How do you guys keep your Knees strong and healthy?

[*zap*]

foam roll the entire are between your hip and knee....anywhere it hurts focus on. one legged rdl, when you get your upper body and raised leg parallel to the floor then rotate the hips toward the floor and then up. Find something for hand support about waist high and try to keep your weight back on the foot not on the support. This will help lots.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I do weighted lunges at least once a week..I like a 40#DB in each hand.

 

[Yoder]

I started focusing more on leg workouts this year and my knees feel so much better. Goblet squats, Kettlebell deadlifts, weighted forward and reverse lunges and hiking with a weighted pack. Without stretching much I even have way better flexibility.

 

[Juice Newton]

I have torn meniscus in left knee and feel like the right has the same injury. I do take glucosamine and seems to help. TradArcher what is this PRP shot and what does it do? I have done cortisone shot's but those literally lasted 1 day. To the OP best thing to do is stay in shape and stay active.

 

[plentycoupe]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet here’s a trick I use on steep mountain descents. I care two ace wraps and if packing a heavy pack on a steep decent I literally just wrap them around my knees, over my pants.

They act like springs and feels amazing!

When down I just unwrap and put them in my pocket.

 

[muskysaloon]

Keep your weight down. I read years ago that every pound of excess weight on your body equals three pounds of additional pressure on your knees.


I am also a big believer in cycling for your knees. Low impact. Constant workout on the knee though.

I'm almost 56. My knees are happy. I'm 6 feet tall and 170 pounds.

These two things have been a savior on my knees. tore my rt acl over 30 years ago and sever arthritis and limited ROM in both knees. arthritis in left knee is bad from favoring due to bad right knee. After 20 years off from elk hunting decided to get my fat butt back in shape. dropped over 40 lbs, hiked and rode an echelon stationary bike nearly every day for 11 months. My knees feel 1000% better and with stretching my ROM is probably around 90-95% now. No running or squats for me anymore, it swells my knees up something awful. The bike also has been great for cardio.

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Vitamins (glucosamine chondroitin) and regular exercise (no matter what kind of exercise) to get the knee lube working.

I did weighted squats before this years hunt and it hurt my knees. I should have laid off weights for at least a month before the hunt.


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[Muledeer185]

I started using both the liquid natures way joint movement glucosamine and the osteo bi-flex joint health pills. This seems to have really helped my hips and knees allowing me to hike and work out pain free.

 

[Latebloomer]

From a supplement standpoint I mix bubs naturals collagen protein with my coffee everyday.

 

[Ugly Dog]

I found bicycling to keep things stretched and keep my egabstrong. That alone has helped me from twisting my knees and over extending them. On years I didn’t do this I can tell you I really felt my knees showing their age.

 

[Durran87]

Good shoes and boots all of the time. Lots of stretching including in the shower every morning. Roll IT bands with a roller.

 

[Mojave]

Good stuff!
I have had moderate-severe arthritis in both knees 10+ years.
The other thing to keep in mind, is to ensure that you are strengthening and stretching both legs, not just the sore or weak one.
I don't do enough of this (usually 1x week), but my son (getting his Masters in PT) says Yoga is great!

Eat meat and nothing else. Arthritis will go away within 3-4 days. Preferably beef, lamb venison salmon, eggs butter. Easy treatment.

 

[mgstucson]

I am 63, 6-3, 250 (should be 225). I usually carry 20-30 lbs of gear. I hunt mountains and canyons of AZ where terrain can be very rugged and steeply vertical most of the time (typically up one ridge, glass, then next ridge, glass, etc. then all the way back to truck at the end). I have sports injuries on both knees (both medial collateral ligaments severed in left knee in late 20's, and an ACL severed (patella tendon replacement) and 30% cartilage loss in right knee in mid 30's.) I continued playing ball until mid 40's, but not as aggressively or as well as when I was younger, and still play tennis. Was told by physicians at time of surgery that I would have arthritis by the time I was 40 and be candidate for early knee replacement, especially in right knee. Started taking triple strength glucosamine chondroitin daily since age 40, Golden Milk daily since age 58, and extra strength ibuprofen (800mg) on days of heavy exertion. During heavy hunting days in rugged country, I wear neoprene knee wraps ( I prefer the Walgreens generic copper fits. ) and have recently started using 2 trekking poles regardless of load weight carried. I have a sedentary job and do no special exercises or regular workouts (although I should).

I still DO NOT have arthritis in either knee, thank God, and hunt anywhere I want, regardless of terrain, often miles from the truck, tens of miles from the nearest paved road.

I heartily recommend all of the above. Believe me, if I could drop doing any of them, I would. All are necessary for me, but they have kept me going with people half my age. No complaints.

 

[Grisha]

Knees-over-Toes 3x weekly. Sumo squats with kettlebell, some Russian swings; yoga/stretch. I wrestle semi-competitively at over 50, so hunting/backcountry aside, they need a lot of care. Wish I had more time to do more.

 

[Professor]

Strong core and proper walking/hiking form. Do a focused stretching routine that includes dynamic stretches. You want powerful glutes, quads, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles and they need to be balanced.

 

[jp08ee]

I take some supplements as others have mentioned but BW knees over toes exercises along with proper stretching and some yoga makes a world of difference. I lift decently heavy on back squats, lunges, etc and if I don't do a dynamic prep with knee of toes exercises before getting into some of the heavier stuff its almost a guarantee my right knee will give me grief and will force me to stop early on sets and/or reps.

 

[jmassart]

Your hips are huge for controlling your knees. Strengthening the gluteus medius and Maximus and making sure you perform single leg activities so you are not compensating with one leg will be huge.

 

[McKolorado]

I had some minor knee discomfort a two years ago, I did ATG - Knees Over Toes Guys stuff for about 2-3 months. Knees felt better and still feel better, I have stayed active since then which I think has helped in maintaining pain free knees. That said there is a small cost for his program, and while he has a great personality and I really enjoyed the simplicity of his program you can find other "knee work" stuff for free on YouTube. Tom Merrick is a bodyweight guy that has knee stuff that overlaps with ATG. You can also google Patrick, Peterson and Poliquin Step Ups/Squats. I think the big thing is starting with bodyweight only stuff and sticking with it consistently.

 

[jpmulk]

Another vote for glucosamine chondroitin. Its mindblowing the difference i notice with it after blowing my left knee out twice. So much less inflammation and pain.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet here’s a trick I use on steep mountain descents. I care two ace wraps and if packing a heavy pack on a steep decent I literally just wrap them around my knees, over my pants.

They act like springs and feels amazing!

When down I just unwrap and put them in my pocket.

Interesting. Do you wrap below the knee cap > patellar tendon?