Beginner's Fitness Programs

Many women experience knee pain while doing cardio workouts such as running, elliptical machines, or aerobics classes. This is because their hips are much wider than men’s hips, and the angle of women’s thigh bones is not optimal for the running type of motion. General advice for relieving knee pain is to rest, ice the knee, and compress the joint with a knee supporter. However, there is some limited evidence that working out with the pain can actually reduce the pain more quickly.

A recent study done in the Netherlands with a much larger group of participants confirmed this. They kept one group of participants in a supervised workout, and the other group in a rest state. After 3 months, the former group found they had much less pain, although recovery rate between the two groups was not much different.

Does this mean that we can keep running even with knee pain? Well, not quite. You must follow some guidelines given by a physical therapist, or an orthopedic/sports doctor. At least, you need to lower your workout level. Your knees will probably be better off if you wear knee supports, and ice your knees after every workout.

Source: BMJ-British Medical Journal (2009)

• Back to Articles
• Back to Best Best Cardio Workout
• Back to Home Page

Comments are closed.