Knee Pain

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  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    I can relate. I went to an orthopedic surgeon today after I had an M.R.I done. I thought I had torn my cartlidge, because my knee was irritated and swollen. When I am on my leg to long it hurts. I sit down to rest and give it time to feel better. Today the doctor told me my knee looked good. He thought I could of twisted my knee it the wrong way. He said to use an elliptical machine, walk, or swim until it feels better, and stop if it hurts. He said heat and ice is good to try. If nothing you do helps, I would talk to your doctor. I thought I had really hurt my knee. If I am still having problems after a few weeks, I am supposed to go back to my doctor. Good luck.

    ^THIS
    and my second surgery was more exploratory, as the MRI said my knee "looked fine" turns out I wasn't imagining the pain and I did have a 2nd tear parallel to the first tear.
  • pecarrick
    pecarrick Posts: 12 Member
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    bfeusner, Let me speak from very recent personal experience. I just walked for 30min one day with a CRAPPY pair of tennis shoes. I'm pretty athletic and not extremely overweight and no history of any kind of knee trouble on my right side, however after that ONE day in crappy shoes, I began to have the most severe pain I have ever felt - a 10 on the pain scale. However, the pain was sporadic & intermittent with no clear trigger movement. I 'pushed through' for three more weeks after the first pain, buying new shoes etc. All to no avail. So, I scheduled my self an appointment and landed my self with four weeks of NO exercise involving my lower body with the exception of physical therapy workouts. Plus, some meds to deal will the pain and inflammation. Diagnosis: Runner's Knee. Here's some info on it: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00382 OR http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/runners-knee

    First off I would recommend icing it at least three times a day at 15-30min segments. Ibuprofen twice daily - morning and night.
    Second: I would stay off of it completely except for daily living activities...the better care you take of it on the front end of the injury the quicker the healing process, the quicker you can get back at it.
    Third: If you have runner's knee you need to do stretching exercises and inner/outer thigh & hip strengthening exercises. Knee pain can sometimes be the result of weak thigh and hip muscles that need to be strong to hold your knee cap in place during movement.

    Good upper body exercises that I have been doing to get my heart rate up: fast sit-ups/crunches, followed immediately by push-ups, then immediately holding a plank ("thinker") position for at least 30sec. Also doing punches is a good way to get up the heart rate. I don't have a pool or access to one, or I would be doing that too probably. =/
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    Was it painful to touch your knee when it was torn...If I poke the spot of the pain it makes it five times as bad...Not sure it that helps pinpoint anything or not...

    YES, very painful! Mine hurts right next to the knee cap on the inside of the knee.
    I also had a partial MCL tear that resolved with some physical therapy, no surgery required, that too was very painful to poke!
  • moniquelessard
    moniquelessard Posts: 418
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    I've had knee pain in the past. The only things that have helped are stationary/spin biking (strengthens the muscles that support the knees), losing weight, aleve (to reduce inflammation during painful times).
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    I forgot to add, I ALWAYS ALWAYS do a warm up on a stationary bike for 10 minutes before beginning any workout.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    I recommend that you do lots of walking, let your knee heal and strengthen. Walking is great exercise and has many benefits and most importantly it's not hurting when you walk. Get to a doctor when you are able if it's still bothering you.
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    LOL one more thing... I wore a knee brace for 3 years, it was custom, and had to go to a prosthetic shop for them to do some measurements and build my brace. A regular sleeve brace might help just a little for now, but be sure you get the best treatment for your knees, there are many options out there.
  • catwomanclaws
    catwomanclaws Posts: 23 Member
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    Two years ago I could barely walk because of knee pain...I figured I had several choices.....give up and just not move around much, go to a doctor and see about surgery of some sort, or do something about it myself!!! I chose the latter and worked on strengthening my quad muscles (thighs). If you have access to a gym, do leg extensions and leg curls (for the back of your legs). Also do some calf raises. It will make a huge difference!
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    Any ideas of effective workout plans to build cardio that might help...I really want to rest it but am trying to train to walk/run a 5K on March 3 and hopefully walk/run a Half-Marathon in about 70 days!

    Treadmill - work your way up to an incline of 15% at a speed you can tolerate (build up to it gradually) for 3 minutes
    then slow down the speed to the lowest (I think it's 1.5) turn around and squat, walking backwards for 1 minute

    Do this 3x

    Also, when you're doing leg extensions, make sure your knee is not at a 90 degree angle or lower.
    You can do leg curls, abductions with ankle weights or cable resistance, ball squats, bridges on ball, bosu 1 leg squats, lunges, but just watch your form. :)
  • bfeusner
    bfeusner Posts: 66 Member
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    I do feel however that most of the pain is at the origin point for the MCL. The pain is near the bottom of my knee cap to the right near where the MCL originates on the Tibia. I will stick to just walking and trying to keep the knee rested. I appreciate all the ideas and support. I love my new MFP family!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    You recently started running, you only have a couple of weeks to train for a half-marathon, and your knee is injured. I would rethink the half-marathon. You could end up doing some major damage that could take months to heal. Knee pain is serious business. About 10 years ago, I injured my knee and just kept pushing through the pain until I got to the point that I was forced to stop running altogether. It was a few years later before I could finally run again. I'm fine now, but I DO NOT ignore pain and I know my limits. Rest and heal when you start to break down! It takes time to train properly for long-distance events! Give yourself a break and plan one further out into the future. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • sabinecbauer
    sabinecbauer Posts: 250 Member
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    So I really started on my new diet & exercise plan at the beginning of last week. I was trying to walk/run in some non-supportive shoes and by the end of the second day started having some knee pain. I went this past weekend and bought some great supportive running shoes to hopefully alleviate the knee pain. The problem however hasn't gotten any better and hurts in a very specific spot on the lower front inside of my knee. It hurts especially bad when I am running (not much pain when walking) and really hurts to the touch.

    Any ideas of effective workout plans to build cardio that might help...I really want to rest it but am trying to train to walk/run a 5K on March 3 and hopefully walk/run a Half-Marathon in about 70 days!

    Sounds to me as if you might have an inflammation where the ligament joins the muscle. The ever popular frozen pea bag is definitely a good idea, possibly anti-inflammatories. If you have a good physiotherapist, they might be able to help, too.
  • pecarrick
    pecarrick Posts: 12 Member
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    Also, here is a link on some re-hab type stretches you can do. Go get you a long stretchy band. Just doing the stretches my orthopedist gave me, twice daily, for a few days made all the difference. My knee already started feeling stronger.

    http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/PDFs/Rehab_Knee_6.pdf
  • bfeusner
    bfeusner Posts: 66 Member
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    You recently started running, you only have a couple of weeks to train for a half-marathon, and your knee is injured. I would rethink the half-marathon. It takes time to train properly for long-distance events! Give yourself a break and plan one further out into the future. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

    I am not by any means planning on trying to run the event. The plan was for it to be a very slow jog or walk. I have trained in the past and had 10+ mile training days to get ready to "run" a half-marathon. By walking I would allow myself to complete the event without as much training as running. It looks very likely that I will put it off especially if the pain doesn't subside. This would be my fourth half-marathon (although the last three were 5 years ago) so I do understand the training aspect.
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    get a foam roller too! It's saved me from further and newer injuries!
  • ruskmusic
    ruskmusic Posts: 20
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    Knee pain sucks, I have had it since middle school (basketball injury)
    Just remember no pain no gain :)

    The things I always have to do is...

    1. Pre- STRETCH before every workout, like a 20second hold each position, good stretching will decrease the amount of tight grinding in your joints.

    2. During- Don't push it. If it takes you longer to achieve your goals then that's just how it is. Patience is always better than being laid up for a week.

    3. Post- R.I.C.E. -Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation

    I always sit in a comfortable seat with my feet resting on an elevated surface right after, and I mean RIGHT after a workout involving legs. If I need to ice or compress I do but most of the time I don't. just get those legs up.

    Fav spot is on the couch with a couple pillows under my caffs and knees, nomming some protein and sipping a hot cup of green tea.

    Hope I helped :)
  • Abbey70
    Abbey70 Posts: 82 Member
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    Both times when I sprained my knee my PT had me do strengthening exercises which included thighs, hips and glutes. I had pain awhile after not doing PT anymore and once I started working out, strength training, walking and running, the pain went away. Not saying this will work for you because I don't know if there really is a problem that lies deeper. Try doing some strengthening of the above mentioned areas and see how that goes and start off with just walking and build yourself up. When I first started out running I used my knee brace and eventually used it less and less til I no longer was using it anymore.
    I have been slacking on my workouts and the knee pain is back but I also think its due to the fact that I am wearing shoes with no support to work and I am on my feet all day.
    Hope this helps but I also suggest seeing a doctor.
  • tenshiblue
    tenshiblue Posts: 150 Member
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    I too have trouble with knee pain. This was one of the main reasons why I stopped working out completely a couple of years ago. At the time I went to see an orthopedic surgeon, had an MRI. They didn't find any problem with my knee. I also went to see physical therapy. I wasn't really good about keeping up with their exercises either.

    The single most effective thing that worked for me is good knee brace/support. I now never workout without them. If I workout without knee brace, I can immediately tell the difference. Good luck with your knee problem. I hope you find something that works.

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