Will my knee pain ever go?
(8 discussions)
Hi. I’ve been told that I have anterior knee pain and have been doing physio for 4 months. Although I can now bend my knee through the pain area it’s still not pain free and a week away from doing my physio excercises leaves me with real pain once more. Is anyone else in the same situation or can anyone give me some good advice. I find having to do daily physio difficult to fit into my routine and I’m realy frustrated by the fact that I can no longer do the moderate sports that I used to be able. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I find the situation very upsetting…. Thank you.
8 comments
vik_a
Thanks for all of the advice concerning glucosamine – I’ll be visiting my health-food store on my next trip to town for sure.
Also, sorry to bother everyone again, but over the weekend I played in a netball tournament. My “bad” knee was tucked in my thermasupport all weekend and no problems there – in fact it all went very well. However, this morning my other knee (still mal-tracks but not as badly as the other does) has swollen up slightly and feels just a bit tight, so that I can’t quite bend it up properly. I didn’t injury it over then weekend or anything but it swells sometimes when I do a lot of sport or walking about. (It used to sometimes do this when I used to waitress during my Uni holidays) Is there any reason for this? Have I sort of blistered behind my knee-cap or something? And is there anything I can do to prevent this? It seems odd that this should happen after all the excercise is weel and truly over and not immediately afterwards.
Any ideas?
Vik
fox
Glucosamine is great, its actually the precusor to one of the building blocks for hyaline cartilage, the theory goes that if youve got more supplies then you will have an easier time maintaining and building the cartilage. I even know of orthopedic surgeons recommending it! Its also a powerful analgesic, that is ok to take long term.
Two things i have found to be careful of is stay away from the cheap stuff, there are different qualities of glucosamine, so if you have alot of the bad stuff, its not going to do the job, get the good stuff! also stay away from chondrotian sulfate, your body only absorbs about 10%, making it damn expensive. Also check out some MSM combos with the glucosamine, they are showing even more promise!
jj
Theveryearlybird
I would definitely recommend the consumption of Glucosamine Sulphate as an aid to all joints and connective tissue. I really have noticed a difference in the last four months with regard to my ankles after taking 1000mg a day. One thing to consider is not only your health and well being at present, but look to the future……By protecting yourself now and preventing as much ‘wear and tear’ on your joints, it is very much advisable to start consuming glucosamine sulphate which will help with such joint associated problems in later life. Glucosamine sulphate is relatively inexpensive for the amount of relief that can be achieved. However, I found that it takes a couple of weeks for the effects to occur, but it is well worth the wait. I believe that it should be considered an invaluable supplement, not only for athletes, but for general health and well being for all people.
sarah_g91
Hi,
From what I can gather about Glucosamine it is a substance that occurs naturally in the body and helps maintain and heal joints, particularly cartilige. If you take it, then obviously you will have it in a higher quantity in your body so it will do more.
(I don’t know much about it, so I am sure if I have said anything wrong someone will correct it!!!!!)
My sister is taking it for her knees and she can see a difference.
Sarah.
vik_a
Thanks for the reply.
I’ve actually got a therma support for my knee at the moment. Sounds a bit contrary to logic but it actually seems to help having something holding the knee stable, which should theoretically hold the knee cap in closer contact and maybe cause more pain. Thanks for the idea about glucosamine – but what is it supposed to do exactly in the body? Does any one know? Or has anyone seem an appreciable difference whilst using it?
Thanks for any advice
Vik
fox
rough cartilage under the patella sounds like chondromalacia patella, try a knee brace with patellar cut out to help with the tracking, and some glucosamine to help out the cartilage. check with the pharmacy about the glucosamine befor taking incase it interacts with meds your using already.
vik_a
Thanks for the information. My knee pain is caused due to rough cartilage under the knee cap itself due to mal-tracking of my knee cap over several years. Not really a lot I can do about it, except try to get it to track as well as it will and keep it moving. Sometimes I can get both my knees working really well and then all of a sudden they can swell or cause pain – even if I haven’t done anything to them!
My only problem is that I love playing netball and can’t bear to be off sports like that for good. So do you think it will do me any harm to just keep going and ease off when it causes me pain?…..
Any advice would be great.
Thanks,
Vik
runnerchick
What is the condition that is causing your anterior knee pain? It could be a number of things, patellofemoral problems, bursitis, chartilage or meniscal damage, ect.
Regardless of what is causing the pain, I would still probably recommend pretty much the same thing. It would probably be best if you stopped doing the activity that is causing the pain–such as running or biking–for a few weeks if you haven’t already. Continuing to do such activities will only agrivate your knee further. I would also consider asking your physio if ultrasound would help. One of my friends had problems with her medial meniscus and this gave her some relief.
Make sure that you are still doing your physical therapy exercises on a regular basis as it sounds as if they are helping. You should probably ice your knee after doing these exercises for 15-20 minutes to reduce any infammation that may have occured.
Hope this helps!
runnerchick