Fitness is essential to your lifestyle, and you cannot help but feel disappointed after a knee injury. Knee problems may occur due to multiple reasons. Some people may have knee injuries due to age, while others may suffer this pain due to serious injuries. Also, permanent stress on any part of the body will eventually result in different troubles. So, how to stay fit with a knee injury?
- Proper Exercise
- Try Out Cardio
- Try to Increase Flexibility
- Keep The Affected Area Warm
- Adopt Proper Diet
- Proper Rest Is Also Necessary
According to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the knee is adolescent athletes’ most commonly injured joint. About 2.5 million adolescent athletes annually visit the Emergency Room (ER) for knee injuries.
Different tips and treatments will help you to sustain any type of knee injury. This article will discuss different ways to stay active even with a knee injury. You might also enjoy reading: Can You Build And Maintain Muscle With Resistance Bands?
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How to Stay Fit With A Knee Injury?
Any knee injury can be very painful for those who are used to regular exercise and healthful activities. However, when you get relief from severe pain, you may soon adopt some methods to recover from the knee injury.
A knee injury can significantly put a drag on your workout routine. Discuss with your doctor, be careful, and take it easy during your recovery period. Here are even a few ways to stay fit with a knee injury.
1- Proper Exercise
When you get any type of injury and make yourself immobilized, that body part may get stiffness causing various troubles. However, with proper exercise, you may still keep yourself fit.
I would suggest consulting your doctor or therapist to suggest exercises that best suit your situation.
Push-ups, pull-ups, planks, dips, and sit-ups are excellent exercises that target your upper body muscles.
2- Try Out Cardio
Though it seems hard to hear that one can adopt different types of cardio to recover from knee injuries, it’s possible. Though it’s right that you can’t move your knee in such a condition, you can choose such cardio that will not impart pressure on any or one of the two knees.
Your doctor may guide you regarding such a cardio exercise. Also, you may go on anyone that seems easy and adaptable to you. Trying to swim, kick, and walk may be injured knee-friendly cardio that can help you recover from such an injury. However, consultation with the doctor is necessary before adopting any.
3- Try to Increase Flexibility
You can make it flexible if you try to move your knee gradually. This will give the knee muscles strength that will help in walking properly. If you can’t manage the movement of just knee muscles, you can synchronize them with any other group of muscles for practice.
However, in some cases, proper consultation with your doctor is necessary too. They may suggest different exercises that will help to improve knee flexibility. Here are some exercises that may prove beneficial in such a case.
- Press practice
- Trying pulldowns
- Cable stretching
- Walking
- Warm-up exercises
- Resistance-band leg presses
Any type of flexible activity will help you to strengthen your knee muscles. This will assist in recovering from different kinds of knee injuries.
4- Keep The Affected Area Warm
Trying to impart your full weight on the knee may result in serious issues. To avoid such an issue, you should go for proper shoes that can absorb jumps and bolts to prevent knee problems. Also, use any knee brace or knee cap to keep your affected area warm.
Most of the knee caps or braces are made up of material that keeps the affected muscles warm, soft, and relaxed. All these features of knee brace material help in proper blood circulation, prevent swelling, give relief from pain, and so on. This thing makes the healing process fast and instant.
5- Adopt a Proper Diet
Medicines and exercises aren’t enough to keep you fit even in knee injury situations, but a proper diet is also necessary.
Adopting a clean and healthy diet helps build and maintain muscles. So, don’t focus on the exercise but on the proper diet.
See also: 32 Foods That Help Build Muscles and Burn Belly Fat Fast – Based on Science
6- Proper Rest Is Also Necessary
Not only is practice necessary to recover from any type of knee injury, but proper rest is also necessary. A night of good sleep and rest will help you build muscles and accelerate your recovery.
Sleep relieves many health issues, and knee injury is no longer an exception. So, keep this thing in mind, too, to recover from any sort of knee injury fast.
Is It Bad to Work Out With an Injured Knee?
If you have knee problems, you need to be especially careful when performing weight-bearing exercises or anything that will put a strain on your joints.
Knee injuries are particularly problematic because most endurance exercises and strength training activities require knee activity and flexion. Fortunately, you can still stay active with proper exercise, and you should not remain in bed and keep your injured knee away from any physical activity.
What Cardio Can I Do With An Injured Knee?
Even with an injured knee, you can stay active; here is a list of cardio you can do with an injured knee:
1- Discuss with Your Doctor
Discussing your doctor should be your first step before considering exercising with a knee injury.
Once you are cleared to start exercising, ask for advice on the type of exercises you can safely add to your fitness routine.
2- Stationary Bike
Cycling is a low-impact form of cardio that can help strengthen your muscles and lubricate joints. Cycling is a low-impact exercise and an excellent way to stay fit with a knee injury. Riding a stationary bike will help you burn many calories. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when riding a stationary bike with a knee injury:
- Straighten your leg entirely and bend slightly when the pedal is fully extended.
- Do not tilt your seat, which will put extra pressure on your knees.
- Keep your seat as straight as possible.
- Do not add any resistance, then gradually build up strength.
3- Incorporate Swimming To Your Workout Routine
You can exercise your upper body while in the water and walk from one part of the pool to the other.
According to the University of Washington Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, exercising in water is a gentle way to exercise your joints and muscles. And the buoyancy of the water supports and lessens stress on the joints and encourages more unrestricted movement.
Swimming is a great way to get your cardio while strengthening your muscles in a low-impact setting.
In addition, you can join a rehabilitation class or a water aerobics class. After just a few days, you will start noticing that your knee will begin to feel much better, especially in the pool.
Always remember to be kind to yourself and ensure you don’t push yourself too hard. See also: Rowing Vs. Swimming: Which One Should You Choose?
4- Focus On Exercising Your Upper Body
You can work out your arms, chest, and back with dumbbells and machines, all without placing too much pressure on the knees.
Upper-body workouts are a good alternative, particularly if you have a knee injury. A good workout routine will include strength training at least twice a week.
Use an exercise machine, allowing you to sit or lie down and work out your arms, chest, and back. You can add lower-body workouts when your knees are ready. You might also enjoy reading: Gym Vs. Crossfit: Which One is Best For You?
5- Use an Elliptical Machine
Like stationary bikes, elliptical machines also provide a low-impact workout. However, ensure you don’t feel any pain when on the elliptical.
Make sure you discuss a proper way of using elliptical machines with a trainer with a knee injury. In addition, adding workouts that help strengthen your knees can help you prevent knee injury.
See also: 18 Amazing Health Benefits Of Using An Stationary Bike
6- Walking
Too many without working out can seem like torture if you’re a runner. And you can’t expect to pick right back up where you left off.
If you are a runner, I recommend starting with walking and slowly building up mileage.
See also: Walking Vs. Yoga: Which Is Better For You?
Final Thoughts
For athletes and active persons, any injury causes many troubles. They can’t wait for the recovery as they are used to regular workouts and games. Proper care and practice may help their recovery if they face any knee injury. Following the above-mentioned tips can help you remain fit even in an injured situation.
However, never put too much load and pressure on the injured part of your body, as it may cause trouble.
Use these exercises to stay fit while recovering from your knee injury. Remember to take your workout easy, don’t push yourself too hard to avoid reinjuring your knee.
