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Fitness Tips

Life After a Knee Injury: Are You Ready to Get Back in the Gym?

Having an injury can sure cramp your workout style. If going to the gym is part of your daily life, not going is downright difficult on you. 

On top of dealing with an injury. You probably don’t feel like yourself without your regular workout. You might not be sleeping well without your normal exercise routine. 

At the same time, you don’t want to rush back to the gym before you’re ready and cause more damage. So how long does it take to recover from a knee injury?

Check out these guidelines to help you decide if you’re ready to go back to your Las Vegas gym. 

Doctor’s Clearance

The first guideline to consider is if your doctor clears you for exercise. If you had surgery or a significant injury, you are likely under the care of a doctor. You don’t want to return to your regular workouts without their permission and approval. 

There are many types of knee injuries. Some of these injuries you might be under the care of a doctor for.

You might be a runner who has just overworked your knees. You might have a chronic condition like tendonitis that has flare-ups. Then how do you decide if it’s time to return to the gym.

Symptom-Free

One key indicator that you might start to consider a return to your workouts is if the symptoms from your injury are gone. 

If you are able to participate in your normal life and remain symptom-free, it might be time to test the waters. 

Symptoms like pain, aches, and swelling are signs the knee is still experiencing distress and might not be ready.

Prepare Yourself and Your Knee

Before jumping right back into your routine, you might want to consider the cause of your injury. Were you pushing your body too hard? Were you not doing the appropriate stretching?

Also, consider whether going forward you will need to wear a knee brace for extra support during your workouts. This is a question for your doctor or physical therapist to help you decide.

Test It Out

Returning to a workout after an injury means you need to start slow. Test out your knee with some simple movement to see how it reacts. You can even start with some simple functional movements to see how the knee feels.

If your knee feels alright after those tests, start at 50% or less of your normal routine. You want to ease back in slowly. Then if it feels alright you can add 10 to 15% more each week that workout. 

You might also consider some different types of workouts to help your knee in the recovery. If you are a runner, try getting on a bike. Consider ways to reduce the impact on your knees by trying some alternate types of exercise. 

Back To Workouts After a Knee Injury

The pain of an injury is not fun. You don’t want to rush back to your gym before your ready and injure it worse. Take care of your knee injury by listening to your doctor and starting back to your routine slowly.

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