Help me not feel like an old man(sore legs)

noir_blood

Knees to be more specifically.

As some of you may remember, I recently got a puppy. It's been good times(except for you know, the usual puppy things), and of the things that I have found I quite enjoy is walking the dog.

Unfortunately, my knees sure don't. I'm overweight, so I know that's playing into it, but man have my knees been killing me lately. I"m still walking him two/three times a day, for about fifteen minutes, but I'm paying for it later during the day when I can barely bend my knees.

Right now, I'm icing them and taking some ibuprofen, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I should/shouldn't be doing. Is this something that will go away the more I do it? Should I stop walking him for a while?

Figgy

This is something that will go away the more you do it, but it's going to take a long, long time if your only form of exercise is these short walks.

I'd lay off the Advil. Instead, try walking your dog in a grassed area more than on pavement, as it will have less of an impact on your joints. You could also bring him to a dog park, where he can do most of the running around, but that's not going to do anything for your own problems in the long run.

You just need to build up more muscle to support your weight, lose some weight, or a little bit of both. Also look into your shoes and make sure they aren't contributing to the problem.

You could see a doctor about this, but he's just going to tell you what you already know.

Spacemilk

I think an issue with your shoes is probably the safest bet - I can always tell when I've worn out a pair of running shoes (even when they look absolutely fine) because my joints start to ache, and when I check the sole, sure enough, it's too thin. What are you wearing?

Heir

Get a decent pair of shoes. Maybe ice your knees at night for a while until you become more accustomed to the physical exertion.

Stretching isn't a terrible idea either. Always lessens soreness for me.

If after a few weeks more you're still having pretty intense pain, I'd suggest seeing a doctor.

Michael Vox

In 2010 I ran my first 50K (31 miles). I'm not saying that to brag, but to say in training I reached a point where my knees were in AGONY. My friend, who does even longer runs, sent me this link. I can't tell you the difference when I did just a few of these stretches first. You don't even need to do all of them, but for me it was the difference between doing the run and dropping out.

November Fifth

I highly recommend stretching and good shoes. A few years ago, I was regularly tweaking my knees while walking/jogging. Since then I stretch my legs for every workout and haven't experienced any knee pain since.

brain operator

No idea if it's an option, but consider cycling the dog instead of walking the dog. Riding a bike is much easier on the knees (yet conversely harder on your butt though). You have to put in much more work on a bike (like 3 times as much) to get in shape yourself, but the negative impact on your body is much lower too. If you're really out of shape, riding a bike for a few months before moving to walking/running is usually a good starter.