Hi, I am a 51 yr. old female, very active (or at least I used to be) but overweight with High blood pressure, etc. I need to lose about 30 lbs. The problem is I can't do as much exercise as I would like because of continual pain in my knees, mostly my right knee. I used to do an hour of cardio and light weights 5 times a week. Now because of knee pain I can only do 30 minutes cardio, either on a bike, water aerobics, or swimming with the light weights and stretching.
I've been to 3 doctors for my knees. I got 3 different diagnosis. I had an MRI on the right knee. The first orthpedist said it was chrondromalacia, the second said it was illiotibial band tendonitis, and my current doctor said it's arthritis. I have done physical therapy and all the stretches, use ice, rest, etc. If I don't do too much walking or weight-bearing exercise, I can tolerate it. If I sit around all day, I'm fine, but I can't do that, nor do I want to. I would like to get back to my old life, or at least be able to walk for a distance without pain. The pain goes down the outside of my knee, sometimes down my leg and shoots around the knee when it is bad.
Is there any answer for me? It seems the doctors are not very concerned, but I am. My husband is retiring soon and we want to travel, which means sightseeing and walking. Also, I am having a lot of trouble losing weight since I can't be as active and I need to do that for my heart health AND my knees, since the doctor said taking weight off would be a big help. Thank you.