Knee Problems Thread

[Wolfie]

I'd like to hear about your experiences with knee problems! Specifically, what you have been able to achieve in the way of rehabilitation.

I have patellar subluxation. My knees caps started coming out at age 11. From then on I gradually became less active. At age 18, when I had arthroscopic surgery, I basically became unable to do much of anything on my legs.

As a kid I was very athletic. As a teenager, I was a dancer. At this point I feel very defeated by my knee issue. I have slowly been gaining weight and am always down about my inability to do things I love to do.

The doctors don't really have much to say about this.

Anyone have experience in this area? Would love to hear some stories.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

My husband is 33 and needs both knees replaced due to injuries sustained while in the military. He's actually lucky he didn't lose his foot. As his unit was patrolling/doing a sweep of a road the driver of the 8-ton truck freaked out at the sound of gun fire and swerved... He ended up running over two of his guys. The first guy is now in a wheelchair from his injuries, and my husband has spent the last three years rehabilitating. He's had two scope surgeries in his left knee and one scope surgery in his right knee to remove damaged cartilage. I can't remember what it was they did to save his foot, but they did it to relieve the pressure. He barely has any cartilage left in his left knee, and will likely develop arthritis before he gets them replaced. No doctor wants to replace it because of his age and the replacement knees lifespan.

 

[Wolfie]

My husband is 33 and needs both knees replaced due to injuries sustained while in the military. He's actually lucky he didn't lose his foot. As his unit was patrolling/doing a sweep of a road the driver of the 8-ton truck freaked out at the sound of gun fire and swerved... He ended up running over two of his guys. The first guy is now in a wheelchair from his injuries, and my husband has spent the last three years rehabilitating. He's had two scope surgeries in his left knee and one scope surgery in his right knee to remove damaged cartilage. I can't remember what it was they did to save his foot, but they did it to relieve the pressure. He barely has any cartilage left in his left knee, and will likely develop arthritis before he gets them replaced. No doctor wants to replace it because of his age and the replacement knees lifespan.

What insanity! I imagine he must have a lot of difficulty with activity. I feel arthritic at times. The doctors have told me the same exact thing about knee replacement. I just think... couldn't I just have them replaced again? Why won't you let me enjoy working knees while I'm young??

 

[gromit]

Had a run-in with chondromalacia patella/patellofemoral pain syndrome last fall... eased up on exercise a bit while the symptoms calmed down, did some strengthening and flexibility exercises, now it still gets achey at certain points (hiking downhill prolonged etc), but mostly better, and I know how to manage it. Will have to maintain that strength/flexibility for my whole life probably or else it will come back, that's what it seems like for now at least, when I slack off it begins to get irritated again.

In my anatomy class we watched a knee replacement surgery, very crazy and cool. The lady was pretty young (40s) although not so young as you guys I'd imagine. But still, they wanted to replace it because she was young and had young children. Weird they want you guys to wait.

 

[Wolfie]

Had a run-in with chondromalacia patella/patellofemoral pain syndrome last fall... eased up on exercise a bit while the symptoms calmed down, did some strengthening and flexibility exercises, now it still gets achey at certain points (hiking downhill prolonged etc), but mostly better, and I know how to manage it. Will have to maintain that strength/flexibility for my whole life probably or else it will come back, that's what it seems like for now at least, when I slack off it begins to get irritated again.

In my anatomy class we watched a knee replacement surgery, very crazy and cool. The lady was pretty young (40s) although not so young as you guys I'd imagine. But still, they wanted to replace it because she was young and had young children. Weird they want you guys to wait.

So you do your physical therapy exercises daily? What sort of ones do you do?

 

[SD45T-2]

I'd like to hear about your experiences with knee problems! Specifically, what you have been able to achieve in the way of rehabilitation

After 5 years and lots of money, zilch.

I have patellar subluxation.

Sounds familiar. I don't think any one specific injury is to blame, my knee just isn't mechanically sound. Physical therapy didn't really accomplish much, just as it didn't really improve my shoulder either.

As a kid I was very athletic. As a teenager, I was a dancer. At this point I feel very defeated by my knee issue. I have slowly been gaining weight and am always down about my inability to do things I love to do.

I know exactly what that's like.

Do your hands/wrists/elbows/shoulders work okay?

The doctors don't really have much to say about this.

Yeah, my doctors have pretty much run out of ideas for my knee and all the other stuff that's wrong with me.

My knee is just the tip of the iceberg. The last 5 years have been like a really long episode of House, except none of the things I have are life threatening (at least not directly), and there are no attractive women. I'm 23 going on 80.

 

[gromit]

So you do your physical therapy exercises daily? What sort of ones do you do?

Try to stretch daily (hamstring primarily, but feels good to stretch everything, so I do that while I'm at it) and do the strengthening a few times a week as part of leg workout. I think the stretching is actually the most important for me.

 

[gromit]

My anatomy professor said that knees are a "total mess of a joint" and it's kind of true.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

What insanity! I imagine he must have a lot of difficulty with activity. I feel arthritic at times. The doctors have told me the same exact thing about knee replacement. I just think... couldn't I just have them replaced again? Why won't you let me enjoy working knees while I'm young??

Oh yeah... He has his good days, and he has his rough days. I think it's really hard on him because he used to be an avid wrestler, and now he can't do any of that stuff without winding up sprawled out on the couch the next day. That's what I don't understand about knee replacements. I guess it must be something in the way they are replaced that makes them hesitant to replace them again.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

My anatomy professor said that knees are a "total mess of a joint" and it's kind of true.

Ugh, the knee and shoulder are both so complex when it comes to joints. I hated trying to remember all that in anatomy.

 

[prplchknz]

knee problems run in my family, and though i've never been atheletic i can feel problems already creeping up on me, my mom says by 50 i'll probably need to get my right knee replaced (that's the knee that gives me the problems)

 

[sprinkles]

Just do whatever you can.

I had tarsal coalition when I was younger which basically means my foot bones grew together and solidified over time. This effected my posture, caused my arches to collapse, turned my feet out, messed up my calves and hamstrings and probably gave me lower back problems. It got to the point where my feet were like solid bricks and it was incredibly painful, so they went in and cut all the bones back apart.

I still have problems standing for long periods on hard surfaces or running too much. I start out ok but there's eventually an onset of incredible pain if I push it, and I end up with stiff ankles, knees and hips.

My knees seem to hyperextend easily and I'm quite fearful of having them bumped at times. They also aren't very stable so I can easily twist something walking in grass and stuff if I hit uneven spots. Because of this I pick my shoes very carefully and make sure they are light, supportive, with good traction and durability. I can't wear sandals or pumps or flipflops because they just destroy me quickly.

I still try to walk everywhere and just take my time and have to deal with a little pain (some times a lot) but not to the extent that I'm just injuring myself.

 

[gromit]

I had tarsal coalition when I was younger which basically means my foot bones grew together and solidified over time. This effected my posture, caused my arches to collapse, turned my feet out, messed up my calves and hamstrings and probably gave me lower back problems. It got to the point where my feet were like solid bricks and it was incredibly painful, so they went in and cut all the bones back apart.

That is pure insane.

 

[sprinkles]

That is pure insane.

It was. I had especially bad case of it. I think the only thing worse than the pain before was the pain after the surgery. I vaguely remember the first day as I started to recover and was laying in the bed and progressively went from crying and moaning in pain to delirious and screaming in pain, at which point I got a spinal block and a pediatrician came and did a pretty cool 'hypnosis' trick on me. After that it was all kinda fuzzy but much easier I think.

 

[Werewolfen]

In the colder months of the year I wear 2 Mueller knee braces just like these everyday >

http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-6463-Self-Adjusting-Stabilizer/dp/B004N14FDA

I take 6 Fish Oil pills a day and MSM powder. It keeps a lot of the pain away. I got into doing Hip Belt Squats searching for a leg exercise that wouldn't bother my knees and I like doing them because they don't cause my knees to hurt.

 

[wolfy]

My knees get sore lately from all the squatting I do. I am looking into getting some supporters. Anyone know a good brand? They aren't too bad and using a foam roller on the quads seems to help.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

In the colder months of the year I wear 2 Mueller knee braces just like these everyday >

http://www.amazon.com/Mueller-6463-Self-Adjusting-Stabilizer/dp/B004N14FDA

I take 6 Fish Oil pills a day and MSM powder. It keeps a lot of the pain away. I got into doing Hip Belt Squats searching for a leg exercise that wouldn't bother my knees and I like doing them because they don't cause my knees to hurt.

My husband uses those braces a lot too... Or, at least he should be. He doesn't want to use braces because he doesn't want to become dependent on them. Fair enough. I just wish he'd think about the pain he's in and decide which is better... I've been trying to convince him to take fish oil, but he hasn't tried it yet.

 

[gromit]

My knees get sore lately from all the squatting I do. I am looking into getting some supporters. Anyone know a good brand? They aren't too bad and using a foam roller on the quads seems to help.

Foam rollers are awesome.

 

[Randomnity]

I have slowly been gaining weight and am always down about my inability to do things I love to do.

You can run it by your doctor/physiotherapist, but I've heard that swimming is the least stressful exercise for your joints, and biking (on a properly sized bike) also shouldn't be hard on your knees.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

You can run it by your doctor/physiotherapist, but I've heard that swimming is the least stressful exercise for your joints, and biking (on a properly sized bike) also shouldn't be hard on your knees.

Oddly enough, swimming helps my MIL with her knee problems, but my husband said swimming makes his knees hurt worse. I'm not sure what the deal there is. I wonder if his isn't because he's basically down to the minimal amount of cartilage in his knees...