What is the best cardiovascular exercise to do if you have knee pain?

Choosing the right cardiovascular machine that prevents further damage to your joints is so important and will save you pain in the long run. The best cardiovascular exercises for your knees are the ones that put the least amount of stress on your joints. Two of these exercises include the stationary bicycle (recumbent or upright) and swimming. The exercise bike is a great way to burn calories and to build strength in your leg muscles without putting excessive stress on your lower extremity joints. When you set up your bike you want to make sure that when seated your knees are slightly bent. Also, when you extend your leg at the fullest rotation your knee should still have a slight bend in it. You also want to make sure your knees are not bent too much (greater than 90 degrees). Hint: When your knee is bent at the proper angle you should still be able to see your toes. Excessive bending in the knee will increase the stress on the patella (knee cap) located in the front of your knee. Swimming is also another great way to burn calories and increase muscle strength throughout your whole body without putting excessive stress on the your joints. If you suffer from bad knees and a bad back, swimming is a great exercise. You can burn up to 450-900 calories per hour. Sounds good to me! I have found a website where you can figure out caloric expenditure during various exercises based on your body weight. Go to http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist3.htm.

Some helpful advice:

1. If you have back pain as well as knee pain the recumbent stationary bicycle may be a better fit for you.

2. If you have shoulder pain and you want to swim try using the breaststroke. The breaststroke does not require rotation of your shoulders which can cause excess shoulder pain. If the breaststroke still causes pain then stick to the stationary bicycle for the cardiovascular portion of your workout and do you weight training in the pool.