You might also try a non-impact excercise. It will have the same effect of pain relief with out impact. I am a karate teacher here in Hong Kong.
Here is a bit about our system:
Shorin Ryu karate is from Okinawa, not Japan, and is a traditional style. It was heavily influenced by the Shaolin Monks of China who traveled often to Okinawa. As a traditional style, the emphasis is on the student's self-development, both mentally and physically. The training develops confidence, focus, discipline and physical stamina.
Shorin Ryu karate training promotes peace, harmony and balance in life. The objective is to help children become stronger, more confident and happy about themselves. There are no tournaments or tests where students must fight each other. Rather, they are taught to help each other develop good karate technique.
This is not an aggressive style, but it is a very powerful style. The focus is on self-defense and self-development. So, we do many karate exercises and kata in order to develop perfect technique. This helps students develop powerful techniques that can be used in self-defense. But since there is no free sparring, Shorin Ryu has proven itself to be very safe and the students of Sensei Kleusch have never had a serious injury during his classes.
You may contact me for futher details if you like at
L2Kscuba@hotmail.com
Good Luck,
Sensei Kleusch