My right knee has recently started bothering me. It started a few weeks ago and only when I would do a realy deep knee bends, kenpo quad stretches or standing quad stretches. It would just hurt in those situations. Walking, running and jumping around was all fine. Now it seems to be worsening. After Plyo last week it was pretty sore. After Plyo again last night it's really sore - worse. Hurts to walk and if I've been sitting for a while with no weight on it, it really hurts when I first stand up and bear wieght.
The thing is I've never injured it. I don't want to just not do Plyo and realistically how can you modify it? By not jumping? I know, Pam the Blam but she's still jumping most of the time. That's the whole point! I don't want to be stupid and make things worse either. I'm wondering if a brace might help and if so what kind. The weird thing is the joint moves fine. No odd feelings or noises when I move it in various directions. I have good shoes. I workout on rubber flooring laid on top of carpet so that's not it. Maybe I'm just getting old (36) and arthitic?
I would like to try a brace to see if that helps. If not I'll grudingly do CardioX instead of Plyo.
Any ideas brace-wise?
Thanks.

i've had my share of knee issues(and i'm "only" 29!), so if i may make some suggestions.

first, dont take knee issues lightly. but chances are that its inflamed, so try some RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. ice it for about 15 min. after activity. 15 min on, 20 min off. continue for as long as you need to. also, try some sort of anti-inflammatory, ibuprofen(motrin) or naproxen (aleve). you can also do some quad stretches to see if that helps (it certainly did for me). sometimes, your quads are just developed unevenly, causing more pull to one side of the kneecap than the other.

now on to a brace. definitely look for one that has an open patella. that'll assist in holding the kneecap in place as you move. they dont seem to sell the neoprene ones anymore, which i used to really like. you can also try one of those knee straps, but i dont think that will assist you as much at this point. and make sure it fits well, too big, and it wont do anything for you. too small and, well, thats just not good =)

if the pain does not subside, i would highly suggest seeing a professional.

good luck. hope this helps. get better soon!

The very first time I did Plyo way back in October I injured my left knee. It still bothers me and I have attempted to do Plyo again a few times but it always reaggrevates my knee.

So after my first round I finally went got myself a brace...I can't believe I waited that long. I picked up a neoprene open patella with side support brace from Shopper's(you are in Canada right)about 30 bucks and it has helped with stabilizing the knee and keeping it warm. It could be more psychological but it works. I wear it now for every workout I do just for piece of mind. I recommend trying it and just make sure you get one that feels really snug at first because they do stretch out.

I am not sure if you got the Plus yet but I do Intervals X Plus instead of Plyo. Less impact and I feel more of a workout. It never hurts my knee.

Keep Ripping it up Brother

I actually started getting right knee pain after the first week. I put it off for a few weeks and finally got a doctor to check it out. I was able to pretty much eliminate the pain while working out though with a simple compression band that I wore during workouts. Turns out after seeing the doctor I didn't actually hurt anything, I was just developing my muscles a bit off center and it was basically causing my kneecap to pull to one side as I bend which made my bone grind when climbing stairs. He recommended a few simple additional exercises that would help balance them out. It still aches a little here and there but I think actually doing P90X for the long run will help once my leg muscles strengthen. I haven't actually been doing the exercises that the doctor recommended (I'm lazy) but the pain has been going away.

Thanks guys. Ya, Shopper's I never thought of that. I was thinking of going to The Running Room. Maybe I'll check out both.
Ya, I do have PLUS but my better half is doing it with me this time and she's new to P90X and...let's just say PLUS is on the back-burner for now. Mind you, I do sub in Kenpo+ for "regular" Kenpo.
I'm hoping a brace will do the trick as I love to hate Plyo. Can pretty much keep up with leapy boy Domineeek on everything but now my knee starts acting up. Arghh!
Funny thing about all this is my left knee was always bad before P90X from running. No problems with it whatsoever now. It's like P90X helped heal it or something. But now the right one - the one that's NEVER given me trouble - is acting up. Double-Arggh!!!

I'm with ya on the knee pain. I have chondromalacia in my right knee, and have worn a few braces. I have a plain elastic brace, a neoprene with steel hinges on the sides, both with an open patella, and my newest is a strap that I wear under my knee. That strap was the best thing I ever bought for my knee. I refused to run or do anything exercise-related without it, but after 2 weeks of P90x, I don't need it anymore and my knee doesn't bother me. What kind of brace you need depends on what type of problem you have with your knee. You can try a neoprene open patella and see how that works. I'd definitely see a doctor though, you don't want to mess around with knee trouble. Good luck!

Corp_T wrote:

QUOTE:
I was just developing my muscles a bit off center and it was basically causing my kneecap to pull to one side as I bend which made my bone grind when climbing stairs.

yup, exactly what i had. better known as Patello-femoral Syndrome, or PFS. i've also heard it called patella tracking disorder.

wall squats were recommended to me, so legs & back "should" take care of it...

I'd go with the patella band that goes under the knee. It is supopsed to help with tracking and it isn't as restrictive as an over the knee brace.

Also, try this: it has helped me with knee pain in the past.
http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/ss/ITBstretches_2.htm

Well, The Running Room didn't have ANY knee braces or bands at all. Hello?! Your name is The Running Room. People who run often encounter knee problems.
Anyways, Shopper's and a couple of other places didn't have a neoprene brace in my size (my name's Stick Legs for a reason) so I went with a similar woven one with open patella and side stabilzers. Man, I wish I had one of these before. I've seen many times but just didn't think they'd be that effective. Wrong! Just wearing it around the house helped alleviate some of the pain I had. The joint feels so much more solid with it on. My first w/o with it was Yoga on Saturday. The knee was still quite sore but with the brace I got through it pretty well. Yesterday was Legs and Back and I was a little worried about this one. Still a bit sore and was on the fence about whether or not to test it with this workout just yet. Well, I did (wanted to stay on schedule) and it was ok.
Today's supposed to be Kenpo(+) and I'm not going to do it. I'm going to be smart for once and StretchX instead and see how I feel tomorrow. But I think this brace will do the trick. The real test of course will be Plyo. But I'm thinking even if I feel 100% by then (Thursday) that I'll sub in CardioX this week just to be safe.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

http://www.braceshop.com/productcart/pc/THE-KNEE-SHOP-c2.htm

i ordered an ankle stirrup from here recently. they have a ton of stuff, and shipping was really quick. if you're still looking to get a knee strap.

Update: Well, for a variety of reasons (my knee being the main one) my 2nd round of P90X fizzled out after about 30 days. I'm not that bummed about it, though. I'm still working out at 4 times a week with P90X and have not lost any strengh or gained any body fat.
What I am bummed about is that even with throttling back the way I have - and not doing Plyo AT ALL - my knee pain has persisted. So, yesterday I went to the Dr. again. He preformed what's called a McMurray test which is just contorting your leg in a certain way and based on when/where I told him it hurt he determined that I probably have a small meniscal tear.
Ok, so take it easy and it will eventually heal on its own right? WRONG! He said I could do some excercises to strenghthen the surrounding muscles to compensate but that the underlying problem would always be there. Crap.
That didn't sit well with me. I don't want to be at 75%. I want to be at 100% again. For that he said it means surgery. Ok, so be it.
I have to go for an X-ray first but it looks like I'll be going under the knife.
I still don't know what did it. There was never a time where I turned, twisted or fell the wrong way and hurt it. It's just come on gradually since about January.

I have had patella tendonitis over the last month and recently purchased my <a href="http://www.dme-direct.com/knee-brace-braces-support-supports/">knee brace</a> at dme-direct.com because I have such a high deductable with my insurance. They have a large selection and very cheap prices. My doctor was even surprised.