Supplements for knee pain

[schmalzy]

I have zero knowledge about all of this, but I noticed a dramatic decrease in knee pain when I eliminated grains and dairy out of my diet and bumped up water to a gallon a day. Again, no science or research to back any of it up, but it’s been significant for me. Average about 30-35 miles a week running on pavement.


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[mtnbiker208]

I have had 4 knee surguries, some times, they just hurt. especially when the weather changes. i have learned it is just part of life. I am 51. knees have hurt all my life. I have also played real hard and crashed alot.

 

[coleman]

There can be so many different issues with knees, but as stated before I think the greatest help can be achieved by building knee strength and by stretching daily. I have some cartilage issues and since stretching daily have noticed a decrease in the pain. Certain muscles seem to cause the issuein my situation. For me it’s the inner thigh just above the knee. When I roll that out with a lacrosse ball it’s like instant relief from the problem area. Good luck with it.

 

[RatMe]

I’ve had bulletproof knees most of my life. Watched many of my friends over the years with torn acl and mcl and never thought twice.

after some extensive running this summer I felt something go In my knee and feared the worst...

Turns out it is only an IT band issue, but man I get why all the fuss is about now. Annoying, painful, and a long drawn out process. I’m two weeks into doing virtually nothing but stretching, massage, heat and ice. Still has very little power but the pain has subsided.

I cannot imagine how frustrated one would be with a more serious knee issue

Any other tricks for IT band issues?

 

[go4thegusto]

I am 62 and have had left knee scoped twice. Vegetable based straight Glucosamine (no Chondroitin) has been magic for me. The few times I drifted off it during crazy times like house building and moving the knee aching came back. Went away after resuming. I swear by the stuff.

 

[amassi]

I’ve had bulletproof knees most of my life. Watched many of my friends over the years with torn acl and mcl and never thought twice.

after some extensive running this summer I felt something go In my knee and feared the worst...

Turns out it is only an IT band issue, but man I get why all the fuss is about now. Annoying, painful, and a long drawn out process. I’m two weeks into doing virtually nothing but stretching, massage, heat and ice. Still has very little power but the pain has subsided.

I cannot imagine how frustrated one would be with a more serious knee issue

Any other tricks for IT band issues?

I get a couple I.T band flare ups every year when I get lazy with mobility
Smr the piriformous and adductor always straightens It out. If it persists I go to my chiro and get my hips adjusted
Biggest mistake I used to make was attacking the it band with the foam roller etc. This always prolonged the issue

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[RatMe]

Massage on the band prolonged the issue?

I have been told to stretch and massage the upper and lower muscles near the connections, but not the band itself.

I was really shocked by how much this impacted my mobility. Literally could not utilize my left leg. Years of not stretching I suppose.

thanks for the input.

 

[amassi]

Massage on the band prolonged the issue?

I have been told to stretch and massage the upper and lower muscles near the connections, but not the band itself.

I was really shocked by how much this impacted my mobility. Literally could not utilize my left leg. Years of not stretching I suppose.

thanks for the input.

Yes the pain must have been Inflamed and I was aggravating it by massaging it too much.
I'll also get it fired up when my calfs are tight and I overuse them

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[blackshuk]

I started getting knee pain really bad and did a ton of research to try and figure out what was wrong. Obviously I don't know what you're experiencing, but I'll lay out what helped me:

1. Improper balance of muscle use
-I noticed I favored one leg over the other during mostly daily activities, so I started to focus on even usage

2. I had muscle imbalances
-my quads were stronger than my glutes and other muscles so I started to make sure to evenly work all leg muscles at the gym

3. I was REALLY tight.
-Start stretching religiously. You may have tight muscles pulling on your knee weird

4. TURMERIC CAPSULES
-I swear to god this is what has been my life saver. Order some turmeric capsules on Amazon and take them with your morning vitamins every day. Get the 1,950mg ones.

 

[LongWayAround]

Tumeric/curcumin and glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin help when I remember to take them.

I'm 31 and developed pretty intense knee pain a few years ago. It wasn't so much from a lack of exercise or major imbalance. Rather it was from volume. I would bike to work. Then squat, bend, kneel repeatedly all day. End the day with a trail run, ruck, or gym workout. I was squatting or deadlifting almost every day, lots of weight and lots of reps, no rest for the wicked... Do it again tomorrow... Eventually I couldn't even pedal my bike comfortably.

I backed off on the volume and incorporated more single leg training. I take the supplements sporadically... at best. I'm not as strong as I was by any measure, but my knees don't hurt anymore. Stretching helps too, and I definitely notice when I pick up the volume but don't keep up the stretch.

 

[RatMe]

Thanks so much for everyone’s input. Some easily applied aids have been mentioned. It’s probably a combination of changes that will make the difference.

I will be 35 soon and a good friend warned me 35 was a big turning point, I guess he was right.

oddly enough I’ve been stretching religiously for the last few months. Work and lack there of has afforded me the ability to “take care of myself” once again.

I think too much volume as I’m a moderately in shape dude who was running 10-12 per day. Dreams of some real distance cut short. Reality check.

the next question how does one work on strength training without being able to really provide support to the knee? I tried some light controlled stationary bike today, that was just ok.

 

[CoffeeGoat]

Another bump for mobility - and I mean working hard on it. Tons of great advice above about strength training , supplements can help, but when I see any joint pain with my athletes, 90% of the time it's not doing the mobility work you need to keep things maintained. There are big muscles all around the knees and hips and if anyone of them is out of wack they'll pull on those joints and hurt.

My go to is flossing the quads (particularly on runners) - here's a video. It's freaking magical, painful, but magical

 

[RatMe]

This flossing thing is witch craft. I had to improvise as I do not have that band, but the difference is noticeable. I’m in disbelief

what frequency do you recommend?

thanks

 

[amassi]

This flossing thing is witch craft. I had to improvise as I do not have that band, but the difference is noticeable. I’m in disbelief

what frequency do you recommend?

thanks

I use a bicycle inner tube cut down the middle
I normally do 1:00 tempo squats and 1:00 squat hold take off the band and do some more tempo squats pre/post wod until the issue subsides

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[CoffeeGoat]

This flossing thing is witch craft. I had to improvise as I do not have that band, but the difference is noticeable. I’m in disbelief

what frequency do you recommend?

thanks

Yep full on witchcraft - there is a reason rogue sells them as "voodoo bands." So, the tricky part with flossing is it's not always clear what helped. People classify the benefits in three categories:

1. Physically pushing fluid out of the area, that's why it turns bright pink afterwards, fresh blood is perfusing the tissue and any left over crap (lymph fluid etc) is pushed out
2. Joint gapping - leveraging the joint apart to help stretch out the connective tissues
3. Breaking up fascia tissue between muscles so they slide more easily

If it's like a bruise/sprain, you're probably mostly in regime one, and I do it once or twice a day until it doesn't swell anymore.

If it's somewhat chronic, like achilles shortening (common with women that wear high heels) it'd be more like once a day or every other day for a month or more.

I think for most people (myself included) we're mostly in category three. When you do a bunch of lifting (running, etc) the connective tissue between the muscle fibers starts getting stuck together, which makes it hurt, and pulls on joints. To clear it out you'll need to do it once or twice a day until things heal up, a few days to up to a week or so. Basically you're pinning down the muscles and forcing them to slide over each other which breaks those little adhesion between the fascia (or so the theory goes).

I use a bicycle inner tube cut down the middle
I normally do 1:00 tempo squats and 1:00 squat hold take off the band and do some more tempo squats pre/post wod until the issue subsides

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I've done the bike tube and they work, you can get cheap bands on amazon now which work a bit better (more stretch). I have to keep on top of my quads and calves - calves once a week at least, quads after big squat days.

 

[jikkyo]

Might have nothing to do with it, but I always take magnesium and bone broth to keep my joints healthy and loose

 

[blackshuk]

Also (it sounds contradictory) but running with a weight vest on seemed to help my knees too. The added weight builds muscle around your impact joints like your knees and ankles

Plus it murders your cardiovascular system, which is an added benefit

 

[Cameron945]

Everybody wants that magical supplement cure....Strength and body mass will play a role in dampening damaging loading rates to joints. Taking joints through full range of motion under heavy loads can slow progression of osteoarthritis. Been through 5 knee surgeries, have stage 2 osteoarthritis in both knees and they finally stopped hurting when I started gaining leg strength. Onset of osteoarthritis from knee joint damage has ceased to get worse and I am pain free. Your body's natural abilities are superior to exogenous supplement effects in most cases.

 

[Cameron945]

My knees were both damaged when I was a teenager. Now at 55 I certainly cant run anymore. I mountain bike and hike. Glucosamine sulphate works for my knees and arthritis. I tried cbd oil and it isnt cutting it. I cant do squats either without major pain. I will look into this "split squat"?

Split squats are a fantastic exercise and a staple in Strength and Conditioning.

 

[RatMe]

I’ve been slowly gaining mobility and range of motions back through stretching and the “flossing” techniques. Again, whoever that was that shared that, I cannot thank you enough. Who would have thought a simple post would have made such a huge difference.

now the next phase... I’m motivated to now fix the issues and prevent further issues by increasing my leg strength ( as mentioned by many on here). The problem is I’m still unable to do a plain old fashion squat with my body weight. There is just no thrust there.

Any thoughts on some type of assisted squatting? Something that takes off most of the weight and I can gradually increase?