painful knee joints from treadmill

[musclestack]

I wasn't sure whether to post this in the workout forum or the injury/rehab forum, so I copied/pasted and posted it in both.

I've been on my cutting phase for about 4 weeks now. My cardio consists of 45 minutes on the treadmill after weights at a moderate intensity. The first week wasn't so bad. Then, the second week, I noticed my joints in my knees would hurt during the day. On to the third week, they would hurt during the first 5 minutes or so into my cardio workout, then it would slowly subside. They hurt a bit more during the day in the third week than the second week. Now, during the fourth week, and especially the past 2-3 days, they are aching really bad! I even woke up during the night last night from the pain from the joints in my knees. The past few days, I've been popping ibuprofen and rubbing deep heat on my knees in order to get through cardio and the rest of the day. It helps a lot, but I know it's only masking the pain and not actually solving the problem which may or may not cause damage to my knees.

I talked to a friend of mine about it. He told me he had the same problems when running on the treadmill. Then, he switched to just running (not on a treadmill; but on a track instead).

Have any of you guys experienced this kind of joint pain on the treadmill? Do you suggest I dump the treadmill and just run normally on a flat surface? I would switch to the ellyptical or bike, but I just don't feel I get near the workout on these machines as opposed to when I run, so I'd really like to stick to running if possible. Suggestions please?

[scorpion62]

I don't see how changing from treadmill to road or track will be any different to your knee joints as the same impact to the joints will be happening , try the bike for a couple of weeks and see how your knees hold up . Have you had problems with your joints at anytime before this ? Are you taking any supplements ? What age are you?

[kelkel]

Curious if you're on cycle and your E2 may be an issue? If not, take a look at MSM Powder for joints. Excellent supplement IMHO. Also, if you have fresh inflamation consider ice, not heat.

[musclestack]

Okay, I really need some advice now. The running without a treadmill theory did not work. I barely made it 300 meters before I had to stop from the pain. This was after taking Ibuprofen, rubbing Deep Heat on my knees, and an injectable pain killer given to me by a clinic. Scorpion--I've never had problems with my joints before, but I also haven't ran in over 2 years. During that 2 year period, I've been on a bulking phase, where I put on about 32 pounds, so maybe my joints aren't used to the extra body weight?? I am 28 years old, and the only supplements I take are Creatine, Multivitamin, and Whey protein. Kelkel--I am not on cycle, nor have I ran a cycle in many years. I've looked for MSM Powder but couldn't find it anywhere around here (I live in southern Africa, so some things are hard to come by).

I'm going to see the doc on Friday to see what he/she suggests about my knees but, in the meantime, I really need you guys' help with what I can do for a good cardio workout. IMO, running is the best calorie-burner, and I'm really upset that I can't run. I'm looking for "the second best calorie burner". Any suggestions? At the gym I go to, the following machines are available. I will list them and, next to them, I will name the things I don't like about them.

Treadmill-obviously a 'no-go'

Stationary bike--I don't fell like I get a very good cardio workout from this machine; compared to running, it seems like I have to peddle at the speed of light to get as much of a workout as I do with running.

Ellyptical--Not a bad machine, but it seems like I'll start with a nice steady speed, then lose focus (probably from the boredom), then when I finally come back to my senses, I look down and I'm going at a snail's pace, not even realizing that I slowed my pace down so much. I guess it's just a very boring machine for me, and I lose focus on keeping my speed constant.

Stair Stepper (not sure about the name of this machine, but it's the one with the rolling steps that you keep "climbing"; kind of like the treadmill, but instead of walking/running in place, you're basically climbing stairs in place)--I honestly haven't tried this machine, but I've heard a few good reviews about it. Will probably try it out tomorrow to see how my knees take it.

So, what, in you guys' opinion, would be the next best thing for cardio besides running? And if you suggest anything from my above list, is there anything I can do to alter the way I do them to get rid of the cons I've posted about them?

Please, guys. I'm really desperate here. I feel miserable, but I'm willing to do anything to reach my goal of single-digit bodyfat within the next 12 weeks. Just need you guys' help to do it. Thanks, everyone!

[ironbeck]

At your age(26) this is not normal or a good sign at all. I'm 39 have had 3 surgery's on my right knee and 2 on the left and i can still run even though I also suffer from advanced arthritis (SDJD).
first of all you can get an excellent cardio workout with the stair master, also try hitting the heavy bag or shadow boxing...trust me it works.
Second are u on cycle and taking AI? If your E2 lvs are way out of wack plus the fact of you gaining extra weight , this could be the culprit.

[Brick]

Try taking glucosamine. Works for me.


As for heat, what are you thinking? Ice reduces inflammation. Ice ice ice

[redz]

Use an eliptical. I hate tread mills.

[musclestack]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will try out the stair master tomorrow. Maybe do 30 minutes on the stair master, and 30 minutes on the ellyptical. I was thinking maybe doing some kind of interval training on the ellyptical to make it less boring (something like 2min30sec moderate intensity, followed by 30seconds full speed, repeated 10 times).

As for the other comments/questions above, as I stated earlier, I am not on cycle. I also have not tried ice OR heat for my knees. But I'll try out the ice every night until I recover. Not sure what's causing it. The only rational explanation I have is that I put on a lot of weight and haven't ran in a long time, so it's putting extra strain on my joints that they're not used to dealing with. Either that, or I'm not running with proper form. I noticed when I was running on the treadmill, I would glance over at another person running at the same pace as me, and they were very smooth and quiet with every step they took. Me, on the other hand...I noticed that with every step I took was really loud (like I was landing on the heals of my feet, beating them like a drum on the treadmill).

[scorpion62]

Okay, I really need some advice now. The running without a treadmill theory did not work. I barely made it 300 meters before I had to stop from the pain. This was after taking Ibuprofen, rubbing Deep Heat on my knees, and an injectable pain killer given to me by a clinic. Scorpion--I've never had problems with my joints before, but I also haven't ran in over 2 years. During that 2 year period, I've been on a bulking phase, where I put on about 32 pounds, so maybe my joints aren't used to the extra body weight?? I am 28 years old, and the only supplements I take are Creatine, Multivitamin, and Whey protein. Kelkel--I am not on cycle, nor have I ran a cycle in many years. I've looked for MSM Powder but couldn't find it anywhere around here (I live in southern Africa, so some things are hard to come by).

I'm going to see the doc on Friday to see what he/she suggests about my knees but, in the meantime, I really need you guys' help with what I can do for a good cardio workout. IMO, running is the best calorie-burner, and I'm really upset that I can't run. I'm looking for "the second best calorie burner". Any suggestions? At the gym I go to, the following machines are available. I will list them and, next to them, I will name the things I don't like about them.

Treadmill-obviously a 'no-go'

Stationary bike--I don't fell like I get a very good cardio workout from this machine; compared to running, it seems like I have to peddle at the speed of light to get as much of a workout as I do with running.
Ellyptical--Not a bad machine, but it seems like I'll start with a nice steady speed, then lose focus (probably from the boredom), then when I finally come back to my senses, I look down and I'm going at a snail's pace, not even realizing that I slowed my pace down so much. I guess it's just a very boring machine for me, and I lose focus on keeping my speed constant.

Stair Stepper (not sure about the name of this machine, but it's the one with the rolling steps that you keep "climbing"; kind of like the treadmill, but instead of walking/running in place, you're basically climbing stairs in place)--I honestly haven't tried this machine, but I've heard a few good reviews about it. Will probably try it out tomorrow to see how my knees take it.

So, what, in you guys' opinion, would be the next best thing for cardio besides running? And if you suggest anything from my above list, is there anything I can do to alter the way I do them to get rid of the cons I've posted about them?

Please, guys. I'm really desperate here. I feel miserable, but I'm willing to do anything to reach my goal of single-digit bodyfat within the next 12 weeks. Just need you guys' help to do it. Thanks, everyone!

Musclestack its good that your going to the doctors to have this check at twentyeight this shouldnt happen even with weight increase , as for the highlighted what to try when your on the cycle you want to adust it so as you have a slight resistance then you should do sixty second bursts recover then do it again, if you do this and your not feeling it put the resistance up until you do,as for the knee pain what to try is sit on the floor legs straight out in front of you put an oil over you knee then cover it with a damp cloth put a bag of ice over the joint the flex your foot towards you when you do this your leg should lift slightly lift from the floor what you doing is using the cartlage that supports the knee if theres fluid around the knee this will help to disperes it, supplements you might want to try fish oil ,Glucosamine Sulphate , Chondroiton Sulphate , Ginger and Rasna are all side to help with joint pain