Knee pain question

rowdylibrarian
rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey "Doctor MFPers"? I have a knee pain question. My knee has been bothering me for about two months, on and off. It's become worse again now that I've resumed my walking. It hurts at the base of the kneecap, but inside, if that makes sense. It's not swollen or bruised. I don't recall an actual injury. At the beginning of my walks, it's fine. By the middle of the walk, it's killing me, and by the end of my walk, it's almost fine again. When I sit after my walk, it stiffens up badly, and I limp for a minute or so, and then it gets better. Stairs are a real problem the day after, especially going down the stairs. Any thoughts or suggestions as to what might be wrong, or what I should do, besides see a real doctor? (I'll get to that, I just haven't yet. I was hoping it would go away on its own.) Thanks for any input! :)

Replies

  • suannemarie
    suannemarie Posts: 38
    Have you rested it (stayed off it) for more than a day? Have you been using ice or wraps at all? Are you doing anything other than walking (cycling, etc)?

    What happened when it originally started hurting, or was it a gradual onset?
  • LiziAB
    LiziAB Posts: 55
    Are your shoes giving you enough support?
  • Diyah13
    Diyah13 Posts: 76 Member
    A few things crossed my mind when I read your post. First, I'll let you know that I also have suffered knee pain for a long time. It started when I was a kid and diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter's Disease. It meant that I had inflamation under the knee cap and I was unable to take gym class for two years. To help with the pain I would take ibuprofen and put ice on it.

    Now that I'm in my 40s, there are a few more issues that I have. The first one was a torn meniscus. The pain I had was actually on the side of the knee, and it would be incredibly stiff and painful. After I had surgery to smooth out the tear, I felt a lot better. I learned that I had been walking around with the two leg bones rubbing against each other and wore through the cartiledge on both bones. Ouch!

    Another issue I also leared from the surgery was that I had arthritis. The doctor showed me the photograph of the knee before he did anything to it, and I could see the worn-through cartiledge and what looked like a shag carpet under my knee cap. That was the arthritis. The pain I felt from that was actually under the knee cap. It was a throbbing kind of pain and it was usually stiff. When I was using my knee, the stiffness subsided and I actually felt like it moved normally. When I stopped using it is when the stiffness set in.

    I would't have known any of this if I hadn't seen my doctor. To help me through the many weather changes here (I live in Wisconsin), I keep a ready supply of Icy Hot on hand and a bottle of naproxin sodium (Aleve) or ibuprofen (Advil) nearby. If that fails, then it's into a hot bath and bed for me. I hope this helps.
  • Ivey05131980
    Ivey05131980 Posts: 1,118 Member
    <---- Here is what I have done.:laugh:
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
    Suannemarie-I did rest it for quite a long time, because I was having hip problems as well, so it definitely had some nice long rests. No ice or wraps, nothing but walking, and definitely more of a gradual onset.
    LiziAB-I've got a really good pair of still new-ish Asics, so really good support.
    Diyah13-Wow! You've been through the ringer! :(
    Ivey05131980-good idea on the peas! They are nice and moldable to a joint like the knee! :)
  • ivormorgan
    ivormorgan Posts: 18
    I have something going on in my kneecap that sounds very similar: stiffness and soreness after a few minutes walking or cycling that eases after a while, followed by mild discomfort at the end of the exercise.

    Two things helped; as I lost weight, the severity and frequency lessened plus, since I started to take a supplement (I'm in the UK so the brand name won't help you) containing Glucosamine,Chondroitin and MSM, the issue is pretty well resolved. Be aware that the supplement comes with caveats about existing conditions and medications.

    Hope it helps.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    I am in the exact same boat as you, don't know what I did, sometimes it hurts sometimes it doesn't. It hurts when I start exercise, feels better after exercise, but worse the next day.. Google tendinitis of the knee. It sounds like a classic diagnosis.

    That being said, I have no idea how to treat it and will follow this thread for any advice given. :sad:
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    You could do swimming... It's great for strengthening the joints :) light cycling could help too, but stop if it puts any strain on!

    I'd get to the physio-therapist when you can though, he'll know best based on being able to actually analyse any pain, discomfort and simply because he should surely know what he's doing :p

    Good luck


    P.S. I also have some knee problems, cracking going on whenever I bend them past a certain point.. I used to get swollen and stiff around the knee, but strangely nothing has happened lately to it and I've been putting my legs under more strain than ever :noway:
  • CooperSprings
    CooperSprings Posts: 754 Member
    Pay attention to what direction your toes point while you walk.
    Mine go outwards more than they should.
    It causes many problems for me, the main of which you are describing on yourself.
  • 1capybara
    1capybara Posts: 162 Member
    i read wikipedia on "pronation of the foot" one of the symptoms is knee pain
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronation_of_the_foot
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
    I actually got into the orthopedic doctor yesterday. He took X-rays of both knees for comparison purposes, but did not take an MRI, so he can't tell for sure about any soft tissue damage, but he thinks I have some degenerative arthritis. I also have a bone spur at the base of my kneecap. He wants me to do some physical therapy and/or some exercises at home and then check again in six weeks. He wants me to strengthen my quad muscles and my core muscles, because he thinks that that will help with the tracking of my kneecap. He says I can continue my walking as tolerated, since he doesn't think I'm doing any further damage, though he did say that it will hurt. I guess we will see how it goes! :)
  • rowdylibrarian
    rowdylibrarian Posts: 251 Member
    Oh, and he said that they won't do anything about the bone spur unless I have surgery for some reason, and then they'd smooth it out or something. "Smoothing out" a bone sounds icky when you think of how they might have to do it. A nail file? Lol.

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