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Hi all. So I sprained my knee (grade 1 MCL sprain) last week doing some sight-seeing while on a work trip in Europe. Basically I tripped on a thing and my foot/ankle went one way and my knee went the other as I fell awkwardly and my MCL was what gave. The good news is that it's a very mild knee sprain as far as knee sprains go. The bad news is that I have to stay off my feet as much as possible for 2 weeks and then phase stuff in "as pain allows". I am very bad at "as pain allows". My pattern, when I'm injured, is either do nothing* or "tough it out" by out-stubborning anything that can be out-stubborned and get reinjured. I don't really do moderation well. Sometimes I'll alternate the two and overdo it one day and then do nothing the next. Regardless, this is a bad pattern, and I know it's bad. Both for recovery and for general fitness. So I am looking for advice on what I can do (without swimming - my asthma reacts to chlorine which means I can't swim at any of the pools in town except for the Y which is outrageously expensive) to keep up my activity level in a region where the roads are still ice-covered (which rules out biking - I am not skilled enough a cyclist to be able to ride safely in wintery conditions) and avoid losing too much ground on the fitness front while my knee heals - and for advice, especially from runners, on how to phase activity back in on a knee sprain seeing as how I'd signed up for a 10K at the end of May and I'd like to try to still make it if possible. I know I can prep for a 5K in a month so if needed I'll drop to the 5K, but I was hoping to keep the 10K but I dunno if that's reasonable (see above about out-stubborning anything that can be out-stubborned.** My default approach to injury setbacks is barrel through and hurt myself. I'm trying not to reinjure myself this time). *I'm a Maritimer and a base brat and so I had a less polite phrase here on my first draft - OT but how much cursing is acceptable here? I'm ok with self-censoring but I just am curious if I should do. **I ran my first 10K last fall on three hours of sleep and a raging asthma attack which had me at 65% of my normal lung capacity. My time was terrible and I damn near landed myself in the ER and it was a very bad idea to even try, but I finished. I am not kidding about outstubborning anything that can possibly be out-stubborned. I need someone to metaphorically smack my hand and tell me no when I have a bad idea like running a 10K in the middle of a moderate asthma attack. Or doing my shodan grading with a lung infection instead of waiting a year. Or I could go on.

God. At this point, I am literally asking both the NFR community and God, am I doing something wrong? Because it seems like every time I try to do something to prepare my body and help it, it just hurts me more, instead. I do warm-up sets with squats. I get to the actual set, and I end up finding myself not having enough strength and balance to push up from the bottom of the squat, and I go tumbling back. I do warm-up sets with squats the next time, and I hurt my left knee on the warm-up set with nothing but the bar. I try to do calf and leg stretches to help my sore left knee and shin, and my shin ends up feeling stiff and sore for the remainder of the night, AND my left knee still hurts a little. Now it's been about two weeks since I've been to the gym, and I'm still feeling soreness in the left side in the center of my left shin, and the left side of my left knee. I would put ice on it, but then that means I would have to empty out all of the ice trays and hold a bag of ice to my leg and knee all day, which I can't do. I would take medication to help whatever's going on get fixed, but I can't do that, either. I would lay down all day and just rest my legs, but I can't do that at home because of all the chores and housework I find myself doing for two hours, and when I'm back in school, I've got to carry a backpack full of books to and across campus all day. Also, I feel like shit when I do nothing physical all day. I did try elevating my feet or knees last night, though. I think it helped some.

ahoy scouts! greetings from the ranger camp! ok, i'll just get right to the meat of the problem here. i've recently discovered that i favor my right leg when i walk [and run], which means my left leg gets more beat up. as a result, my left knee has started to feel a bit painful since i started running about 4-5 weeks ago. it's not constant, it's not even incredibly painful pain. it's just sort of...stiff at times? i suppose? mostly seems to happen a few hours after a run, and when i fully extend my leg and flex [like when i'm stretching.] anyway, so that's problem #1. problem #2 is the main knuckle of my big toe [where the toe connects to my foot] has the same kind of stiff, off-and-on, not-very-painful pain. also on my left side. this happened [i think?] as a result of wearing shoes that were too worn down. [to be fair, i had no idea they were so used up, and they just sort of spontaneously failed one day. the run i took when they messed my toe up was the last run i took in them.] i thought it went away when i got new shoes, but it's been coming and going since then. whenever i curl the toe up or push the toe down towards the bottom of my foot i can feel it. so my question to you, dear scouts and running experts, is this: what can i do to even out my stride, and what can i do to fix my joints/not hurt them any worse? if you need any more information at all, please ask! thanks for your help!

I've read some opinions that say not to use knee wraps but knee sleeves seem to be popular. Can anyone enlighten me on whether knee sleeves are worthwhile? Are these mainly to keep your knees warm or do they offer support as well?

Hello all. I am new to Nerd Fitness and was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for training with a knee injury. I have had 2 ACL total reconstructions on the same knee and the lunges are the only thing that seem to bother it. Is there a "safer" way to do it for those with a lot of plastic and metal in their knee? Or perhaps a substitute that will be equally effective? Please share your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Hello, I have jumped a lot and practiced landing in the past few days -not from anywhere higher than 4 feet though- and I have stiff knees. They hurt a little sometimes as well. My questions are: -What should I do other than resting? -Can I squat with weights during this rest period? Are there any other good leg exercises I can safely perform during this period? -Can anyone give me any advice for developing better jumps and landings? Thanks in advance.

I can walk all day, and be perfectly fine. I can do squats and stretches, and be fine. As soon as I start running, maybe three or four steps into a light jog, I get some serious pulling pain in my right knee, down the left side of the joint. According to some pictures I found, that's either the LCL (the top of that ligament) or the ACL (the bottom of that ligament). I've heard "ACL injury" many times, so that's kinda freaking me out. I don't think it's a tear or a real injury, but it's very painful, and after half a lap it hasn't gone away. With some repeated stop-starts I can mostly get the pain to fade, but then it's still an ache that I can feel. It didn't start until maybe... two or three weeks ago? I can't think of anything that would have caused it. Are there some stretches or exercises or something I can use to help deal with this? I'm really trying to jog and run more (got a 5k in August), rather than just walking.

My oh my. Feels like a whirlwind this time. Like, we just finished the last one and the next one is already here. Weird. I know we usually can't wait for them to come, so I'm glad, but at the same time, just, wow. Oh well. Let's get it on. Goal 1: Mobility Work on Off Days Pretty much what it sounds like. I've found all of the things that I need to do for my body so far. I've found yoga for my shoulders and knees, and the HFS for my hips and lower back, and SMR for the other pains in my body that I have to deal with. It's all good. But it's not enough to know that these things work. They also have to be applied. The general rule I've heard before goes that you need to spend at least as much time on your mobility work as you do on your strength work. So, if I'm doing strength/power stuff three days per week, then I need to be doing mobility stuff three days per week as well. Graded out of 18. +2 STA, +2 CON. Goal 2: Integrated Martial Arts Training Just like before. This started strong and finished weak, but I really think that I was onto something there, given myself. Unfortunately, there's no hack to get around getting things done. I can't make the training happen if I don't show up to do it. So. Here we go again. Combination work, uchikomi work, and newaza work at the end of the training session. No matter what. Graded out of 42. +2 DEX, +2 STA, +1 STR And now to be a loose cannon... Life Goal 1: Walker University What? Have I somehow tricked a university into giving me more moniez so that I can earn more useless papers? Pshaw. Naw, y'all. One of the ways that personal trainers are encouraged to get ahead is to go for a walk and plug in an audio book of some kind. I spend so much time reading fiction on my own as it is that I don't need to plug in fiction books. So, it's time to start listening more to podcasts and the like relating to fitness business and writing stuff. Any time it's nice enough near me to go for a walk, I'mma do it. Graded out of a possible 30, with adjustments as needed depending on the weather. +3 WIS Life Goal 2: Write Our Story Well. Y'all asked for it. My mom's asking for it. My friends are asking for it. So, now I've got no choice. I have to buckle down and get to work. Every day, I need to be either writing some on the story, or working on characters, or plotting scenes, or something. Each day has to have a concrete step taken toward the completion of this bloody novel. RisenPhoenix already has an expy in it, though it's not really him so much as a character who shares a couple traits with him. I feel like I'mma have to make this disclaimer repeatedly: these characters are not y'all. So please, please, no freaking out if you end up reading this and you spot someone whom you can clearly tell was based on you and they do some decidedly not-you things. Graded out of 42. +3 CHA Also, unofficial savings goal: gotta start working on saving up for the Spartan. First step: registration fees.

So I got tackled and took a cleat to the knee when I went down. I didn't notice immediately but about an hour later it started feeling kinda like a wad of cotton was shoved behind my kneecap and it hurt to kneel on. I figured it was just a bruise and went on my merry way. However, it's four days later and it still feels like that a little. It hurts to go down stairs a bit. I play the tournament this weekend on it and it worked fine but I can sort of jiggle my knee cap which I don't think is suppose to happen as my other knee doesn't do that. I'm wondering if anyone might know what's up and if I can do anything to make it better quickly?

Six months ago I hurt my knee after doing some intense speedwork 3 weeks before a half-marathon. Since then I haven't run more than 4 miles in a single go, and tend to do no more than 20 minute interval runs. I say probably running 5 miles a week. I've been doing yoga and a lot of lifting instead, building up my overall strength and trying to even out my muscles after focusing almost exclusively on running for a while. My knee still bothers me from time-to-time but foam rolling and icing calms it down. Now, here's the question: There's a half marathon in 13 weeks that I've got an opportunity to do at a discount rate. The running bug has come back hard lately and I'm itching to have something to train for. However, my running endurance is WAY down from essentially taking a 6 month break after running for just a little over a year before that. But I do a ton of walking (average around 35 miles a week). Do you think the walking mileage/endurance is enough to justify jumping into training for a half that's 13 weeks away?

I would love some advice. I have two injuries that are making my life (and workouts) a misery. 1. A year ago during a marathon I ended the race with terrible knee pain (but I PR'ed, so worth it?). I took a month off of running and a month later when I tried to do a fun-run relay race, I could barely go further than a mile or two without being in incredible pain. I took more time off then some more then some more and so on (hooray for living overseas where you can't find a reliable doctor to help you out, right?) trying to get my knee to heal itself. This was my 3rd marathon and while I had taken several more walk breaks in the others, they hadn't presented any hint of a problem. A couple of months ago I started rolling out my IT band every other day and my mileage started building back up. One time I got to 7 miles feeling pretty good, but I think my form is off now cuz the other knee started to hurt. Subconsciously babying the bad knee, maybe. Over the holidays I went to for PT when I was back in the US. They said my form has been off since middle school and so my muscles and neurons weren't firing the way they should. They spent some time breaking up the fascia in my calves and feet and 15 minutes later I was nailing the strength tests I bombed before where I had to resist them pushing on my leg in various directions (basically a functional movement approach). It was incredible. I should be going back for PT regularly to fix my form and get more manipulation treatment, but I can't since I live in Central freaking Asia. So now I'm back overseas, not running until I go home for more treatment in July, trying to just walk some every day. BUT the problem seems to be getting worse: today I walked a mile and my hip (same side) started to get the same ache in it. I used to do yoga every week, but now I can't do several positions because it hurts so badly to sit cross-legged or do any similar position. 2. Last May I was doing a strength-training program (since I couldn't run) and while I wasn't new to weights, it was my first time doing much with kettle bells or deadlifts or anything like that. Aaaaand I pulled a muscle in my back. So, again, out for a month trying not to lift weights, just doing circuits/cardio/etc. And it seemed to improve, so I started working out more. Aaaaand pulled it again. Rest longer, get back into weights, aaaaand pull it again. It was so bad I couldn't bend down to put on my socks/shoes/underwear/pants, sneezing caused spasms, it was awful. Aaaaand I have no idea how, but I did it again over the holidays (honestly--no clue--I wasn't working out AT ALL). So a few weeks later it's still a dull ache in my lower back and there are certain yoga positions and workout moves that hurt too much to do. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH so basically my right leg and lower back are making it VERY difficult to do any kind of standard work out routine (even yoga isn't going well) and I would love some advice: Are there workouts that take it easy on (ideally both of) these areas? I love strength training, but do I need to give up the idea of doing it? I need to strengthen my core to support my back, I know, but how can I do that without irritating my lower back? I do not want to be stuck with just sit ups. Any good resources out there for how to deal with these injuries?? Or any recommendations from others who have been so afflicted?I figure I will start swimming and cycling more to get away from walking/running, but I'm pretty new to both and don't really know what a good "routine" or plan is.Is there anything I can do in my daily routine to help out in little ways? I guess I should try to stand more than sit at work, maybe? ANY GUIDANCE WOULD BE SO, SO WELCOME. I've never been sidelined for an injury before, especially ones that don't seem to be going away...

1. Get accepted into distance education certificate program in Project Management for September. This is going to consist of scouting out programs at different schools, assessing their content and method, sorting out the application process and completing that to a standard sufficient to be accepted. It's been a while since I've studied anything formally and that doesn't fit with my self image. Beyond that I've been dissatisfied with my current job on and off for a couple of years, and depending on company and industry dynamics it could be a precarious one. Doing some "homework", planning ahead and preparing for change seems like a good idea. At the very least I may stretch my brain in some new directions, apply myself beyond the bare minimums required to keep a job and have some peace of mind ... oh, that doesn't sound so "at least" after all. A bonus step on this one: Connect with the project management group in my company and let them know I'll be starting this program in September and would like to work with them - get guidance, use real company scenarios for case studies, etc.. I figure this will have two sets of benefits: provide better learning experience in the course work and re-introduce me to the company outside of the operations group. 2. Coffee, don't drink it. I really like coffee a lot. Such a treat. Funny though, it's something I sit down and drink in what could be lazy, leisurely moments and lately it makes me a jittery, anxious mess. Time to see what life is like without it. I've had this under way for a week now already and it actually feels better and easier to do than I'd expected. I think that it's definitely lowered my baseline stress. This week I had a variety of high stress work situations which I feel I handled with much more aplomb than I normally would have. Perhaps this is of sufficient value to trade in my morning ritual? I'll continue the experiment. 3. Daily rehab (mobility and strengthening) of the knees (and now elbow too) "Longitudinal tear of the meniscus and popliteal cyst of X, Y, Z dimension (I don't have the interpretation with me as I write this)", surgery not required and probably not beneficial - yet. That was late January. My lower body strength work has been flagging and I've been running less than I like to since then. With this my training has been eroding altogether - no curlbro here! If I can't be rough and rugged with the "leg" work it seems my motivation deteriorates. Lesson learned! I bought Mike Robertson's "Bulletproof Knees" in early April, read it and promptly ignored it. How much good is a book going to do when used that way? Hrrrrm. At the moment I can feel a bunch of imbalances and instabilities/tightnesses from the ankle to the hip expressing themselves in knee pain. Some of these are "cause" of the knee problem, others are "effect" but after a certain point they definitely feed back into each other. Daily work, 15 minutes or more of physio style exercises to improve stability in glutes and ankles, restore mobility throughout leg focusing on the knee. Goals: Improve ankle and glute health for better upstream and downstream stability and knee protection. Eliminate or diminish pain while running, bar squatting, pistoling. Additional work as required to mitigate growing "golfers elbow" developing on left side. Goal: Pain free upper body presses and pulls. 4. Achieve consecutive double unders ... how many? Double unders. I travel a lot and for a while I visited a lot of crossfit gyms. It was a really fun treat that turned a work trip into a little adventure with likeminded people. Showing up as the new guy who no one knew, for a long time it was easy to avoid learning how to do double unders ... a pretty standard appetizer to any WOD feast. I couldn't avoid knowing myself that I still, having been exposed to them about 4 years ago, have never strung together more than 4 consecutively and haven't even attempted one since last September. 10 minutes daily practice towards double unders. Ongoing study of youtube videos around this technique (not counted towards the 10 minutes) and seeking guidance from any coaches I encounter in this next 6 weeks. 5. Do GoRuck Class #659 proud. June 21st I'll be GoRucking overnight. I want to come through it with a smile, good stories and knowing I've done my classmates a solid any chance there was. While my overall PT has been less consistent and less intense than I like lately I'm not setting a training goal for this. I'll be on the road between now and then, and will be challenged sufficiently following through on the goals above. More details on S.M.A.R.T.ing these up to come.

Hello everyone, as a new member to the community, this is my first post. I am looking for some help or suggestions. I am a bigger guy, 282lbs, and have started the past four months with the paleo diet and Steve's basic bodyweight programs. I have started running as well, doing a number of races in that time (My farthest has been a 10k, which I was psyched to have finished this past Saturday!!). Anyway, I want to start Steve's Dumbell Division strength program, and I have been looking at the guide pretty closely. The only real change I'll have to make is the negative pull ups, as I still can't do a proper one. But regardless of all that, I am worried that my heavy size will make my knees unable to handle the deadlift and squat portions. I believe I can do it, but I am wondering if I should be wearing braces. I've been heavy a while (I'm thirty last year, and I've been overweight my whole life). I don't want to have to quit because of bad knees. So I'm asking: what are the recommendations for knee braces to complete the dumbell training program? brands, types, etc... This is all new territory for me, so assume I know nothing (because I do. Know nothing.) Thanks so much for any help Rebels. This is a FANTASTIC community, and I look forward to being more involved! shaffnut Yorktown, VA

Hello everyone! I just had a few questions I was hoping you guys could help me with. I am on a weight loss journey. I started at 262 and am currently 250. I have been eating mostly clean (following "Eat to Live" plan by Dr. Fuhrman, similar to Paleo), I use a Bodymedia Fit armband to track my burn, and My Fitness Pal to track my calories. I have been having a slow lose with the cardio. I do cardio 3-4 times a week 30-45 minutes. Mostly brisk walking and biking. I eat about 1200-1400 in calories, usually 1200. After complaining about cardio someone from My Fitness Pal suggested I check out this site, specifically the Beginner Body Weight Circuit Workout: They said it burns way more calories than cardio and I should be incorporating this into my workout. My question is, I have patellar subluxation in one knee, hyper-extended ligaments, basically my knee just randomly dislocates sometimes. It is awful pain. The last time this happened I was swimming in the pool! The ultimate "no joint strain" workout. I guess I kicked my legs wrong. Anyway, I would like to try the circuit workout but I am worried about my knee doing the squats and jumping jacks. I figured I could modify the jumping jacks so I am not actually jumping though I am not sure what I could do about the squats. I could hold onto a chair maybe? I am not sure if that will still put stress on my knee or not. Will I still get the same effect even if I modify the knee stressing exercises? Do you all have any tips on ways I could modify them? I am hoping as I lose more weight I will be able to do more since there will be less stress on the joint. I plan on doing this every other day with cardio. Could I also do this and cardio in the same day? For example, Monday, 30-45 minutes of brisk walking (roughly 2+ miles) and then do the circuit, Tuesday, just cardio, Wednesday, repeat of Monday... etc? Is that too much? Thank you for any help you can offer! I appreciate it Jen

Hi! I'm new to the rebellion and have question. Actually, it's two questions, but I'll get to that later. I decided to get serious about my fitness at the beginning of the year, and an old school friend put me on to this site. I've working hard at it with a mix of strength training, cardio and slowly changing my diet. I feel like I'm starting to make some gains, and I can see the evidence in my spreadsheets. However, I've had a niggling pain in my knee. Today I went for a walk during my lunch break and BAM! Half an hour after I got back my knee has packed it up and I'm limping all over the place. I don't want to loose my momentum! I'm going to keep at it with the diet, I'm going to upper body strength training. So I was wondering: What can I do in the way of cardio while my knee heals? What can I do make sure it doesn't happen again?With regards to number 2, I'm upping my dosage of fish oil to the max I can take. I'm pretty sure the initial event that caused it was doing body weight exercises at home incorrectly. I also know the other part of the problem is that I'm a overweight woman who is suddenly doing LOTS of exercise, and that's putting a lot of stress on my joints. Is it possible that this will be less of a problem when I lose weight?

I have damaged my knees numerous times over the years. Now that I am geeting into a workout routine (habit) I am noticing pain a lot more, especially after squats. What are some exercises I can do to strengthen my knees up? Thanks.