Quote Originally Posted by Scrappy View Post
Hello Ladies! It's nice to see familiar names on T.E. It's been a rough couple of years but I'm happy to say life is smoothing out. I'm finally on the mend after 2 ACL's and a meniscus surgery, but finding myself lacking in motivation to get moving again. I've medicated the boredom and depression away with Vodka and have added a good 25 lbs to my frame. I would like to start jogging and cycling this spring but still deal with pain from scar tissue in the knee. Any advice on how to start jogging again again without pain?

Scrappy
First off, my sympathies. I've been in the self-medicating with alcohol state myself a few times. It's a tough place to break out of.

The question you pose is actually a very complicated one. I'm working with a PT client of mine right now on a similar issue and we see each other once per week, workout together for 45 min where I look closely at her movement and prescribe exercises for her homework while closely monitoring and guiding her return to running program. There's no recipe for getting back into it. I can't give her a list of things to do over the next 12 weeks and have it work because we have to adjust her program every week to accommodate how her body is changing. I wish I had an easy answer for you, but there isn't one.

Here are a few things to think about though:
1) If you don't have your full knee ROM back, you need to keep working on that.
2) Basic running drills to improve form will get you headed towards running without running just yet.
3) If you can't skip, you can't really run.
4) You have a knee issue and yes, there are likely still structural things happening right at the knee itself, but you'll need to be working on hip strength and ankle and foot strength as was already mentioned above.
5) Ankling exercises are a good place to start. For eg this and this and this. There are a ton of examples of ankling exercise and running drills you can look up on youtube. Pick the ones that look like they are doable for you right now and try them out.
6) When you do start running/jogging you will have to start on a run/walk program and the transition between walking and running is the most stressful part of the activity in terms of physical forces on the knee. So when you start a run/jog interval, ramp it up slowly, hold 70% effort level for 30 seconds then coast down. Do not start and stop suddenly.

Meanwhile, walking with progression into more challenging terrain like steeper hiking, cycling or swimming may all be good options for cardio. Strength training in the form of a fast paced circuit of exercises is also a good way to build fitness and lean muscle, which will help with losing weight.

Here's another helpful link that might help you understand some of the issues involved in getting a knee rehab patient back into running.