Knee Pain: “I Can’t Lose Weight, Because I Can’t Exercise…”
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Knee pain can be managed with the right exercises.
With the new year upon us, many of us are getting started on our ‘resolutions’, or we’re at least thinking about them. And of course, one of the most common resolutions you will hear is people who want to start losing weight and exercising more. Losing weight and exercising more in 2019 are both great ideas… but what about people who can’t workout because they are in pain?
This is a frequent obstacle at the clinic, especially for people with knee pain. It often goes something like this: “I’d like to exercise more to lose some weight, but my knee hurts too much to exercise.” Here’s another common variation: “My surgeon tells me I need to lose 40 lbs if I want a total knee replacement, but how can I lose weight if I can’t exercise?”
The topic of losing weight opens up a massive can of worms, but today I want to focus your attention on 4 ideas:
1. Make your health a priority:
· Before you can have pain relief, you have to make a DECISION to do something about it. More often that none, people wait till the last minute when things get really bad to seek health.
· Many of the clients that walk through our doors are the sweetest and most caring individuals you will ever meet. They often put their families in front of their own health, which leads to negative effects.
· Understand that if you want to be the best caregiver for the ones around you, MAKING YOUR HEALTH A PRIORITY is key!
2. Do something to decrease your knee pain:
· If ice, heat and weeks of rest are not helping your knee feel better, you need to be PROACTIVE about your recovery. These things that you are trying are simply putting a bandaid on the situation instead of addressing the actual problem.
· Chances are that your knee may be a little ‘twisted’ or out of position. When this happens, there is constant pressure on the injured area which doesn’t allow for pain relief.
· Specific HANDS ON TECHNIQUES are essential to get the right muscles loose, and the joints back into alignment.
3. While your knee is healing, continue to work above and below:
· As I wrote about in my previous articles, often times the CAUSE of your knee pain is related to the hip or the ankle. Addressing these areas is of the utmost importance if you want your knee feeling better.
· With that being said, because your knee hurts doesn’t mean you CAN’T exercise a bunch of other areas!
· For right now, you may not be able to run like you would like, but they are plenty of other movements and alternatives that can challenge your body, heal your knee and help you reach your personal goals.
4. Make better choices about your diet and lifestyle:
· I am not going to get into a long list of the right things to eat… but what I will give you is these words of advice, “Make Better Choices.”
· Life is about moderation and having a balance is the key to living a long healthy life. Instead of having a soda everyday, you can possibly cut down to 2-3x/week. Instead of eating fast food as often, make it your mission to cook at home a few times a week.
· I know we are in the age of Google; but being an ONLINE DOCTOR, self diagnosing and treating yourself can often times leave you with less than desirable results. Choose a professional that can help heal your knee, design an individualized exercise program that will complement your current condition and allow you to progress you back to the things you love.
When it is all said and done, your health and independence are fundamental to a great life. You have a unique story to tell, and we have the ears to listen and the expertise to help fix it. If 2019 is YOUR YEAR to get you back to the things you love, please do not hesitate to reach out!
