Doctors and fitness experts recommend low-impact exercise forms, including walking and swimming. But what about using a stationary bike? Is it an excellent way to get a good workout to get your heart rate up - and keep your knees from hurting even more?
In this article, well explore this topic in-depth so you can make a great decision that will give you better long-term health.
Table of Contents
Taking Care of Your Knee Pain
You know you have arthritic knees when the temperature changes outside, and you can feel the pain in your knees. This fluctuating pain makes it challenging to sit for long periods, climb stairs, kneel or bend down, climb hills, and pace yourself faster than a brisk walk. Many people with arthritic knees have had to change their daily habits to adapt to the constant pain.
Types of arthritis that specifically affect your knees
Osteoarthritis
This is where the articular cartilage in your knee below your kneecap wears away slowly, exposing more bone.
Rheumatoid arthritis
This type is a long-term autoimmune disease that affects the joints. As with osteoarthritis, pain is most evident in the morning and after periods of inactivity.
Post-traumatic arthritis
This type of knee pain results from a serious injury, usually due to a torn meniscus, ligament problems, or bone fractures.
Unfortunately, you may have more than one of these types of knee pain. The pain gradually increases over time. The weight of your body puts a lot of pressure on your knees, which increases with each step. The more weight you put on your knees, the more arthritic they become. The joints also become much noisier; you may hear creaking or clicking as you try to get up. Knee muscles weaken, and the whole area around the middle of your legs gradually becomes more unstable.
Cycling for strength
Your arthritic knees will feel much better, your legs will get stronger, and youll also enjoy your daily workout when the pain goes away. A stationary bike improves your long-term health and is suitable for your knees.
Benefits of a stationary bike for Your Knee Pain
Having arthritic knees requires any fitness program to be very gentle on your legs, help relieve problems related to pressure on the knees, and help your knees move much more smoothly to avoid curls or blockages.
Thats where the benefits of a stationary bike come in. Its inherent design encourages your body to move in a certain way. The natural sitting position on a bike is very comfortable and takes most of your body weight off your legs and knees. With this reduced weight, youll notice that your pain is also reduced. It is much easier to pedal than to walk, and the impact is very low.
You will build muscles in your upper legs that will help strengthen the area around your knees. Cycling also encourages your body to produce more fluid and drain it from around your joints. This helps to lubricate your knees and remove accumulated waste and toxins. A stationary bike is perfect for knees with arthritis.
Choosing a stationary bicycle
How to choose the best stationary bike for you? Four main types of bikes would be perfect for you.
Upright bikes
You sit straight on this guy.
Dual-action bikes
The handlebars move back and forth when you pedal.
Recumbent bike
It is low, the pedals are pushed forward, and the seat is tilted backward. Your hands are not used.
Indoor bikes
Common for spin classes, they are designed to move your upper body forward and put a lot of pressure on your hands and wrists.
Which one is best for a person with arthritic knees? Adjusting your bike is very important since you have health problems with your knees. A recumbent bike will be much better than a straight bike, an indoor bike, or a double-action bike. Youll have more room to stretch; it takes a lot of stress off your bad joints, and its also easier to get in and out. Recumbents also have more features, like being quiet; some are foldable and not expensive.
You sit on the stationary bike, leaning comfortably on the seat and placing your hands on the fixed handlebars. Then you put your feet in the straps and start pedaling slowly but surely.
Other Benefits of Riding a Stationary Bike?
Are you looking for a simple, uncomplicated, but really enjoyable form of exercise that you can quickly start doing and that allows you to burn a lot of calories simultaneously? Then consider the incredible stationary bike.
Like its more mobile cousin, this exercise has been around for a long time and has helped millions of people get closer to their health and weight loss goals. You dont need a bike helmet - but youll still work the same muscles and get the same benefits as a regular bike.
Easy to use
Using a stationary bike is similar to riding a standard bike outside. Its even easier because theres no chance youll slip in traffic, and its less like youll fall off. Stationary bikes are self-explanatory, and even young people doing fitness can start pedaling. And most importantly, every gym has a stationary bike. There are several types of stationary bikes, such as the straight bike, the double-action bike, the recumbent bike, the air bike, and the freewheeler, but all have the same basic design.
Just jump on the comfortable seat of the saddle, put your feet on the pedals, attach them, grab the handlebars and start pedaling. Most modern stationary bikes have a computer screen with controls so you can keep track of the cadence, revolutions per minute, and time.
Low-impact exercise
Low-impact exercises are not as demanding on your body as more difficult cardio exercises such as jogging or running, jumping, and dancing more vigorously. Low-impact exercises include walking, swimming, and cycling.
A stationary bike helps you reach your fitness and exercise goals while being gentle on your body. You wont have as much joint pain, especially in your hips, knees, and ankles. Youll also be able to customize the speed you want to go on on the stationary bike so you can reasonably pace yourself.
Whos best suited for low-impact exercise? Its ideal for young people just starting in the gym, people recovering from injuries, anyone with physical limitations, and the elderly. But millions of people enjoy stationary bikes and cycling, including Olympic athletes.
High burn rate
A stationary bike can look like a bike permanently planted on the ground. But its a machine that burns a lot of calories. Thats because cycling is a workout for the whole body. Your lower and upper body are involved, especially if you choose vertical stationary, dual-action, or air/fan bikes.
Your legs spin the pedals, your shoulders and hips balance your body, and your arms pump furiously back and forth. Youre working dozens of muscles at the same time. You want to increase your resistance so you can burn even more calories.
A 130-pound person pedaling at a light intensity burns about 160 calories in 30 minutes. If you pedal faster, you burn more calories. The higher you cycle, the faster you pedal, and the harder your body works.
Many cyclists like to vary their workouts with higher intensity pushes interspersed with lower intensity stretches. This increases the total number of calories burned.
You can certainly lose weight by regularly using a stationary bike. Its a significant pace change from the other gym machines.
Indoor Convenience
Going for a bike ride is excellent, but there are disadvantages. Youll have to deal with the weather, helmet use, traffic laws, and all the safety issues related to traffic. With a stationary bike, its easy to set up indoors at your gym. Park it in front of your TV and watch your favorite show while you ride away on your bike. You can also listen to music. Customize your workout to make you as happy as possible, and youll want to ride the bike.
Even if you only use the stationary bike at the gym, its also set up to make your life as easy as possible. Put on your headphones and start pedaling!
And even more Benefits
The advantages of a stationary bike dont stop at four. There are dozens of others because this machine has been specially designed to improve and enhance your body. Remember when you were little, riding your bike, and how much fun it was to ride around the neighborhood? Riding a stationary bike is very similar. Its a fun way to train. Many enthusiasts say its a mood enhancer because its so fun.