How to Work Out After Hurting Your Knee

Staying in shape after suffering from an injury can be, at best, annoying – and at worst, devastating. A knee injury can be especially frustrating. Here are some of the best kinds of workouts that you can do in order to stay fit while still letting your knee heal.

Go Easier

Often, you can stick to what you already like to do – just with adapted forms of the exercise so that you can go lighter and easier. For example, instead of running – which can put undue pressure on the knee – you can walk briskly instead. Instead of lifting the kinds of weights you usually do, you can do the same leg exercises (like squats) without any weight at all. In some cases, adapting the exercise might be tricky. This can be the case If you primarily do track and field, dance, or high-movement or impact sports. At the end of the day, what’s important is that you do not put your knee under a regular amount of stress.

Go Swimming

Again, any exercise you can do while keeping pressure off your knee will be good for you. Swimming lets you exercise while being gentle on your knees and joints. Instead of supporting the weight of your entire body on your feet, ankles, and knees, the water will spread out your weight to be supported by the entire body. Normally, swimming uses a lot of core strength – but even more so if any of your limbs are impaired in their movement. It’s important to be cautious. After all, you don’t want to propel yourself too hard, overextend the knee joint, and injure it further. Make sure to ease into the swimming routines and you’ll be fine.

Follow Medical Instruction

The person who’s going to know best how to rehabilitate your knee will be your doctor. You need to listen to their advice and instruction. As badly as you may want to dive back into sports, you run the risk of damaging your knee for life. It’s simply not worth it. Follow your doctor’s instructions about the best ways to exercise without reinjuring the knee – and pay attention to the stretches they prescribe you. Stretching maintains flexibility, which means it will be less likely to be reinjured during exercise.

Even light exercise has its risks. Even prescribed exercises have risks as well. Simply use your common sense. Know your limits. Know when to take a break. Know when you should stop entirely. If you find the best exercises for you, and you follow your doctor’s instructions, your knee will be fine.

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