--- title: "Knee Pain and Physical Activity | Sutter Health" description: "I'm 56 and play racquetball two times a week, speed walk 6+ miles at a time, and play volleyball. My knees ache after I play. I ice after activities and have been taking Cellaplex for two months. How do I know if I am damaging my knees?" url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257" --- 1. Home / 2. Knee Pain and Physical Activity # Knee Pain and Physical Activity * * * Medically reviewed by - Arfan Din, D.O. ## Question I'm 56 and play racquetball two times a week, speed walk 6+ miles at a time, and play volleyball. My knees ache after I play. I ice after activities and have been taking Cellaplex for two months. How do I know if I am damaging my knees? ## Answer It is excellent that you are active. In fact, a New England Journal study showed that people who are active actually do better in terms of their arthritis versus people who are not active. This is counter to what most doctors used to preach 20 years ago. It turns out that exercise limits weight gain - which, coupled with age, is the major risk factor for progression of arthritis and thus further joint damage. It is always good to listen to your body and take breaks - but the amount of activity that you describe sounds ideal. Typically if your knees hurt more than a day or two after your activity or are swollen - then you are likely overdoing it. ## Explore related topics FitnessBones, joints and musclesKnee ## Meet our care team Arfan Din, D.O. Family Medicine ## Move better, live better Whether it’s a new injury or long-term pain, our orthopedic teams are here to help get back to the life you love. Find orthopedic care ## Related questions View all questions - Health Q&A ### Exercising with Knee Pain? I am 62 and have been doing Jazzercise aerobic exercise regularly for over a year. I started doing Jazzercise in the morning and began having knee pain. Should I quit this type of exercise? If so, what else should I do to stay in shape? - Health Q&A ### ACL Tear or Arthritis in Knee? I had an X-ray and MRI on my right knee for severe pain. The radiologist said there was an ACL tear, but my doctor attributed it to arthritis. I don't have swelling and the pain is intermittent. If it were arthritis, wouldn't I have other symptoms? - Health Q&A ### Deciding on Knee Replacement? I am 79 years old and fairly fit, but I have some problems with balance and a lot of pain in my knees. An orthopedist said I had "bone-on-bone" issues. Do you have any advice for me that could help me make a decision about knee replacements? - Health Q&A ### Hyaluronic Acid Injections I have heard about hyaluronic acid injections for knee pain. What are they, and who is a candidate for this therapy? - Health Q&A ### Knee Cap Pain My left knee cap hurts very much when I put weight on it, especially when I kneel. Also it becomes very warm. What can be causing this? View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Knee Pain and Physical Activity"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257","name":"Knee Pain and Physical Activity","description":"It is excellent that you are active. In fact, a New England Journal study showed that people who are active actually do better in terms of their arthritis versus people who are not active.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257#question","name":"Knee Pain and Physical Activity","text":"I'm 56 and play racquetball two times a week, speed walk 6+ miles at a time, and play volleyball. My knees ache after I play. I ice after activities and have been taking Cellaplex for two months. How do I know if I am damaging my knees?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/knee-pain-physical-activity-1051061257#answer","text":"It is excellent that you are active. In fact, a New England Journal study showed that people who are active actually do better in terms of their arthritis versus people who are not active. This is counter to what most doctors used to preach 20 years ago. It turns out that exercise limits weight gain - which, coupled with age, is the major risk factor for progression of arthritis and thus further joint damage. It is always good to listen to your body and take breaks - but the amount of activity that you describe sounds ideal. 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