Knee injuries and sports

Long story short, I’m dealing with some knee issues. After going under the knife a few times, I’m trying to figure out which sports will actually help me build up my quads without absolutely wrecking my joints in the process.
How much damage does cycling really do to your joints and knees?

Backstroke plus some short fins

Body rolls (if you actually know how to do them)

Cycling works fine—you set the intensity yourself

And hit the gym too

Hitting the gym is a solid move, really. But listen, do yourself a favor and find a place where a trainer will actually watch over you for those first few sessions... because while some exercises are standard, others absolutely need to be tweaked—or skipped entirely—just to keep the pressure off your knees.

I spent about four or five years deep into bodybuilding... but honestly, I’m just done with the gym lifestyle. 🙄
Yeah, I get it—machines are great if you want to isolate a specific muscle group and really dial things in, but the whole gym scene just doesn't do it for me anymore. Lately, I've been getting really into cycling. It feels like it's actually decent for my knees, you know? That constant, steady load seems better. But I guess I should be more specific: do cyclists actually run into knee issues long-term??

I know everyone says swimming is the gold standard, but there is absolutely no way I'm spending thirty minutes or an hour just trudging around some local community pool... it's boring, it's repetitive, and frankly, it's just not my thing. 👎

Honestly, just go see Peharec. They’ll set you up with actual exercises tailored to every single muscle group based on how you're actually doing.

Sam Ruiz7, you maybe have a phone number or an email to get a hold of Peharec?

George Johnson30 said:I spent about four or five years dedicated to bodybuilding, but honestly, I’ve lost interest in hitting the weight room.🙄
Sure, I get that machines are great for isolating specific muscle groups, but the gym just doesn't do it for me anymore. Lately, I've been getting really into cycling, which seems like a fantastic way to keep the pressure on the knees consistently without being too jarring. Still, I want to be more precise here—do cyclists actually run into knee issues??

I know everyone says swimming is the gold standard, but there is absolutely no way in hell I'm spending thirty minutes or an hour just circling a pool... it feels tedious and frankly, quite boring.👎

Look, you've already been given the standard advice: swimming, cycling, or the gym. All of them are decent for building those quad muscles without putting excessive strain on the joint.

But let's look at your situation... if the gym is out and swimming isn't an option, then cycling is really your only path left. However, even if you stick to the bike, you really ought to head to the gym occasionally to perform the specific strengthening exercises you need. If you don't, it’s incredibly easy to end up wrecking your knee all over again. The choice is yours.

I know exactly how you feel because my own knee is a mess—I've got a torn ACL... and whenever I neglect my leg training, my knee starts feeling the consequences almost immediately. And seriously, is it really that much to ask to spend half an hour in the gym three times a week working on your legs? You don't even have to do anything else.🙂 The reality of the situation is this: once you've damaged a knee, exercise becomes non-negotiable if you want to avoid reinjury or making the whole thing even worse.🙂

While we're on the subject, though... what kind of specific knee injuries are we actually talking about here?

They stretched out my ligaments... and ended up taking out a piece of my cartilage. 😢

goldenowl92 said:Sam Ruiz7, you got a phone number or an email for Peharec?

Mayo Clinic (located near the Ritz-Carlton) in San Diego

052 219 033

Email: speharec@pu.hinet.hr

www.peharec.com

Look, I’m telling you, thanks to his specific exercises and the stuff he had me doing, I actually managed to dodge knee surgery on both legs.

👋

So, I’ve got an ACL tear, had a medial meniscus resection, patellar sclerosis, and they actually found what they call a double bucket-handle tear during surgery.

My advice:
- Running? Definitely not.
- Cycling? Yeah, but you gotta be a pro about it. Warm up properly before you start so you don't wreck your ligaments, and maybe grab an old Rogue trainer or something—those are better for actual training.
- Rollerblading? You have to be incredibly, incredibly careful. You need to figure out which moves are okay and which ones are off-limits.
I skate, but trying to roll over uneven ground, like grass or whatever, is just a massive risk for me.

Find a solid physical therapist (or a trainer, or just buy two beers for someone on a forum) and let them explain how to position yourself while skating. You want to work those quad muscles instead of relying on your lower legs, which is what most people do when they skate.

- Swimming? I haven't tried it myself. I know people say it's great and all, but... well, yeah.

The Mayo Clinic has specialists who deal with this. They can check your gait dynamics and make custom orthotics. I haven't gone there personally, but I think it's probably worth it.

If you've torn your ACL and you're under 25 or 26, you can go for surgery. They do it arthroscopically now, and it's usually fine.

I used to ride my bike 12 miles pretty much every day for about six months. Later I switched to doing it 30 times a month, but life happened and I had to stop.
I did some running for a while too—only on dirt trails—and it was fine, though I wouldn't do it now. Right now I skate, and honestly, I don't feel like my knee is a huge handicap in my daily life.

But seriously, you have to know exactly what you're allowed to do and what you aren't. For instance, lifting heavy weights is a no-go, because knee injuries tend to get worse over time.

Sam Ruiz7 said:Mayo Clinic (Ritz-Carlton)

555-0199

Email: contact@mayoclinic.org

www.mayoclinic.org

I managed to dodge surgery on both knees thanks to his exercises and those inserts he recommended.

👋

Thanks, you're a lifesaver.👍

Man, I just checked his site and noticed they already swapped out the phone number and the location. It’s an ad, obviously. Honestly, I haven't been back to see him since almost two years ago, and I didn't have any issues then—not that I had problems during my first visit about eight years back either.

Anyway, if you need to get a hold of them, the contact info is right here on www.peharec.com

Sam Ruiz7, how much did that trip to San Diego end up costing you?? And how long were you out there for??

Kyle Nelson2 said:I’ve got an ACL tear, had a medial meniscus resection, patellar sclerosis, and they found a double bucket-handle tear during surgery.

Here is my two cents:
- Running? Absolutely not.
- Cycling? Yeah, but you need to go pro with it. Warm up properly before you start so you don't wreck your ligaments, and honestly, grab an old stationary bike—they're much better for actual training.
- Skating? You have to be incredibly careful. You really need to learn which movements are safe and which ones are off-limits.
I skate myself, but trying to roll over uneven ground, like grass, is a massive risk in my book.

Find yourself a solid physical therapist (or a trainer, or just buy two beers for someone on a forum) and have them explain the right posture for skating. You want to make sure you're working those quadriceps instead of putting all the strain on your lower legs, which is what most people do when they skate.

- Swimming? I haven't tried it personally, though I know people say it's the gold standard and all that.

Mayo Clinic has a specialist, Peharec, who does kinesiology. He can check your gait dynamics and make custom orthotics. I haven't gone myself, but it seems worth the investment.

If you've got an ACL tear and you're under 25 or 26, you can usually opt for arthroscopic surgery these days, and it turns out okay.

I rode my bike 12 miles pretty much every day for about six months. Later, I bumped it up to 30 miles a day, but life happened and I had to stop.
I used to run for a while too—strictly on dirt trails—and it was fine, even if I wouldn't do it now. Right now, I'm skating, and honestly, I don't feel like the knee has been a huge handicap in my life.

But you seriously have to know your limits—what you can and can't do. For instance, don't go lifting heavy weights or anything extreme, because knee injuries tend to be progressive.

Man, this is exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. So cycling didn't cause any issues for you? I actually checked with a physical therapist recently, and they said the same thing—cycling is good. So, how did you feel after those six months of constant riding? :P

Anyway, I'm going to try to strengthen my quads through cycling so the muscles can stabilize the joint better. Over the winter, I'm planning to hit the gym—lightly, obviously, no ego lifting—just doing some isolated leg exercises. After that, I want to try skiing again since I haven't been on the slopes in years, mostly because of my knee. I know skiing might be the absolute worst sport for knees, but if I warm up properly and get my quads and glutes strong, it should be manageable.🙂

Charles Thompson12 said:Sam Ruiz7, how much did that trip down to San Diego set you back?? How long were you out there??

Look, it’s really not that big of a deal. You just have to book ahead of time. Whenever I find myself out in those parts of the country, I always try to schedule it so I can knock it out while I'm already in town.
Basically, just pick a specific day and time and get it booked.

The first time I went, I paid about $300 for the consultation (it was super thorough, they did all these gait analyses and muscle assessments) plus another $133 for the inserts. Then they walked me through some exercises in the gym (btw, Andre Agassi was actually training right next to me at the time, and he seemed to be having way easier of a time than I was). Once the exam and the session are done, you're out the door—takes less than half a day, tops.

Anyway, last time I checked, the exam was $83 and the inserts were $133.

Those inserts are legit quality though, they last forever. In the eight years since I started, I think I've only gone through maybe 4 or 5 pairs, and I wear them constantly.

👋

George Johnson30, sorry for jumping into this thread with a bit of an off-topic question, but it feels like there are plenty of experts hanging around here: where can some lazy folks—you know, the ones who can't be bothered to drive all the way down to San Diego—get some actually decent orthopedic insoles made right here in Washington, D.C.? I’m definitely not talking about those cheap fifty-cent drugstore versions, and I'm also skipping the ones you can get made over at Madison Square Garden... mostly because a buddy of mine paid a fortune for a pair from the Mayo Clinic and ended up tossing them straight in the trash, claiming it was actually more dangerous to wear those things than just going for a jog in wooden clogs!

Thanks in advance to anyone who knows the deal...

Honestly, if you’ve already had a meniscectomy, just forget about skiing. Every single impact doesn't get absorbed anymore; it just travels straight up to your hip, which I guess is a recipe for disaster in the long run.

Rolling is fine, I suppose, but you really ought to check in with a solid physical therapist to make sure you're hitting the right positions when working on your quads—since that muscle is basically everything when it comes to protecting your knee.

Personally, I was doing alright after about six months... 🙂

So, I ended up with either a pinched nerve or a meniscus tear, or maybe both—my whole leg just locked up. The tendons felt sunken, like you couldn't even feel them, and my entire leg was swollen and just hurting like hell...
After three days of pounding Ibuprofen, I finally dragged myself to the orthopedic clinic in Chicago. They sent me straight to imaging, and then they basically admitted me to the hospital on the spot.

I waited about a week before they finally did a meniscectomy. Turns out, during the surgery, they found a double bucket-handle tear and had to fix that too. They also spotted some fluid buildup, which I guess means an ACL rupture.

As for that feeling of my leg being stuck, that's actually why I ended up in surgery. Apparently, if a nerve gets pinched, you could end up paralyzed or something. (Yeah, I know how much that guy Kyle Nelson2 was hurting from that).

But, I actually figured out a way to deal with the locking sensation while I was waiting...
Basically, you grab your leg just above the knee, pull it upward, and then suddenly let go...
That somehow (I think that's how it works) pops the meniscus back into place...

There wasn't any sense of contrast to be found, really—nothing at all.
If things had gone even slightly differently, he could have been headed into surgery in just a few hours.

man... seriously... someone please weigh in 🙂

I don't really have any issues with my knee today (well, 98% of the time, anyway)
but honestly, if I explained how I actually fixed it, I'm pretty sure the mods would just ban me on the spot