buying what home gym equip

dorothykd
dorothykd Member Posts: 8
edited 8. Jul 2009, 15:15 in Living with Arthritis archive
hello--i am a newbie to arthritis and associated problems. i have grade 4 in my right knee on arthrocoscopy and causing probs.
i am doing hydrotherapy but was wondering that if you bought one piece of gym equipment --what should one opt for.do exercise bikes aggravate knees /--are treadmills good ?

thank you in advance
Dot xx:

Comments

  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Dot

    Sorry to hear your knee is giving you major probs. :( I know about troublesome knees, I had two of them but only have one now, due to a LTKR in 2008.

    Not sure what gym equipment would help as I would have thought the exercise bike would have been ok if you put the pedals to go round with the least resistance. After my knee op the physio very soon had me on the exercise bike and before I got on it, I thought I would NEVER be able to turn the pedals but could as there was no resistance and it was great. It has always been suggested to me that you have to try and keep the femur strong with dodgy knees so sitting on a desk swinging your legs backwards and forwards is a good exercise, like you were on a swing. Not sure if you would find that too painful or not. If you have fluid on the knee can that not be drained to make things easier perhaps. Ice packs bring down swelling and ease pain. Heat can be pleasurable too.

    Sorry cannot be of much help but hope things improve soon for you.

    Elna x
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • bailey27
    bailey27 Member Posts: 689
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi
    As a personal trainer I know you should be opting for machine that is going to strengthen your muscles which will then provide support and support for your joints.
    Most cardiovascular machine such as treacdmills, exercise bikes, x trainers only provide you with one exercise and one movement and rarely offer you the chance to physically sterngth your muscles.
    If you were to buy one piece of equipment I would recommend the 'PILATES PERFORMER'. You can buy them quite reasonable now on Ebay etc.

    [TEXT DELETED]

    [Please avoid posting excessive quotes from commercial websites - Moderator (T)]
  • bailey27
    bailey27 Member Posts: 689
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    P.S. Sorry forgot to mention that if you have problems with certain parts of your body, for examply your knees. You should not only mobilise your knee but also strength the surrounding muscles such as quadriceps, hamstring, calfs... Not only that but having weak muscles in your thighs can also have an effect on other parts of your body such as your back. (this is only as an example).
    Having a strong core will help anyone with arthritis and there are so many exercises you can do to strengthen your core muscles - even if you are limited to what you can do.

    I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis in my hips and back and also have 'wear and tear' in my knee. My knee was giving me a lot of trouble recently and I have started strengthening my quads and hamstrings and have already noticed imrpovement in symptoms. No it doesn't go away but by making these muscles stronger I can guarantee your symptoms will improve.

Categories