Since arthrosis of the lower extremities, which affects many people of mature and older age, is characterized by such unpleasant symptoms as pain in the joint, decreased mobility and deterioration of local metabolism, patients sometimes believe that they can stop degenerative processes by regularly riding a bicycle. Also, the question of whether it is possible to ride a bicycle with arthrosis of the knee joint faces amateur cyclists who do not want to give up their favorite sport.
Patients are interested in whether such loads are indicated for them, what their frequency and duration should be: is it possible to travel on a bicycle, go for a ride in the nearest forest or park once a week, or pedal an exercise bike. This article examines the benefits and harms that cycling and exercise can bring to patients with the indicated disease.
Machines used to develop articular joints
The benefits and harms of pedaling for bone and cartilage tissue
The positive and negative effects obtained from the use of an exercise bike for degenerative changes in the lining of the knee joint largely depend on the training regimen and consideration of restrictions. Benefits observed with cycling include:
- Increased range of motion of the joint. Prevents the development of deformation and other defects.
- Burning calories. Leads to weight loss, which is important for those suffering from arthrosis, since additional kilograms lead to increased stress on the knees and progression of the disease.
- Strengthening the leg muscles. It also helps reduce the load on the joint.
- Increased blood circulation in the joint area and adjacent soft tissues. Leads to improved metabolism in the tissues of cartilaginous surfaces and stops their destruction.
If negative effects occur during this type of training, this may be due to a load regimen that is inadequate to the current state of the joints. The following phenomena may occur:
- Erosion of cartilage due to excessively high loads in late stages of the disease or too early in postoperative rehabilitation.
- Inflammation of the joint due to tissue irritation due to improper movement technique during training.
Exercise bike for early stages of arthrosis of the knee joint
Indications for surgery
- age – up to 60 years. At a young age, tissue regeneration, and therefore rehabilitation, occurs faster and more reliably. In old age, the operation of choice is complete joint replacement with an endoprosthesis;
- no signs of obesity. Excess weight will negate all the positive effects of the operation very quickly, and the relief will be short-lived. A vicious circle is started: excess body weight, as a result, increased load on the knee, resulting in a recurrent course of arthrosis;
- rachitic changes in bone tissue. Provides both a reduction in wear on the surfaces of the knee joints and the correction of cosmetic defects;
- deforming arthrosis, gonarthrosis. Together with other recommendations, this is the main and main indication;
- improperly consolidated fractures of the lower extremities and shortening of one of the lower extremities - the principle is the same. Redistribution of the load followed by automatic alignment of the limbs;
- osteomyelitis. When treating this pathology, the infected area of the bone is excised and replaced with an autoimplant. Thus, the focus of the purulent process is removed, and due to autoimplantation of bone tissue, regeneration processes are accelerated.
Why do my knees hurt after exercise?
Mild muscle pain is a normal and common symptom, especially in untrained people, however, if the patient experiences sharp or aching pain in the knee after exercising on the simulator, there is reason to be wary. Pain in such situations may be due to one of the following reasons:
- Excessively high load regime, not relevant to the condition of the knee. In this case, you need to exercise in moderation.
- Excessively long training sessions.
- If the patient starts exercising immediately after an injury or at too early a stage of rehabilitation.
- An inflammatory process caused by non-compliance with the technique.
In any case, before starting classes, you need to consult a doctor about the advisability of training in the current state of the joint and not to exceed the duration of classes and the intensity of the load prescribed by the doctor.
If pain makes itself felt while pedaling and there are no visible signs of inflammation (swelling, hyperemia, local increase in temperature), you need to rub your knee with your hands until the skin turns red. After this, the tissues will receive better blood supply, and the pain should go away.
Patient exercising during rehabilitation after knee surgery
Abdominal training machine
It is advisable to build an abdominal workout based on the breathing rate
. When bending, exhale, and when bending, inhale. This mode is especially convenient for those who are just starting their training.
To avoid lower back pain the next day, bend only as far as is comfortable
for the back muscles: when working on this simulator they are stretched under tension.
At the same time, be sure to ensure that the support with your feet is correct: on the entire foot, with your legs parallel to each other.
Is it possible to exercise with various diseases?
The exercise regime for different diseases of the leg joints varies. Let's consider whether exercises with an exercise bike are indicated for the most common diseases of the limbs and what the limitations are.
Exercise bike for arthrosis
For patients with arthrosis of the leg joints, such types of physical exercise as strength training, aerobic training and running are contraindicated. However, for patients with early stages of knee arthrosis, forms of exercise such as exercise on an exercise bike, skiing and Nordic walking with poles are recommended. You can do them only outside the period of exacerbation. In the later stages of cartilage degeneration, such activities are contraindicated - in this condition, one careless movement can lead to even more serious problems with the limb.
- Exercise bike for knee arthrosis
When weather permits, the patient can also go for walks with a regular bicycle. In this case, you need to think through the route in advance, choosing a flat road. Riding on a bumpy road is likely to lead to microcracks in the cartilage and disruption of the structure of ligaments and muscles.
When choosing a simulator for a patient with arthrosis, you need to find a model that has flexible resistance settings. It is necessary that when applying force to the pedals there is no need to make pushing and sudden movements. They can cause minor injuries. The initial duration of classes is 15-20 minutes, over time it is gradually increased by one and a half to two times. If the patient feels pain, training should be stopped.
The patient is trained on a machine with a small range of motion, which is useful in the initial stages of the knee development process
Exercise bike for coxarthrosis of the hip joint
For patients with arthrosis of the hip joint, a simulator designed for exercise in a horizontal position is suitable. It will provide a suitable load distribution in this case. As with knee damage, exercise can only be done in the early stages of destruction of the cartilage pads. Starting with a horizontal exercise bike, after consulting with a doctor, you can move on to a regular exercise bike, which should have small pedals and an appropriate range of motion.
After endoprosthetics
After an operation to replace an articular joint with an artificial implant, you can start training on the simulator no earlier than two months later. However, the timing, choice of simulator and load dosage here are largely individually variable, since rehabilitation can proceed very differently and be accompanied by complications of various natures, including the need for repeated surgery. The training program is drawn up by the physician who is caring for the patient. Typically, patients who have undergone endoprosthetics begin with horizontal versions of the simulator and short workouts lasting two to five minutes with a gradual increase in duration.
Cycling simulator, which is performed in a horizontal body position
For arthritis
Patients with infectious and other inflammatory lesions of the leg joints are strictly prohibited from using an exercise bike and other loads on the joint during the acute stage. During this time, the patient observes strict bed rest. Training is indicated only outside the acute stage if there are confidently positive dynamics and the patient’s condition is striving for a complete recovery. The training program is prescribed by the attending physician. Sometimes it is recommended to combine the exercise machine with moderate strength loads.
For gonarthrosis
For problems with the knee, the best option would be if the patient detects the development of the disease at a very early stage and undertakes comprehensive treatment, including a simulator. If started when tissue breakdown has just begun, training will stop further degeneration by significantly improving blood flow and local metabolism. The ideal option would be to combine training with physiotherapeutic procedures, such as electrophoresis with chondroprotective drugs, amplipulse therapy or applications with hot paraffin. It is better to perform training at a time of day when there is maximum mobility and the least pain in the joint.
If pain makes itself felt during the exercise, it must be stopped. If inflammation of the joint occurs, as well as with advanced forms of arthrosis, working with the exercise machine is not recommended.
What types of damage are treated?
With gonarthrosis, there is an uneven distribution of load on the articular surfaces. Most often there are two types of such distribution:
- varus deformity of the limbs (legs - “wheel”) is the most common type of pathology in which the internal surfaces of the joint are affected;
- valgus knees (X-shaped) - when the outer surfaces of the joints are worn out.
The operation is performed only if the articular surfaces are damaged unevenly, on only one side of the knee. In the case of total damage (as in rheumatoid arthritis), the intervention in question is completely useless and absolutely contraindicated.
Why is pedaling best?
For a number of reasons, working with an exercise bike, especially one that is properly chosen taking into account the limitations of the patient’s condition, is much preferable to riding a regular bicycle. This is due to the following factors:
- Modern exercise machines have the flexibility to adjust resistance and other settings, which is crucial for those suffering from arthrosis, since pressing the pedals with force can lead to microtrauma and worsening the condition.
- A stationary simulator is much less fraught with tissue damage than driving over rough terrain or uneven roads.
Proper selection of the device and dosed exercises in accordance with the requirements of the current state of health contribute to rapid rehabilitation for pathologies of the joints of the lower extremities.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joints is a disease that takes many people by surprise. Do your knees hurt? This phenomenon is observed in almost half of mature and older people.
- The benefits and harms of an exercise bike for arthrosis of the knee joint, indications for exercise and contraindications
But a person, feeling alarming symptoms, cannot yet imagine that he is developing arthrosis of the knee joints. When he finds out about this, he is in a state of shock for some time. You have to come to terms with the fact.
But the fact that the disease is incurable is not worth it. And to help enterprising optimists, effective simulators have been created that can help at different stages of the disease.
Multifunctional devices: ellipsoid
An elliptical trainer for knee arthrosis relieves the symptoms of the disease slowly but surely.
Since destructive processes have affected the joint that is most mobile and subject to constant loads, the first condition is not to expose its segments to excessive loads. And this must be taken into account when releasing special simulators.
- Why elliptical? The fact is that the pedals located on the device describe an elliptical trajectory during movements, which involves a significant reduction in the load on sore joints.
- What is an elliptical trainer? This is a device that resembles a bicycle, only without wheels. A person leans on the handles located in the upper part so as not to lose balance. And at the bottom there is an oblong body that allows the pedals to scroll forward and backward, simulating the movements of walking up stairs, riding a bicycle, moving on a flat surface, etc.
The secret is that such training significantly reduces the load on the knee joint, but at the same time effectively trains the muscular system.
The essence of the operation and the result
The main goal of the intervention is to distribute pressure and friction evenly across the knee joint, reducing this impact on the most affected areas by loading those that are more preserved and functional.
As a result, the axis of the load on the limb is shifted, giving it a more physiological position, and, as a result, a more balanced distribution of the load (and let us remember, when walking it is about four body weights on one knee, when running - about eight), and reducing pressure on the “sick” area of the joint surface.
Stepper
Sports equipment for the treatment of sore knee joints are made taking into account the age, height and weight of people, and therefore must be selected individually, and not just anyhow. Otherwise, instead of the expected positive effect, a person risks getting new complications.
Which trainer is better? Only the attending physician can answer this question. For example, steppers, which are devices with pedals, force the knee joints to move synchronously - when one knee bends, the other is straightened. In this case, minimal load is placed on the affected joint. From the outside it seems that the person is walking in place.
Depending on the diagnosis, for gonarthrosis, simulators for the knee and hip joints, which are a stepper with a swing, can be used:
- A person is in a sitting or lying position, his knees lie on supports - swings, and his feet press the pedals.
- Thus, there is no pressure on the diseased joints - only the muscular system of the lower extremities is subjected to training, thanks to which metabolic processes are improved and blood circulation in the affected tissues is accelerated.
What is corrective osteotomy of the knee joint?
This is a surgical intervention in which, through surgical manipulation of the tibia or femur, the effect of shifting the circular axis of load distribution on the lower limb and giving it a more physiological position is achieved.
The operation corrective osteotomy found its rebirth in the early 2000s; until that time, knee arthroplasty . Recently, the point of view has triumphed that while the patient is relatively young (up to 60 years), the regenerative features of his body are relatively great, and irreversible changes have not yet occurred in the knee itself, leading to its almost complete immobility and wear of the working surfaces over a large area, corrective osteotomy will allow a person to preserve his own joint with a minimal amount of surgical access. At the same time, in the postoperative period, complete restoration of knee function is possible while maintaining all types of physical activity and without reducing ability to work.
Exercise bike
This device can also be used to treat knee joints. Moreover, both training on a simulator and riding a regular bicycle have an equally good effect on the knee joints.
- A person sits on a small “pillow” - it accounts for the bulk of the body weight. To make a circle with the pedals, the patient makes a muscular effort.
- The muscles are trained, while one straightened limb forces the other to bend at the knee. This is important when the functions of the diseased knee joint are limited, and the patient cannot independently perform flexion-extension movements.
Deltoid muscle trainer
Your seating position is important for proper operation of this machine.
: The lower back must be pressed against the back of the seat.
only the deltoid muscles
should work .
If full extension of your arms in the shoulder joints is painful, move them as far as comfortable and hold them in this position for five to ten seconds.
By the way, when working on a simulator for deltoid muscles, you can find out how synchronously both arms work. If they rise to different heights and with different forces, it's not just the difference
muscle fitness. There may be problems with the shoulder joints.
Recommendations
Doctors recommend choosing exercise equipment that:
- How does an exercise bike help with knee arthrosis?
- They do not take up much space in the apartment.
- Suitable for age and weight parameters.
- They are of high quality (the product may be expensive, but it is durable).
- They are purchased for their intended purpose and are constantly used, rather than collecting dust in the corner.
- Used in combination with other treatment methods.
People who buy exercise equipment, for the most part, at first are not overjoyed with their purchases, and then, passing by, they begin to quietly hate them, because in connection with them an association arises: training is pain. We must understand that at first this is inevitable. "Patience and a little effort".
After a few months of exercise, the patient will be surprised to find that the pain in the knee has disappeared, the extra pounds have disappeared, and the legs have acquired a beautiful relief.
If you want to get more information and similar exercises for the spine and joints from Alexandra Bonina, check out the materials on the links below.
Additional useful information:
See more useful materials on my social networks:
| | | | |