Knee Problems

Shop the post:

A lot of you are wondering why I have been hobbling around and wearing a knee brace. Well, I have had knee problems dating back to 6th grade. Growing up I was an athlete and between cheering and soccer I put a lot of stress on my knee. I had a partial tear during a soccer game that I miraculously managed to hold off surgery until my 20s.

Let me first say that I am not a doctor nor am I offering medical advice. I simply sharing my experience.

So, how did I hold off having surgery. Well, I took the advice of my doctor and made sure I was at a healthy weight for my build. I am 5’7″ and a bigger bone girl. A great weight for me is between 145-165 pounds. Growing up this was easily maintained and allowed for me to keep unnecessary weight off my joints. They say for every pound you carry it is 3x the impact on your knee.

I also worked out to strengthen my leg and build up the muscles around my injury. You can google knee workouts that will show you stretching and toning techniques too. At times I do use anti-inflammatory aids like muscle cream or Advil etc.

My favorite exercise is swimming as there is no pressure on the body. If I don’t want my head in the water then I will just use the kick board. When I swim I try to do a mile which takes me 30 minutes give or take. This is an excellent workout and perfect therapy tool to help with range of motion and strength.

Like I said, this worked until my 20s and then I popped my meniscus while running. I actually had Jericho on a run at White Rock Lake and he was panting. I was worried because of the heat and looked down and tripped. Yikes. I felt the ding all the way up my body. Your meniscus serves as a cushion between the thigh bone and shinbone. There is one on each side of the kneecap. I did ping or stretch my ACL, but it was nothing major so we just scoped my knee. That was a quick surgery and easy surgery.

Things to note, I did start my impact exercise too soon and ended up throwing my gait off and had to be realigned. Always talk to your doctor and follow their prescribed activity and therapy plan. Your body will thank you for it. I was also fitted for a heavy duty knee brace. This is important if you do any activity with sudden changes of movement like tennis or skiing. The brace you see in my pics is the one I purchased. I use it for skiing and when I can’t put pressure on my knee or make the correct extension.

Now fast forward to today. I am not going to lie. I am overweight for my build. I did lose all the baby weight, but did gain a lot of it back in the past year and a half. That was mostly due to what I was putting in my body. I love food and have always looked at working out as a means to eat what I want. Well, I am older and can’t do that anymore. haha! Life! Working out really is not a requirement for losing weight. It is all about what you ingest. I will do another post soon with more details. Don’t misunderstand me either. I love to work out. It is good for the mind, body, and soul. It does aid in weight loss too!

In December my siblings and I went bowling for our Christmas date. Towards the end of the night my knee popped as I was making movement to release the ball and I shifted my weight. I have been hobbling around for weeks and did do a medpack prescribed by my orthopedist. It helped but did not “fix” my knee. I am now heading in for a MRI. Chances are I tore my meniscus again and will have to have surgery. Yikes! I hope that is the only thing I did.

There are some things I am changing to help with the aging and health. Today my husband and I started Whole 30. I have never done this meal plan. I like a lot of the food options and have been sourcing friends, The Defined Dish, The Whole 30 Program, and other bloggers for information on the program. I will do a post soon with my initial thoughts and how I prepped. I am also back on my daily workout program. I can’t do so much with my knee, but I am stretching and lifting light weights.

I am excited about the changes I am making with me this year. I will let you know what the doc says Thursday. Wish me luck!

xo,

Vanessa