I lost weight, I exercised and now I HURT all the time

What the heck??? I am doing great on the weight loss since my surgery this past January, and I actually enjoy exercising. But about 6 weeks ago I injured my knee. Was told it was tendonitis. Now it has moved up to my hip. I walked a whopping 1/2 mile yesterday and was in loads of pain the rest of the day.

For the rest of you who have pain ... how have you adapted your exercise? Walking and being outdoors is my favorite form of exercise, but do you think I would be better off on an elliptical? Stationery bike? Swimming?

Oh, and what do y'all do for pain? Let's face it. Tylenol sucks.

Ok ... advise away! I could really use some help.

Thanks!
Laurie

HI!  I haven't had my surgery yet, but one of the things that has pushed me into doing this is that I tore the meniscus in my right knee.  I am in a wrap around, hinged knee brace for now until I can strengthen my knee again.  So, for me...the elliptical works good (I'm up to 10 mins)  Swimming is very good for your cardio and for all your muscles. 

The other thing I would do a self-check on...are you stretching?  If you are walking, stretch AFTER your walk.  My physical therapist has advised that is one of the biggest causes of injury is the lack of stretching.  If you can get to a physical therapist for a couple of visits, they can steer you in the right direction. 

As for pain meds, I take Ultram (and it's safe on the stomach after surgery as well).

Make sure you are also getting rest...sometimes pushing it isn't the best thing.

Take care of you!

I have had tendonitis in my hands for years. I don't really take anything for it anymore. The secret is to keep it in check. Unfortunately the only way it really heals up on its own is with rest. Try changing your routine a bit....swimming?  That would seem to have less impact than the walking. Also heat has always helped me. Good luck.

My primary care doc gave me Ultram for headaches. It doesn't help my headaches one bit (tension headaches and migraines), but it works amazingly well for muscle pain, menstrual cramps and such.

Hmmmm....well here's my story.

Last summer I was working HARD with my trainer and tore the meniscus in my knee. It took a while before I realized that this was not the "normal" kind of pain. I tried the tylenol, knee brace, heat, cold, bio freeze, etc.

On a routine doctor visit, I mentioned the knee and ended up in x ray that afternoon...followed by an MRI in 2 days....followed by a referral to the orthopedist. Arthroscopic surgery was a week or so away.

The pain up your hip could very well be the result of compensating for the knee injury. Tylenol or whatever may mask the symptom of pain, but I think you'd better get this checked out.

In the meantime, you might try some water aerobics or swimming, but in my case the knee even hurt in the water. And believe me, I tried to fight through it, to "walk it off," to "adjust" exercise routines....to no avail.

I went to an ortho doc. My knee was xrayed, and that's where he determined it was tendonitis. I believe it is my hip compensating for the knee pain. Of course, the ortho doc told me to come back if it didn't get better, but he also wanted me to go to physical therapy. I went twice and stopped. So a lot of this is just my own fault.

I will look into Ultram for occasional pain relief. I think that's what I had for pain meds as a post op.

Thank you so much for your advice. I haven't been visiting the OH boards much lately, but I think I'm gonna start hanging out here again for awhile.

Thanks,
Laurie