I’m not sure I understand the point of the test. Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply get on an elliptical machine and move for a few minutes to determine if this exercise is right or wrong for you? If it hurts, stop, and if it doesn’t hurt, then this exercise is OK to do?
I have osteoarthritis in both knees, coupled with a torn cartilage in my right knee. Swimming, walking, ski machine, and running seem to aggravate the pain in my right knee so I do not do those activities, but an elliptical gives me a great cardio workout and my knees stay comfortable with no apparent after effects. Biking , Total Gym, and the elliptical are my exercises of choice, but I could not tolerate the tests in this article at all. By those standards, I should not be using an elliptical machine.
I tend to go by the rule that “if it hurts don’t do it”, but “if it doesn’t hurt then it is a healthy and constructive thing to do”. Am I misunderstanding my body’s signals? Do you think that if I cannot tolerate this test that the elliptical will cause further damage to my knees even though the exercise itself is comfortable in the short term?
It is important for me to know because I am about to invest in purchasing an elliptical machine for my home gym and do not want to spend the money if I won’t be able to use it long term. Not to mention that my knees need to get better and not worse! If you could expand some on the significance of testing as opposed to “doing what doesn’t hurt and avoiding what does hurt” it would help me decide if I should purchase one of these machines or not. Thanks for any further information you could give!
Hello Linda –
Thanks for your comments and questions.
The purpose of the test was to help people understand WHY their knee might hurt on what is promoted as a “low impact” exercise option and to point out the range of loading that takes place with an elliptical machine. In your case, it may be that the arc of motion of the elliptical machine you use does not expose your joint to too much force. The Back Slider test is an option for people who might be wondering about their own knee capacity.
One of the challenges with osteoarthritis is that sometimes pain shows up later; after an activity. So, yes, generally, if something hurts and it feels like a joint related pain, then you have to either modify the activity or avoid it until your body gets stronger.
Im trying to beat my long term runners knee, and I read online that doing the crosstrainer backwards might help. Low and be hold damn I could feel those quads, including the vmo fire. Think this is great for a “functional” exercise since I can’t do squats yet etc.
Victor –
Thanks for your comments and thoughts. There was a study done at Willamette University in Oregon that looked at muscle activity during forward or backward movement of the limb on an elliptical machine. They found the quads to be more active when using the machine in the reverse mode and the hip muscles was well. Since the hip muscles have a reflexive connection with the quadriceps (and isolating the VMO isn’t possible since the muscle is part of the quadriceps and is innervated by one nerve), by increasing the hip activity, the quadriceps activity increases as well.
You might enjoy my book, “The Runner’s Knee Bible” as a resource for your efforts in overcoming your runner’s knee issue. It has helped a lot of people. http://www.runnerskneebible.com
Good luck!
DK
thank , good info