Exercising with knee or hip pain

If you're experiencing knee or hip pain, you're not alone. Nearly everyone will experience knee or hip pain at some point in their lives. When this kind of pain strikes, doctors are likely to recommend the least invasive treatment to alleviate pain and encourage healing.

Staying physically active is one of the best things you can do for a sore or injured joint. If you like to exercise regularly but need to give your hip or knee a rest while an injury heals, here are some exercises you can do in the meantime. You can combine these exercises to create a routine lasting 30 minutes or longer:

• floor exercises, including abdominal curls, crunches, push-ups, or leg lifts
• exercises that target the upper body, including repeated lifting of hand weights in different directions
• gentle yoga
• swimming
• routines involving an exercise ball, including stretches, abdominal curls, or leg lifts.

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