do you keep exercising with a swollen knee?

Anonymous
I have had trouble with one knee for three years. Intermittent pain and swelling brought on by running light miles. I have been to physical therapy twice in this time. Been X-rayed twice. Joint structure is very good. Both Dr and PT didn't think it was necessary to take it further with an MRI--as in, they don't think it's a tear, but a strength and alignment issue. Just keep strengthening glutes and legs etc and support it with a brace as necessary. Usually doing a lower body strength routine is what can set off pain for me because lunges (esp) and squats are irritating. I have laid off running but switched to a bit of incline treadmill to work on said strength. I get swelling under my kneecap from 30 minutes of this. I'm not in pain at all so I'm just going to ice and take Advil. At the same time, it feels counterintuitive to keep doing this with swelling. Do people just put up with the swelling and keep going? I'm 54. Maybe this is what happens now!
Anonymous
You should ask your PT this question.
Anonymous
Did they work you up for autoimmunity before this was diagnosed as a functional issue? Any other symptoms that might be relevant (most commonly, other than any other persistent pain/swelling, would be GI or dermatological?)
Anonymous
I have periodic swelling and pain. I do have tears. I have modified my exercise routine to eliminate running and jumping. I have had to work really hard on alignment issues and recently found that I can no longer do lunges because for some reason I can’t maintain correct alignment. I’ve also had to slow some workouts down to prevent me from losing alignment.

Thing is, as we age, it would be far worse for us to stop exercising. I think the key is to be smart and not do anything that could result in structural damage.

In your case though I’d try to work with a therapist or a personal trainer because if you can’t do lunges or squats i don’t know how you strengthen your quads. Just about every exercise for quads requires the ability to do squats.
Anonymous
If you've seen a PT about it, why aren't you seeing one regularly to try to remedy the situation?

It sounds to me like you need to see a different doctor(s) and PT.
Anonymous
I have something similar and Dr suggested trying 10-20 min of ice every day.
Anonymous
FWIW, my orthopedic surgeon said no one can tell anything useful about your knee from an X-ray, you need an MRI to diagnose knee issues.
Anonymous
When my knee acts up I do water workouts until the swelling goes down.

Lunges and treadmills make it so much worse.

Strength train when it's feeling good/normal.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:You should ask your PT this question.


+1
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Did they work you up for autoimmunity before this was diagnosed as a functional issue? Any other symptoms that might be relevant (most commonly, other than any other persistent pain/swelling, would be GI or dermatological?)


OP here. Yes, I do have a skin autoimmune condition. It's not present around my knee but lower extremity. What is it that you're thinking of here?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Did they work you up for autoimmunity before this was diagnosed as a functional issue? Any other symptoms that might be relevant (most commonly, other than any other persistent pain/swelling, would be GI or dermatological?)


OP here. Yes, I do have a skin autoimmune condition. It's not present around my knee but lower extremity. What is it that you're thinking of here?


I wondered. Could be a bunch of things. What is the skin autoimmune condition?

Psoriatic arthritis can be oligoarticular (few or one joint affected). Ankylosing spondylitis (more commonly would cause low back issues, but then again many people have those and chalk it up to aging or w/ev and maybe that is you also. Many forms of IBD cause both derm and arthritis symptoms. I would return to your PCP or whatever specialist treats your derm dc and tell them you have joint symptoms. It is an exacerbation/extension of your derm dx until proven otherwise.

Depending on what they missed you need to kiss this PT or ortho goodbye as well. I am NOT a physician or HCP, just a person with IBD, and I knew this. They should too.
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