knee problems & lifting

[doodles]

i have been back and forth from the doctors to physical therapy for my knees and hips. I have degenerative bone loss, little fluid for cushioning and overall pain and discomfort. the physical therapist wants me to gain muscle in the legs to take the strain off of the knees and hips. i most def. cannot do leg extensions and lunges are out of the question.Leg press is good, but does anyone know of other exercises that won't put a great deal of pressure on the knee??? i've been doing the exercises the phys therapist tells me to but not seeing improvements besides getting good at bouncing around on a ball....

[pirouette]

Sounds like you need low impact/low weight work, which means building strenghth will take a long time, not weeks, probably not even a few months. If done diligently you will eventually build the strength to be able to handle more weight bearing exercises and later lunges and such. You've got to be patient.
Sounds like you might want to try some demi-plie or half-squats. Since you can't really stress the knee, the half reps will help build a little strength. They wouldn't do much for a non-injured person's workout but it might help you rehab.

[Taina1970]

I used to have knee problems and straightening my leg muscles has made a huge impact. My problem is 90% gone now. I couldn't even use the stationary bike for a long time. I noticed that increasing the elliptical trainer resistance a little at the time helped in the first stages of getting my joints used to the idea of leg straightening exercises.

It took me almost a year to get to where I'm at and little things such as taking Glucosamine/MSM supplements daily helped greatly. First thing, everyone is different. See what exercises and what range of motion works for you. You can still do leg exercises but you must stop at the first sign of discomfort, don't let it get to the "ouch!!" stage. You'll be surprised, a little goes a long way towards recovery. If you can only do 1/2 set today its all good. you can do a full one next week and so on. Just don't let it get to where its painful. That's the clue for me and has worked.

Lay off the Squats and walking lunges, they are the worse exercises for your knee. Leg extensions were painful to me and now i am able to complete full sets without the stabbing pain in my patella. Also, STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH!!! your HAMSTRINGS, HIPS and YOUR BACK at least 3 times a week. Leg presses are the best (at least for me). There are several variations of the same Leg press try them all and DON'T BOUNCE!! Do full stops going up and going down. Once you get bored of leg presses then you are ready for the 10 second count leg presses. :-) I do single leg presses cause of my back. At least that's what helped for me. Good luck!! Don't get frustrated, take a training day at a time. And don't forget to stretch!!

[doodles]

thanks pirouette! thanks taina1970, i swear your problems ae exactly the same as mine. i will def take your advice and stretch, lay off squats and increase leg press. im just not gonna let it hold me back haha i can't do the bike either, my knee feels like its gonna pop straight out! Thank you

[iNatalia]

thanks pirouette! thanks taina1970, i swear your problems ae exactly the same as mine. i will def take your advice and stretch, lay off squats and increase leg press. im just not gonna let it hold me back haha i can't do the bike either, my knee feels like its gonna pop straight out! Thank you

Boy, today is the 'knee day' on bb.com

I had the same problem 2 years ago. Would come home after workout and lay there with 2 bags of frozen veggies on my knees. Be patient...baby steps...All the above advice is good. Plus there are some supps that can help.