Time of Knee'd
As with many things new to me, I quickly find out that others have
BTDT. Two weeks ago my chronic knee pain progressed from mild to acute
and after hobbling around for a while I went to a doctor. In the hope
of finding a fix for this, I've been talking to anyone who will listen
to me in an attempt to learnt how to address knee pain. Yesterday it
dawned on me that I've heard quite a lot of varied advice. It seems
almost every third person I meet has knee pain (or some kind of joint
pain)... I thought maybe I'd compile what I've heard so far and maybe
get some comments and new info.
To start... my symptoms were pain and stiffness on the inner part of my
right knee. Stiffness would occur after sitting at a desk or
driving,and the pain would happen the day after exercise - eg walking
several miles. Once the pain progressed to acute I could not walk at
all in the morning (until my knee stretched out) and I could not walk
more than 100 yards at one time without sharp pain starting again.
The anecdotal diagnosis from people I spoke to were: a medial ligament, or a tendon issue. And the first suggestions were:
- Ice after activity
- Ibuprofin before and after activity
- A knee brace during activity
- Strengthening exercises
The doctor took X-rays and examined the knee. His diagnosis was early
signs of osteo-arthritis (actually not unusual amounts for my age) and
a possible tear of the meniscus.
His suggestion was to reduce my activity level,and once the pain
diminishes to do stretching and strengthening exercises --then
gradually attempt to increase activity again. To help, he injected my
knee with something (a corticosteroid I believe). However, he warned me
the the shot was temporary.
Well, the shot worked wonders! The acute pain was gone within hours and
4 days later the knee is better than it's been in years. The stretching
exercises seem to help a lot, however the strengthening exercises seem
to be designed for someone about 80 years old - so it's unclear what
they are really strengthening. Today I find myself wondering what will
happen when the magic shot wears off and what I can do short term and
long term. Here's the rest of the advice I've gotten so far from all
sources...
Some experience of others...
- Give the knee rest for 6 months and it may heal by itself
- Have surgery to remove the damaged part of the meniscus
- Don't over-do it based on the shot, use moderation in activity or pain will return fast
And the advice...
- Get a brace with magnets
- Get a brace with lateral supports
- Make sure I walk correctly heal to toe, and symmetrically
- Don't walk on hard surfaces (eg grass, not concrete)
- Take glucosamin
- Find a doctor who will shoot me up again when it hurts
- Don't get shot up again it's bad for me
- Change my diet - the acid in citrus is bad for my joints
- Use heat after activity
- Lose weight to reduce load on the knee
Well... that's all I've got for now. Time to do my knee exercises! More
ideas are welcome (no guarantee I'll take the advice, but the more
ideas I get the better).