower

weights and work up a little more slowly. By building the muscles

around the knee you will strengthen the joint. Make sure for knees

that you do good hamstring work. Most people have weaker hamstrings

than they should (supposed to be a 60/40 ratio to the quads if I

remember correctly)and that puts an uneven pull on the knee joint.

So see an orthopedic -lower your weights-get religious about form-and

and work those hamstrings!!!

Hope some of this helps

Oh I almost forgot!!-- Balance work-balance boards etc are key for

knee strength and stability. Check those out too. If you want more

info on that email me.

Good luck

Dorina

> Hi all!

>

> I need help with finding some leg exercises (mainly the quads) that

> won't aggravate my knee. I fell twice on the hard gym floor in my

> teens and fell again on it on concrete several years ago. Now it

goes

> click, click when I walk upstairs and do leg extensions. I cannot

do

> squats or lunges as it would 'kill' my knee (ie: pain next day) Are

> there other exercises I could do to work my quads that wouldn't put

> added stress on my knee?

>

> Clicking away...

> Stevie

[Guest guest]

I don't know if I can help you with exercises but I have a question,

do you waer a knee brace? If not you might want to get one. If you

have coverage go see a sports medicine doctor they can help figure

out what kind is best for you and prescribe one (if it is prescribed

it is generally covered by insurance). If you are not insured, go to

Walmart and look through their selection, they have some great ones

for about 25$ and under.

With this added support you may be able to expand your work out

repetoire?

Just a thought.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info on the knee brace. Doh! I can't believe I never

thought of trying one. I will definitely check it out :}

Cracking but hopeful...

Stevie

On 25 Feb 2004 at 22:22, wrote:

> I don't know if I can help you with exercises but I have a question,

> do you waer a knee brace? If not you might want to get one. If you

> have coverage go see a sports medicine doctor they can help figure out

> what kind is best for you and prescribe one (if it is prescribed it is

> generally covered by insurance). If you are not insured, go to Walmart

> and look through their selection, they have some great ones for about

> 25$ and under. With this added support you may be able to expand your

> work out repetoire? Just a thought.

[Guest guest]

Hi Dorina,

Thanks for all the ideas! I think you're right about seeing a doc to

see what's going on in my knee. My hams are weak compared to my quads

but I can work on them without hurting my knee, so no problem there!

<whew!> I consider myself pretty new to 'regular' weight training

but, I do try to have good form. I'll make sure to work even harder

at that. I think losing this excess weight will take some of the

stess off the knee too. I checked out balance boards online...very

interesting, I think that might help a lot too.

Thanks again!

Stevie :}

On 25 Feb 2004 at 19:18, Dorina wrote:

> Hi Stevie

> since I have had both knees reconstructed I feel pretty knowledgeable

> in that area!! First if I were you I would go see an orthopedic doc

> and have the knee checked out. You may have some torn cartilage which

> could be what is clicking and causing the pain...or falling on a hard

> floor like you said you could even have a bone chip in there or

> something! see an orthopedic -lower your weights-get religious about form-and

and

> work those hamstrings!!! Hope some of this helps Oh I almost

> forgot!!-- Balance work-balance boards etc are key for knee strength

> and stability. Check those out too. If you want more info on that

> email me. Good luck Dorina