Knee pain

chulipa

Looking for friend's who have knee problems I have a torn meniscus on the inside of knee and might need a knee replacement.

leonadixon

Feel free to friend me! I just have icky osteoarthritis in my left knee that's left me with less ability to be active than I would like. Managing right now with calorie tracking only and very very little activity.

chulipa

I add you I think

dsboohead

I had torn meniscus and had to have it cleaned out and joint smoothed out.
No replacement though.
The thing that takes care of my pain on both knees was getting the excess weight off of them. Havent taken advil since my initial 10lbs off. With every 10 lbs it is better and better!

chulipa

Im working on the weight but knees are hurting the right one has the torn meniscus plus bad arthritis Dr told me to stay off of it not really sure why

sunfastrose

I had my first physical therapy appointment for my right knee. Looks like some tendonitis and some meniscus damage. I've had problems on and off with this knee for literally 20 years. Right now I am on naproxyn for the short term to deal with it, and hopefully some swelling I have will go away with the therapy and time.

chulipa

Hope PT helps you it hasn't helped with my pain much maybe its just to late to help

L1zardQueen

chulipa wrote: »

Hope PT helps you it hasn't helped with my pain much maybe its just to late to help

Cortisone shots have helped me. It sucks having chronic pain. I’m sorry.

SCoil123

I’ve damaged my MCL on my left knee and on my right I tore my meniscus and more recently fractured my tibia plateau. I didn’t have surgery when I tore my meniscus because my tear was relatively minor and in an area with good blood flow. After a few months down I was able to work with PT and have gradually built my activity up. Now I work out quite a bit and do things I thought I’d never be able to again. I run!

I still have pain sometimes on both sides but I’ve learned how to manage it. Getting the weight off helped minimize the pain a lot

AnnPT77

I have a torn meniscus in my left knee, and some osteoarthritis in both. I'm deferring surgery as long as feasible.

I was told that I wasn't burning any bridges by continuing any physical activity I could tolerate. I find - and this is probably individual - that I can handle straight-line hinge motions of my knee, including some pressure or force, but that impact or torque on the knee cause problems. Consequently, I mostly row (on water & machine) and bike/spin. (I don't run or do things like aerobic dance, tennis, basketball, etc.) I can swim and lift weights (with some limitation on lunges and squats), but I don't do either very often.

One cortisone shot gave me enough relief to get through PT. PT can't improve a torn meniscus, but I pushed for it in order to learn how to walk and climb stairs in ways that would reduce stress on the joint. The PT was helpful in that regard.

Losing weight made a huge improvement: I went from regular discomfort and fairly frequent bouts of pain, to occasional discomfort and truly rare pain - a big deal.

PokeyBug

I have what I suspect is gout in my left knee. I can't be sure until my annual physical, when I'm going to bring it up to my doctor. Regardless, I also have orthopedic stuff going on in that leg, due to having to have a rod inserted after a car accident many years ago. I haven't been able to run without pain since. So, I walk, and I'm pretty happy about having an excuse to avoid running, to be honest. I've been taking hemp seed oil and cutting down on my sugar intake (I try for less than 25 g per day) for the suspected gout. That seems to be helping, but it's only been a short time (less than 2 months) that I've been doing this, so I'm seeing good results but I'm not 100% that this is going to keep working.

For those of you dealing with arthritis-related pain, which is what gout is, I would highly recommend trying hemp seed oil. The taste isn't great, but it's only a tablespoon/15 ml a day, and my pain is so much better since I've been taking it.

Sunshine_And_Sand

I have torn one ACL and had it reconstructed. The recovery process is long and frustrating, and hard to deal with the mental aspect of reduced activity levels, but if you do what the doctor and physical therapist tell you, it eventually becomes as strong as it was before the tear.
I had another knee injury recently, on the other knee, that I originally thought was probably a meniscus tear, but the ortho said he is "worried about" the ACL too. I find out MRI results tomorrow and am not really wanting to hear that I will need another ACL reconstruction. I just don't want to go through that long process again. I have a hard time staying motivated to control the diet aspect when I can't exercise. I also can't go long without missing all the exercise.
I definitely sympathize with the knee problems. Feel free to add me.

Muscleflex79

I have patellafemoral syndrome, maltracking and advanced osteoarthritis in both knees - I've been told the only thing that will help is a knee replacement, but that I am too young for that (they tell me to come back in 20 years!) Continuing to look into the option of replacement as I know I can't and shouldn't have to live like this for the next 20 years! I've learned to adapt what I can do though (no squats, lunges, jumping, etc) and am stronger than ever.

chulipa

Thanks everyone it sure helps to know Im not the only one dealing with arthritis that is painful and limits what you can do

WanderingRivers

My acl is attached only on one end so I deal with arthritis on a daily. I do walking, some ddr, and yoga.

bikecheryl

Hi..... I actually just met with my surgeon and am scheduled for a double knee replacement later this year.

Losing weight has made a huge improvement in my mobility and pain management but can not correct bone on bone osteoarthritis.

Indoor biking and rowing helped in the beginning when I couldn't move around much. Cortisone helps too but I've found the shots last for a progressively shorter time.

It isn't easy losing the weight when your not mobile but on the other hand it made me really concentrate on my diet in the beginning because that was all I could do.

chulipa

Hope your not doing both knees at the same time

chulipa

Having bad knees causes so much more then just pain when it seem to control what life you have

KaleiAlanaSmith

I have patellafemoral syndrome and it's been one hell of a ride..... I struggle with exercising through the pain on most days and really focus on weight training to strengthen my knees, it's really helped so far. The cartilage in my left knee is deteriorating and makes it worse sometimes. I'm only 21 years old and was told this was due to exercising which makes no sense to me because I didn't participate in sports in high school... oh well.. Life moves on and I'll structure my workouts around what I can and can not do!

kiela64

I have painful knees as well from overtight IT bands, foot issues, and tight calves. Working on it through physio & getting orthotics. Have to be super slow with exercise and it's frustrating. But the knees are always sore lol. I'm in my early 20s too. Feel free to add me.

chulipa

You two are so young to already have so much knee pain hope they can do something for you before your knees get worse

kiela64

chulipa wrote: »

You two are so young to already have so much knee pain hope they can do something for you before your knees get worse

Well the things that help me are foam rolling, reducing physical activity (ugh), strengthening exercises for the surrounding muscles, and hopefully orthotics will help (haven't got them yet, but I've been told that the improper foundation is part of what's causing everything). But what will ultimately get the stress off my joints, because it is a muscular issue, is being stronger and lighter. Thus, my goals here lol.

SCoil123

kiela64 wrote: »

I have painful knees as well from overtight IT bands, foot issues, and tight calves. Working on it through physio & getting orthotics. Have to be super slow with exercise and it's frustrating. But the knees are always sore lol. I'm in my early 20s too. Feel free to add me.

Have you looked into foam rolling? It hurts at first but can really help with IT band issues

chulipa

Where can I find it

fish9283

I have chondromalacia patella, loss of cartilage under my knee caps. I had to give up running in my 40's because of the pain, but I became a happy cyclist. Now I'm 59 and can no longer ride a bike, take the stairs, go on a hike,or do any exercises that involve bending my knee. I've started swimming to stay fit. So far it seems to help.

Packerjohn

chulipa wrote: »

Hope your not doing both knees at the same time

Assuming a person is in good physical condition, getting both done at once can be the preferred method. Only 1 surgery and one recovery period, lower overall cost. Our 75 year old neighbor had both done at the same time and did great.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/does-double-knee-surgery-make-sense-for-you

https://www.arthritis-health.com/surgery/knee-surgery/pros-and-cons-double-knee-replacement

Packerjohn

Readers with knee issues may like these articles from Mike Robertson, a well respected trainer, on knee pain basics:

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/knee-pain-basics-part-1/

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/knee-pain-basics-part-2/

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/knee-pain-basics-part-3/

Of course none of this replaces an individual exam and advice from a medical professional. But lots of good educational material to help you ask good questions and work with your care team.

sijomial

I have a spare meniscus in a jar of formaldehyde somewhere....
90% had to be removed due to a bucket handle tear from a major trauma aged 31 which also snapped my PCL (ligament couldn't be reconstructed so knee slops back and forwards a bit).

Prognosis was a TKR by age 50 but I'm still going strong at 58. My main exercise is cycling and I'm doing hundreds of miles a month - currently training for a 92 mile ride. The non-impact nature of cycling and controlled range of motion is perfect for my injuries.
I can't run any great distance though, a couple of miles running causes more swelling and pain than a day of 100+ miles cycling. It does limit heavy weights in the gym as it will go bone on bone past a certain weight.

Other knee has significant laxity in medial and lateral ligaments and I also needed an operation to clean up after a meniscus tear and a patella fracture. Doesn't really cause me any issues now.

Keeping my quads strong to help knee stability, avoiding impact and losing weight all help.

aWildFlowere

I had 3 knee surgies 3 years in a row and graduated HS on crutches for the 3rd. Add beach volleyball in college and that was surgery #4. Eventually by the age of what 40? and excellerating osteoarthritis luckily Mobic and gel injections were available. I have waited to long and now at 48 am having TKR. I have pre-habbed the rest of my body hard the last 1.5yrs plus recumbant biked to reduce the atrophy of my L knee. My L knee is still considerably weaker than my R but hopefully PT will be prescribed for specific strengthening before surgery. Significant muscle takes a long time to build...months...more like 1-2years. Find what you can do vs give up. The healthier you are the better you recover systemically.

The shocker I had before and after my spine surgery was how many calories I was injesting with extremely limited mobility. I had told myself that I was going to restrict my calories to 1000 per day but I didn't track during recovery and ate whatever I wanted. It is so easy to eat for comfort , to cook and to also buy snacks for caregivers and then give in to those temptations. Portion control and tracking calories is a must once you quit regular exercise in sports in HS/College as the weight just creeps on.

I just purchased a scale on Amazon as I am not good at eyeballing. I am not beating myself up to much that I have been deceived by measuring vs weighing food. I just bought a scale on Amazon and I am excited to document and compare results. Although... I just watched a movie about the inacuracy of measuring cups and spoons...they aren't accurate for counting actual grams as listed on most food labels! It seemed like an unbelievable claim (I suck a physics) but I watched them prove it by filling a 1 cup measuring cup with cottage cheese or something.
They then scooped our the contents until it weighed the amount on the package. I think it came out to 1/2C more by weight than the 1 cup measurement! Thus if we don't weight our food we are eating 25-50% more than we think we are injesting... that adds up quickly per day, per week and sabotages our success. I'm not sure about liquid measurements...I'll have to ask my smarter at the sciences BF. If you don't have a scale using measuring cups/spoons is better than nothing.

kshama2001

chulipa wrote: »

Where can I find it

A foam roller? Walmart. Probably any store with a sporting goods section. This was under $15 but only lasted a year: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gold-s-Gym-18-Foam-Roller/21811910

I have knee issues and foam roll regularly, as well as these:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLoMA7I7HOQ&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr&index=2&t=2s

kiela64

SCoil123 wrote: »

kiela64 wrote: »

I have painful knees as well from overtight IT bands, foot issues, and tight calves. Working on it through physio & getting orthotics. Have to be super slow with exercise and it's frustrating. But the knees are always sore lol. I'm in my early 20s too. Feel free to add me.

Have you looked into foam rolling? It hurts at first but can really help with IT band issues

Thank you, I must have totally missed this. But definitely fantastic advice!!

I’m not sure if I had started back in April but now I foam roll my IT bands & calves daily. The tension builds up something fierce if I miss a day ohhh boy 😱 when I first started rolling my IT bands it was absolutely excruciating. Now it’s soothing.