Painful knees

[Brownie0810]

So the older I get the more my knees hurt. I am 54 and 6 ft 192 lbs pretty active. Hunting big country whitetails elk trapping etc. Most days I find the Advil first thing in the morning. Any exercisers to help knee pain with maybe a touch of arthritis out there ?

Do you wear knee sleeves at all? Try taking some collagen protein

 

[cbat]

Yes I do both.

 

[Kimber7man]

Just had arthroscopic done yesterday. Ridiculous but it already feels better than it did yesterday morning. Hopefully cleaning out the floaters helped. Good luck.

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Going in tomorrow morning to have my left knee scoped. Two torn cartilage, just worn out. I’m only 56 but this last year has been painful. I’m looking forward to rehab and next year!!

 

[dietridg]

Run or walk backwards. Uphill or with a weight sled if you need a challenge, you can also walk backwards on a treadmill thats turned off for its resistance. Helps my knee pain, the studies have shown that it works all the deceleration muscles that are neglected. Worth a try.

 

[Nomadx2]

I also have knees through years of pounding, car accident that broke my upper tibia and knee cap, 3 meniscus tear surgeries have led to joint pain and Osteoarthritis. Also have neuropathy due to some med treatments.

Going into see a doctor tomorrow that specializes in physiatry. They specialize in looking at non-surgical treatments before having a hip or knee replacement. Eventually i will have knee replacements but want to see what can be done to allow me to improve reduce the pain and improve my workout's along with weekend work on the farm.

This is a good thread on options for dealing with knee issues, thanks!

Never going to run the slopes at 8,000' again, but as you get older you what you can to stay in the game and have quality of life.

 

[TradArcher]

I went with PRP shots in my right knee a few years back to avoid surgery - worked real well and I think I will repeat the shots soon.
PRP is regenerative medicine - uses the 7 growth factors in your own blood and that is then injected into your knee. I went to see Dr. Knight @ Panorama in Golden CO for the shots. They cost 850 a shot and they work.
The have to be given though to the inside of your joint without any painkiller for them to work - the day after is incredibly painful and then your knee gets better over the next 2-3 months...dramatically better after the first 2 weeks in my case.
It's better than stem cell shots at this point since alot of the US stem cell shots have weird stuff in them like pig stem cells because of our regs...so PRP shots are the bext thing you can get stateside.
Maybe look for a regen doc in your area? Be careful about the options and ask a ton of questions.

 

[TradArcher]

Also - I still snowboard at 57 @ A Basin after the PRP shots - they are worth it.

 

[*zap*]

I have come a ways on building up my knees and feel I am now in a position to really finish the job. Long and somewhat painful process but i want a better quality of life and no surgery. 65yoa, @ 60 my knees and my fitness was pretty bad.....now things are much, much better. General fitness/strength is tied to good knees imo. Posterior chain strength is paramount as you age.....ass to grass squats, rdl's, good mornings, dead lifts, bulgarian split squats, vertical leg press.....and the list goes on....core and lower back strength is very important also.....

 

[Brownie0810]

I went with PRP shots in my right knee a few years back to avoid surgery - worked real well and I think I will repeat the shots soon.
PRP is regenerative medicine - uses the 7 growth factors in your own blood and that is then injected into your knee. I went to see Dr. Knight @ Panorama in Golden CO for the shots. They cost 850 a shot and they work.
The have to be given though to the inside of your joint without any painkiller for them to work - the day after is incredibly painful and then your knee gets better over the next 2-3 months...dramatically better after the first 2 weeks in my case.
It's better than stem cell shots at this point since alot of the US stem cell shots have weird stuff in them like pig stem cells because of our regs...so PRP shots are the bext thing you can get stateside.
Maybe look for a regen doc in your area? Be careful about the options and ask a ton of questions.

I got a PRP shot in my knee was well due to a torn ligament. Worked well!

 

[samc]

Here's a shameless plug for PT...I would recommend finding a good Physical Therapist in your area. A good one will be able to evaluate you and give you a home exercise program that can help relieve your pain. Shouldn't take more than a couple of visits and is covered by most insurance.

 

[sgailey]

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[Kimber7man]

Going in tomorrow morning to have my left knee scoped. Two torn cartilage, just worn out. I’m only 56 but this last year has been painful. I’m looking forward to rehab and next year!!

Rehab starts Friday…

 

[PowerHunter]

I would recommend NOT using knee sleeves. I used them for a long time when I was playing with the idea of competing in RAW drugtested powerlifting because I had knee pain and I felt that they helped. Fast forward about 8 years, two kids, a real job and 6 year completely out of the gym. I have been back to lifting for about a year now and committed to NOT using sleeves this time as an experiment. The knee pain I have always had before is gone and I am lifting as much as I was in 2-ply sleeves previously. I squatted 365# for 4 sets of 5 and then front squat 185# 4x10 on Monday. I think the sleeves are a crutch to let you lift more than your joints are trained to handle. Your body is a system and all the pieces need to progress linearly or you will start hurting things.

Also; drink lots of water, warm up before lifting in a consistent and pragmatic manner (my squat warm up from Monday looked like this BWx10, 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x1) and control your light weight warm-ups. I was trying to rush a few months back and was descending on my warm-ups too quickly and tweaked my knee. Cold joints don't like stretching. Control down, explode up.

 

[regealex]

Kneesovertoesguy on youtube has some good knee strengthening exercises

 

[Dennis]

PRP Injections have worked well for me along with diet and exercise. I have been getting them for more than 5 or 6 years and they really have helped. My Sports doctor recommends two shots two weeks apart, however insurance doesn't cover them and each shot is $500. I am 70 years old and seem to get them about once a year if I start feeling the need. I think getting them early when you start noticing knee pain might be the best idea. I started with one knee for a few years and now do both as needed.

 

[TheGDog]

Long story shorter, you will need to start avoiding activities which subject you to the shock of impact like the plague. When at the Gym, the elliptical is your friend.

The progression will be something like :
- Advil
- Then try Ketoprofen, Dr will need to give you a blood test after 2 weeks just because a small percentage of people it can cause liver toxcity in those people. Sometimes your pharmacy will have trouble getting it. Used to be available as Orudis KT.
- Celebrex

And pester them for like an Rx of a milder opiate like Tylenol #3's. Explain that you need it for when you're out in the woods, in case you get hurt and have to drag your sorry @ss back to civilization, and usually they don't sweat you about it. Then use them judiciously. Since these dumb@sses don't know how to handle their sh!t and there's this scare that everyone is a total fvckin idiot who doesn't know how to handle substances, they'll only give ya like 15-count or 30-count Rx at a time.

If you use one while out in the field, all opiates affect your breathing a lil bit. Slows down your diaphragm a lil bit. Which is how those addicts get themselves in trouble. They go and woof down way too much and their diaphragm and other autonomous controlled systems say bye-bye.

Learn to view your exertions which produce pain for you, as a cost expense. Such as, if I do this, I know I will be out the next day or two because this activity will no doubt expose me to shock and impact so they'll hurt, and then choose/spend wisely.

My knees make a damn lotta noise but thankfully THEY haven't given me a problem just yet. For me it's my lumbar and 4 bulging discs. But same rules apply. For example, I love dancing, and am damn good at it. BUT... nowadays it costs me. So I'll have to dope up for it. So with the hassle about contacting your Dr's office for an opiate since they're all soo uber annoyingly stingy with them now, until they get to see that you're obviously not an idiot and judiciously use them. AS evidenced by how long before you come back for more, then they start to ease up as they realize you're not some damn hype and have real valid need. Like I now go and get injection right into the epidural space and facet joints of the spine in the affected areas.. so since I've shown that this is a real problem by seeking that next level care. Now they don't sweat about it or act stingy when I ask for a refill on the Tylenol #3's, since they now obviously have the documented history that I take awhile before I finally bother to ask them again, because I use them sparingly. Like I tell them, don't take my word for it.. look at the calendar and do the math for yourself. 30 pills over how many days before I bothered you again? eh? Then they quickly see you're on the up and up.

 

[Anglo-American]

Your knees will be the least of your problems if you keep popping those pills.
The only things I'd add to what ZAP wrote would be foam rolling.
The IT band runs from the feet to the back but the two areas that usually need work are between the knee and the hips and under your arse muscle into your lower back.
A foam roller and a lacrosse ball are the perfect tools to self massage these areas.

General posture can be connected to this and was in my case.

If you want to go full retard your shoe choices.

But ZAPs excersises and the IT band work are the priority.

 

[bat-cave]

I broke and dislocated both of my kneecaps at the same time when I was 14. I then went on through other stupid human tricks to tear the ACL in my Right and the MCL in both knee's. For ~30 years I avoided running like the plague as it always flared up my knee's and I also don't really like to run very much anyway. . I took up cycling in a big way (14K+ / year and racing Road & MTB) and it also led to knee issues until I learned how to spin instead of grind ... but along the way I ended up have "lube job's" on both knee's. It was experimental at the time, but it's now a common practice from what I understand. Essentially they inject fluid under the kneecaps as I have no cartilage to speak of and it worked wonders and translated well when I took up hunting.

Beyond the "lube job", the single biggest change I made that has my knee's healthier at 55 than 35 has been regular strength training and lots of squats with good technique. In my eyes it was counter intuitive and something I approached carefully as I always thought it was something I just could/should not do given my knee history ... wrong. Regular Squats and even running 2-3 miles no more than 3 times per week and my knee's are doing great and I just came back from Sheep/Elk hunting here in CO and 10+ days of 8 or more miles per day and a crap ton of vertical with a pack ... knee's are solid (my feet are beat up)!

I would suggest speaking to a good sports ortho and see if the "lube job" (I was originally treated by Dr Andy Pruitt at Boulder Sports Medicine) and my understanding is that he is fairly well known for driving this treatment early on with his olympic athletes. I would also suggest looking hard at some strength training of the lower body with a focus on strength through range of motion with good technique and increase the weight as good technique allows etc ...

Best of luck!

 

[kf1128]

I've had serious knee issues for quite a few years. Things that have helped a lot are yoga, cycling & maintaining a healthy weight. I've messed around with "anti inflammation" diets and supplements and have never noticed any real benefits. That said, i have friends who swear by glucosamine.

 

[ognennyy]

Lot of good information here. To summarize and emphasize at a high level; eat fewer carbs if you're eating them, lengthen and strengthen the muscles of your posterior chain (specifically doing targeted hamstring stretches helps me a lot if my knees hurt), and the one I'll add is watch your oxalates intake. You didn't mention any specific injury and likely the knee pain is the result of a weak posterior chain and years of associated abuse, but oxalate overdose is a huge and largely unknown plague in the country that leads to joint pain.