Knees are going!

I've been getting a slight twinge under my right kneecap for the past couple of months. Sometimes it's just a niggling minor pain, but on other days it can be a struggle to walk to the end of the road without suffering some discomfort. Now my left knee has now joined the party, being slightly troublesome in the same area.

Went to see the doc today and he says I'm slightly overweight, and although he understands I carry a fair amount of muscle and the only slightly fatty area is on my belly, he says the problem will still be the same - too much stress on the knees. I'm getting a call from a physio tomorrow and we'll see how things go on from there. My diet is 'okay', but there is room for improvement. I have trained my legs with heavy weights for years and I do feel that this is the result of overdoing it.

It's very annoying that years and years of exercising to keep oneself fit sometimes backfire on you and cause the joints to complain in such a way as to penalise you for training regularly - whether you're overweight by being fat or muscular. It doesn't make any difference.

Has anybody else suffered with their knees in a similar way? Have you found any particular exercises which suppress this problem at all? And if you exercise the legs especially, have you decided to ease off dramatically to the point of stopping any exercise for the legs completely?

Re: Knees are going!

Hi

A different problem to you Floydy, I have a damaged knee.

The advice from the docs is however, very simple, lose weight, it is weight which puts the strain one.

The physios had me doing exercises in a pool, it did help.

Re: Knees are going!

My ex,Karen, has terrible problems with her knees and has had 1 replaced but it didn't work do they wouldn't do the other one. She has terrible problems walking and it affects everything she does.
She thinks it all started when we had the baby and she always used to kneel on the floor to change or bath him.

Re: Knees are going!

Could it be cartilage? Slight pain around the knee-and sometimes really sodding painful? Been there. You may have to wait weeks for a referral if it is and then hey ho-a small opp and no pain

Re: Knees are going!

I knew a guy who was a runner , he ran daily on pavements and grass thinking he was doing his body good . At 50 he had to have 2 new hips . I think too much excercise can damage your health and damage joints . I look at the runners today and wonder about their health when older .

Re: Knees are going!

It could be the start of arthritis Floydy.
You need to get them x-rayed to find out.

Re: Knees are going!

You can build as much muscle as you like, but you can't build extra cartilage in your joints. It's not rocket science mate, wear and tear wears out joints and as for cartilage, when it's gone it's gone, so lose weight and cut down on the exercise to eke out the little you have left.....

Re: Knees are going!

Never mind Floydy .you will always have an active mind even if you get aches and pains.

I can no longer do Cartwheels with my ancient body!!

I have friends of 75 years, who have had knee surgery and now they are running round like two year olds

Re: Knees are going!

Sorry to hear about your painful knees Folydy, I might regret saying this, but I've been a runner for over forty years and never had any problems with my knees, but in all that time I've never weighed above eleven stone. In my opinion it doesn't matter what you do (barring accidents) if you're going to get things like arthritis, you will get it anyway. All you can do is try to alleviate the pain for as long as possible. Like Barry says, wear and tear can and does take it's toll. If it's just soft tissue damage it might just respond to resting them for a while. And avoid getting down on your knees, something I've always tried to avoid. Elasticated support bandages (Tubigrip) will help to take the pressure off them while at work....Good luck Floydy.

Re: Knees are going!

Yes these hobbies we indulge in do-have unforeseen effects in later life, as does our work. I was a late starter into my disciplines, too late as my body had sort of set leaving me to rely on strength more than flexibilty that was required.

This left me behind those that had started younger and could twist and turn faster than i could. Still have damaged joints in my arms, hands and shoulders from my archery and kendo days, often caused by pushing personal barriers in the hope of higher grades.

Perhaps instructors should be more proactive in students performance, i was shocked when asked to judge a under 8 judo competition at the attitude of attending parents screaming at the kids to win many of whom had tears in their eyes.

But as said these things can damage us in the long term,. and lifting heavy weights is hard on the back and knees, good luck Floydy lets hope treatment can be effective.