[ElaineMonster]

I'll chime in with many others and suggest that you start swimming. It really is the best exercise for weak/tender joints.

But also, keep weight lifting to build strength. And you might want to see if your gym has a trail machine. My gym has these machines that mimic trails. They incline super high, but more importantly for building up knee tendon strength, they offer downhill slopes as well as uphill.

For pain I suggest anti-inflammatories and ice packs. My mom has arthritis in her knees and she has been relieving it by building strength through swimming and by taking regular Tylenol.

Oh! And a balance ball. Try doing some of your strength training on a balance ball. It's good for the rarely used little muscles and tendons that can get hurt so easily when they're not strong. It's also good for your core - abs and lower back [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

You're so young to have such problems! I commend you for trying to improve this now before it becomes a lifelong problem.