Good for you for taking the extra effort and including exercise in your daily routine. But, if you’re prone to knee or joint pain, here are a few exercises you need to watch out for and try to avoid.
- Jumping jacks: Jumping jacks are great for burning calories and getting your legs sexy and toned, but is it worth the toll it takes on your joints? They can even lead to injury. Be careful not to use this exercise excessively.
- Running: For those of you with bad knees or who have suffered from a knee injury, running might just be one of the worst exercises you can do. It puts a force of about eight times your body weight on your knees, so you can imagine how bad this can be. Depending on the condition of your knees, you may want to try swimming, cycling, or the elliptical machine instead.
- Tennis: Yes, tennis is a fun and effective sport as far as exercise, but it can really do some extensive damage to your elbows and knees. Not only can you overexert your elbows, but the fast and awkward movements up and down the court can lead to severe knee pain and injuries.
- Jumping rope: You need to stay far away from jumping rope if you have bad knees. Sure, the impact of each jump is less forceful than running, but the longer you jump rope, the more damage you are doing to your knees in the long run. Plus, you have a higher chance of knee, foot, or ankle injury if you aren’t jumping rope properly.
- Stair climbing: Stair climbing is a great if you’re looking to tighten up your legs and butt, but the repetitive climbing motion can really put some strain on your knees. You’re constantly bending your knees and placing all of your weight on them, which might just lead you down the road of arthritis and injury if done too much or incorrectly.
Getting Professional Treatment
It is always our express intent to recommend that you take no chances with foot pain, ankle or knee pain, or injuries. Professional treatment to relieve the pain is available from doctors such as Delray Beach’s Dr. Ian Goldbaum of Delray Beach Podiatry, who has provided us with this blog. If the pain continues, a podiatrist with Dr. Goldbaum’s experience should be consulted. You must get proper treatment to prevent permanent damage. Also consider having a walk analysis done.
Our Staff writers are freelance writers with higher education related to, or experience researching and writing for, medical blogs; with education or experience equal to under graduate and graduate degrees in the fields of medicine.
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