Quote:
Originally Posted by Martian
Now that I'm eating properly again I'm considering taking it up. The biggest impediment is my bad knee -- I have arthritis and it flares up sometimes. It's not too horrible, and mostly just stiffens up when the weather's bad, but the stress of running seems likely to aggravate it.
I was looking at knee braces today, and wondering if that would help. This thread is therefore serendipitous and I have no problem hijacking it slightly. Does anyone know if a knee brace will help a fellow in my situation? Alternatively, does anyone have other suggestions? A bicycle is another option I'm considering, but a gym membership and the attendant access to fancy low-impact machinery is out due to budget constraints.
Advice? Opinions?
|
It depends on the type of arthritis, whether it is degenerative or not, etc. You should see your local quack for such medical advice rather than the TFP.
I have a bit of runner's knee that I'm getting over and do wear a light compression brace with an open patella and that works for me.
Cycling of course uses the knee but without the impact of running.
In my opinion, the best thing a beginning runner can do is do a routine of leg strengthening exercises with focus on knee stability. About 75% of semi-serious runners do get injured to one degree or another and half of those could be prevented with a proper strength routine.