Elliptical for knees?

[rabid_child]

Seemingly out of nowhere, I started having pain in my right knee in April. It got so bad I could barely put weight on it, and then my left knee started hurting, probably because I was using it too much to compensate for the right. I went to Health Services who basically shrugged and said it was probably tendonitis and to build up the muscle and ice it and they gave me tons of advil to take that didn't help at all. (They wouldn't refer me to an orthopedist)

I'm finally at a point now where the pain is tolerable (yes, it took nearly 3 mos) and I can exercise more than once a week. I was told to do stationary biking to build up the muscles around my knee, and stay the heck off the treadmill. I hate riding the stationary bike at the gym, and not only do I hate it, for whatever reason, it leaves me very nauscious. Would the elliptical machine be okay for knees? I have been walking on the treadmill some days, but doing the elliptical most days. My knee pain doesn't seem worse either way, but is it comparable to bike riding?

[thebelovedtree]

<<<---Is still limping around from getting on an elliptical machine for about 5 min 3 months ago with perfectly healthy knees. I wouldn't do it, it wiggled my knee joint around, I got off as soon as it started to hurt but I'm still in pretty bad shape. I work at a job that requires I stand for extended periods of time so I expect healing to be slow, but this is getting pretty sad.

[rabid_child]

lol. my body was fairly used to regular cardio prior to the knee incident, which did not even happen in conjunction with exercise. The best we could figure is I blew them out walking around Manhattan for like 5 hrs one day. Too much high impact... in new shoes! Haha.

[bstutzma]

I have home gym equipment - a "gazelle" style machine which is great for my bad knees (runs in the family - my mother had knee surgery by 35!) I've been using it for over a year and it has never hurt my knees.

The bike at the gym destroys my knees every time, and the elliptical there does too. the gazelle style elliptical is the only thing that has really worked for me. I know thats not practical for everyone but its a pretty cheap machine, cheaper than most yearly gym memberships, it has paid for itself in my house because both my husband and I use it.

[meatless]

I have used an elliptical 3-6 times a week since last September and haven't experienced any problems. It is much lower impact on your ankles/knees than running/treadmills.

[janie]

I haven't had any pain either since using an elliptical trainer for the past year. If your knee pain hasn't gotten any worse since using it, then I would continue. When you ask if it's comparable to bike riding, do you mean in calorie expenditure?

[rabid_child]

I haven't had any pain either since using an elliptical trainer for the past year. If your knee pain hasn't gotten any worse since using it, then I would continue. When you ask if it's comparable to bike riding, do you mean in calorie expenditure?

I meant in knee stress. I need something that is lower in stress on my knees than the treadmill, but doesn't make me want to puke like riding a bike. (And if anyones got an explanation for why riding an exercise bike makes me sick, i'd be happy to hear it!)

[karenlovessnow]

The only thing I can do when my knees are bothering me is the exercise trampline for some reason...the elliptical didn't help my knees.

[blueskies]

I don't have knee problems, but when I had pain in my calves from too much running (and improper stretching :rolleyes: ), I used the elliptical with no problems. I could have used a stationary bike too, but it bores me to death.

[rabid_child]

I spoke to my friend last night who is a physical therapist, and she said elliptical is very low impact, thus good for the knees.

[Tweety]

I had knee issues from running for over 10 years and had to stop. I can use all the machines at the gym. I can even now use the treadmill to walk, but everytime I try to run it starts to hurt. I miss those longs runs, but you can get lost of benefits from the bikes, ellipitals, and stairmasters.

Also, I took up yoga and am amazed at what I can do now three years later.

Good luck!

[chiaraluna]

I have some knee trouble, too, and elliptical is one of the best machines I've ever used for it. You can do really high-energy, heart-pumping exercise without straining the knees at all. I do usually feel stationary bike work in my left knee, and running is definitely out when my knees are acting up, but I've never had any pain from the elliptical.

[jeezycreezy]

Sounds like you're in the same boat as my wife. All I've gathered from the six thousand and twelve times she's complained about it, is that she has a worse time on the elliptical than anything else. So I wouldn't recommend it.

She takes a vegan gloucosamine (sp?) which she says helps, as does icing her knees after a workout. She even went out and bought some funky Velcro-strap-on gel ice pack dealies for it. (Knowing her I can't help wonder if she's not faking the injury as an excuse to shop.)

So, yeah. Hope that helps. :)

Cheers!
TJ

[Trivegelete]

I've suffered from tendonitis in the knee too, and had to stop running to let it heal. The elliptical trainer is a great substitute since it's low impact, but still uses the same motion as running. As long as it doesn't hurt your knee at all, I say go for it. Once my knee recovered, I slowly introduced running back into my training while still using the Elliptical machine for every other workout or so.

[Fyvel]

The first time I ever had any inkling of knee pain was when I spent too much time on the elliptical. Yes, it's low impact, but I'm not sure the movement range is right for everybody.

I'm not sure about where you live, but here in Canada you don't need a doctor's referral or anything to go to a physiotherapist. They could assess your knees and give you some individualized advice and exercises to help you strngthen your knees to reduce the chance of injury to them.