Getting the balance right for exercising (Knee feeling swollen)

rachelbee

Hello :)

I'm 42 and got diagnosed with tri-compartmental osteoarthritis about a year ago. The xray showed it was quite mild, so physio said I should work on strengthening my quad muscles so that it helps lessen the impact and I should be ok to get back to running in a few months. That never happened as it has given me pain when I overdo things.

I'm a bit overweight and have been trying to go walking with the kids, it seems a little amble (2 or 3 slow miles) makes my knee swell the next day. Should I be resting it then? So I'm doing one day walking, one day resting? Or should I be doing more often but with shorter distance? I'm just struggling with getting the balance right so would appreciate some advice as I'm frustrated at lack of exercise then I do something and the swelling the next day doesn't seem good.

Thank you :)

CarolG

Welcome @rachelbee

Welcome to our online community where you will hopefully find access to a range of forums sharing helpful experiences and offering support.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I understand from what you have said, how frustrating your are finding trying to plan an exercise regimen that will work best for you following your diagnosis of tri-compartmental osteoarthritis about a year ago.

We have an extensive amount of information on our website and have included here some items that you might find of interest.

Information on OA,

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

Exercises to help manage knee pain can be found at same site, but further down...

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

We have a range of summary descriptions about relevant research you can access here,

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2019/october/what-are-the-links-between-sport-exercise-and-osteoarthritis/

If you are still looking for some further advice and information, please make use of our helpline. With our helpline, online information and arthritis virtual assistant, you don't need to face arthritis alone.

0800 5200 520 Call us for free (Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 8:00pm

Let us know how you get on and please continue to post,

Take care,

Carol

Lilymary

I find getting the right balance difficult too. I’ve got awful OA in my hip, awaiting a new one. I need to lose a bit of weight but I can’t even do the indoor exercises my Physio suggests as they hurt too much. let alone any serious exercise. I can occasionally do a gentle 3 mile level walk, (steep hills and steps are agony) but it’s painful all the way and I have to use a stick (which also hurts due to a wrist injury incurred during the fall that triggered my OA flaring up and reaching this level). I’m basically just trying to tough it out and do what I can backed up by anti-inflammatories and co-codamol, a TENS machine (which helps just a little) and resting after each excursion, but I still only feel I can manage say 2 walks a week max.
Have a word with your doc re pain relief, and talk it through with a good physio on how to get the balance right. Once the virus crisis has gone, you may find non weight bearing exercise like swimming (or cycling?) might help.