Knee pain with a twist

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

You can go ahead and file this one under "DUH!" As soon as I was done having tea with Captain Obvious I was finally aware of the cause of my knee "problems". Now let me add this fine print just in case. There is a possibility that this will NOT apply to you or anyone you know. There is a good chance that this applies to me and just a few other people who mosey in to read what I have to say about this very subject. And that's okay! I am JUST putting it out there in case it will be a help to someone or anyone. I am in no way claiming to be a knee expert, guru, specialist or aficionado. I am in no way claiming that this is the answer to knee problems across the nation. I may not be able to throw all starfish back into the sea, but I can at the very least throw one starfish back home again. Okay, moving on now!

I am posting this under fitness and exercise because it can surely apply to exercise, and your fitness if it prevents you from getting the exercise you need and/or want OR if you are doing something during your exercise that you don't realize is causing this problem So anyhoo...... I have had "stiff" knees for quite sometime. I assumed old age was creeping up on me, maybe being over weight for a stretch of time was to blame. I really had no idea. One of the biggest problems I had was after a period of rest, upon standing and walking (or trying to walk at least) my knees just felt like they did NOT want to straighten out for me. Not easily at least. Getting up in the night or first thing in the morning was a pain in the... knee or knees. Sometimes it was the left knee sometimes the right. I noticed there was a very long stretch of time that I did not have this problem. Then I realized it was the habit of pacing the floor while talking on the phone that was causing me pain as well as the way I was standing. (I had gone a while with out my usual pacing because I had not had a phone conversation in a week or so.) I usually stand unless I am sleeping, driving or using the restroom. I was standing in a way that put a slight twist on my knee. Not enough to really notice, but it was daily and the stress cumulative. Pacing the floor was also twisting my knees and depending on the direction I turned to pace the opposite way would determine which knee was taking the abuse. Which explains why sometimes the left knee was "bad" sometimes it was the right. I have been making a conscious effort Not to twist my knees in any way for the past couple of weeks and Lo and behold my knee troubles have vanished.

The point here is, IF you have a similar knee thing going on as I have had check what ever exercise or daily activity you do. You could possibly, by some small chance, find that you are doing some small thing that is adding up and causing stiffness or pain. I just wanted to share this and hopefully help some poor soul who has tried everything and is still looking for answers. If I can stop one knee from aching I shall not live in vain. Thank you for reading (I know it was long) and I hope the rest of your day is as nice as you are!

tulips_and_tea

Posture. Equally important when standing as it is when we're sitting yet we tend to forget that sometimes. And it can catch up with us, as you mentioned, if you're on your feet a lot and standing in once place. Good reminder. Thanks for sharing!

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

BZAH10 wrote: »

Posture. Equally important when standing as it is when we're sitting yet we tend to forget that sometimes. And it can catch up with us, as you mentioned, if you're on your feet a lot and standing in once place. Good reminder. Thanks for sharing!

HA! Posture indeed. That's interesting you say that because I did recently post asking about ways to improve posture. I am willing to bet that improving my posture is also serving my knees well. Thanks for mentioning that!

tulips_and_tea

It's something I keep in mind all the time because I sit at a desk all day and have neck issues. It's a constant battle between sitting comfortably short-term (legs crossed, slouching and leaning on my desk) or comfortably long-term (monitors at a correct height, feet flat on my foot rest that is slightly raised and keeping my back and neck straight. For me it makes a huge difference so I'm careful about it.