Low impact exercise - bad knee

[ThankYouVeryMuchGerry]

I have a torn meniscus and the start os arthritis in my knee surgeon has told me I can now only do low impact exercise.

I'm a kickboxer so I'm pretty gutted Im no longer allowed to do it.

I usually do pilates on a reformer which I am assuming is still ok to do? Will yoga be ok?

I'm allowed to do a few cardio machines at the gym, and allowed to do swimming but I don't know what else.

Is spinning high impact? I quite enjoy this but don't want to make things worse.

I also like to lift weights but so much of what I do involves squats, are squats considered low impact, or are there adaptations I can make?

I'm in this situation in the first place because a PT "corrected" my form during a lunge. I haven't been able to do anything for three months and my mental health is suffering as well as my physical health.

I get my cortisone injection on Tuesday and I can't wait to get back to exercise.

I’m a rower (on a machine unfortunately, not water) and I’ve often seen that described as low impact. There are a fair few people in their 70s and even 80s who still do serious distances (10k plus), so I think there’s probably some truth in it being low impact.

Rowing may not be the most exciting sport when you just get started, but some people like myself get really into it. There’s some good online communities and Concept2, who are the main manufacturer of rowing machines, run challenges and send out a different exercise routine to subscribers every day, so it doesn’t have to be boring! Subscribing to their email is free and open to everyone, regardless of what machine they use.

If you decide to give the rowing machine a go, I recommend having a look at some technique videos first, or get someone to show you. Dark Horse Rowing on YouTube have some really clear (and free) technique videos for beginners on their channel.

I take the view that anything not sending jarring force through a joint is low impact. So most things, really, bar running and jumping.

My husband was given lots of exercises for his seriously arthritic knees, and these involved squatting. He was also told not to do anything that is painful, so squatting is out (for him) unless supported by water in a swimming pool or on land using the likes of a TRX.

A decent sports physiotherapist should be able to guide you in what to do. A decent personal trainer could help, assuming you find one you can trust given your experience so far.

Good rehab exercises to strengthen your leg muscles are very worth while. Even if you can't get back into kick boxing maybe you could at some point get back to regular boxing? I have a slightly arthritic knee but boxing is fine except for times it is actively playing up.

I tore my cruciate and meniscus together a couple of years ago.

i found cycling, rowing, swimming to all be good. Exercises that take the weight off your knee are great.
for weight or strength I used lunges with small weights and dips slowly off the bad knee once I felt it was stable enough.

Thanks all - advice is much appreciated.

I've had my cortisone injection and so far so good - going back to gym tomorrow and will give rowing a go and use the bike. I enjoy swimming so will get back into that. I didn't think about normal boxing - thats definitely something I want to do.

@ThankYouVeryMuchGerry

cycling is very good for bad knees.

All I can say is do everything you can to strengthen the muscles around it, you'll appreciate it as you get older!