Knee Problems :(

Oh, Mansfield is a great area. My husband has family who live there. Very pretty and still a bit "country," which is rare around here.

Your pain sounds way worse than mine. Mine is more of a dull ache and my knee cap feels like it's so unstable and moving around all the time. Very creepy. I'm suspecting that, as a previous poster suggested, that it's an alignment thing. Have to love being a woman and having hips that don't align! When I had runner's knee back in '04, now that pain hurt like hell. I would prob. have begged for a shot then.

I will def. post after my appointment. Thanks for the good luck wishes. Back to ya!
 
I want to thank everyone that responded to this post. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one hindered by my stupid knees, and I'm not glad that you are in the same boat as I, but it's nice to have people to relate to.

I had no idea re: Orthopedist. Luckily one opened up right by my home. I shall check it out after work.
 
I second the thanks to those who have responded to this post.

I'm actually looking forward to my orthopedic appointment next week. I have all my questions ready. I guess I should have realized after 4 years that this knee issue isn't going to go away. Of course, it did go away when I was on a 3-4 month exercise hiatus!
 
The actual tearing of the ACL happened while I was skiing. That was pretty definable, but it wasn't torn all the way, so not diagnosed until 18 months later.

I actually skied on the torn ligament for a whole season. The biggest indicator of a problem was that my knee would pop out of alignment every once in a while (felt as gross as it sounds) and over the course of time got progressively weaker and would pop out more. The only time I ever felt much pain was when I tried to run on it. I also had some meniscus tearing in there that I believe was causing that.

I think Cathe's most recent knee surgery was for plica syndrome.
 
Dang, Gayle. That injury sounds so very painful. My sympathy! My problem sounds like nothing compared to some of the ones others have mentioned.

Are you back to normal now? Skiing again? I used to love to go skiing. Went a lot for about 4 years. Utah has the best snow, IMO, although Telluride had some great powder and runs. I loved to ski Alta, one of the best ski trips I've ever had.
 
Hi. I'm in Arlington and recently started suffering with a "new" knee pain in both knees. I let it go for over a month before deciding something was really wrong.

I have a constant dull ache under both kneecaps and sharp pains to the right and left sides of both knees. The pain is actually worse while sitting and of course jumping.

I went to Dr. Meister's office 2 weeks ago. I was a bit of a mystery for his office. According to them my knees are perfectly aligned, they track well, my quads and hamstrings are equally strong, I'm flexible etc. All they could tell me, even after x-rays, was that my cartilage is tender and swollen under both knees and that it must be from overuse. Not what I wanted to hear.

He gave me Naproxen and a referral to his PT facility. He told me to limit my activity to low impact things like swimming and biking. I dislike both. I have been limited to floorwork for lower body because lunges and squats kill me. I haven't seen much improvement yet. He told me to come back in a month if I was still having pain.

I was impressed with his office but I have yet to do the PT. I did a few months of it last year for a different problem and don't feel it necessary to go again.

I hope you can get some answers regarding your sudden onset of pain and that you like the Dr. If you're not satisfied with him, be sure to call Dr. Meister.

Best Wishes!

Michelle
 
Hope you find some answers with your knee problems. I tore my ACL and another tendon all the way...the pain was so bad I almost threw up and had the runs at the same time. Yuk. I had the surgery, this was way back in the late 90's, it was awesome, I was back up and running (literally) in a few months.

You are wise to consult a specialist, I only hope that they do not not find any rips or tears. However, please note that the surgery and the recovery while tedious and hard, are worth having a strong knee again!

On another note, I thrashed my hip and had it replaced last year, the best thing I have ever done. I cannot run anymore, but can do almost everything else.:7

You are not alone in your joint issues, it seems every morning I wake up with a new ache or pain.....good grief, exercise is good for you, but the way we all exercise, sometimes it can hurt too. Take care.:)
 
>I have a constant dull ache under both kneecaps and sharp
>pains to the right and left sides of both knees. The pain is
>actually worse while sitting and of course jumping.
>
>I went to Dr. Meister's office 2 weeks ago. I was a bit of a
>mystery for his office. According to them my knees are
>perfectly aligned, they track well, my quads and hamstrings
>are equally strong, I'm flexible etc.

Perfect alignment? I'm so jealous! :D Pain while sitting is apparently a big tip-off for chondromalacia. I saw Wall-e last week (adorable, btw!) but it was agonizing from beginning to end. Sitting with my knees bent always hurts, but there really is something about the angles of movie theatre seats. Anyway, by 'tender and swollen' do they mean that the cartilage has actually softened, or is it just irritated? (I'm not sure if there's actually a difference). Did they give you any specific reason for it, like osteoarthritis or something?

I've heard good things about hyaluronic acid injections, but I guess they take a while to kick in. Right now I have it in my G/C/MSM supplements, but I might ask my ortho about it since the grinding just drives me nuts.
 
>An injection? I've heard about people getting those. I am
>terrified of shots and will basicallly do anything not to get
>one. Gosh, I hope the doctor doesn't recommend that.

I had the exact opposite sentiment! I had asked my docs for cortisone injections, got the brush off- 6 weeks later was seeing an ortho and within minutes he was offering me cortisone injections in both knees. Yes, please! I had been on prednisone for a over a month by then with no improvement (ortho was not pleased with that, he says 7-10 days MAX with prednisone). Within 24 hrs I noticed a huge improvement. Of course cortisone might not apply to your situation, but wow, I am so glad I got those shots!

Nadja
 
Yes, I got back on my skis this past season. :) I was able to ski the same terrain (bumps) I used to just fine, but I did find that the leg that had the surgery would tire quicker than the good one. That was expected as it takes a long time for the strength to get back.

I skied several areas in Utah back in 1999. Loved it!!! :D
 
>Nadja- Sounds like you know exactly how I feel! Your road to
>finding answers must have been so frustrating. Acupuncture in
>your elbows? Crap! Best of luck back to you with your knee
>problems. Who would have thought that step workouts could be
>so anti-knee?!
>
>You mentioned that you're still doing the PT. What exactly are
>you doing? Can you do any cardio- walk, kickbox? Any lower
>body weight workouts?

I'm not doing any cardio yet :(, since walking is still unpleasant. I'm actually going to be asking my ortho next week about that. I'm not really sure, am I supposed to wait until the pain completely goes away, or work out anyway as long as the pain doesn't get too much worse? Since my problem's alignment, my PT is basically a crapload of medial quad work (isometric stuff, leg raises, *whoohoo*), and stretching everything else.

I'm also supposed to do glute/hip work. My PT was showing me a move with a band around my ankles, lifting my leg to the side. I'm thinking, seriously, am I supposed to feel anything here? Thank you firewalkers!

I've just started doing parts of the B&G floorwork. My knees pop in and out when they bend, so I skip the hamstring rollins- I actually just hold it like a reverse plank. For the 'famous pizza presses' I put my abdomen on a ball so I don't have to be on my knees. I think it might be a little harsher on the lower back, but I just make sure I'm careful with it. And abs, abs, abs! I've just never liked doing abs, so I figure this is the time to really get those in the best shape possible.

My mom claims to have a Nordictrack ski machine somewhere in her attic. I plan on dusting that off and using it for cardio (we'll have to see how cardiocoach works with that, eh?). I've heard you can get them pretty cheap these days ($30 or so used) since they're not that popular anymore. A lot of folks seem to like the elliptical machine, but for me I think the bending/up and down motion wouldn't be a good idea. I hope to kickbox again eventually, but not until my knees actually feel good in general.

Hey, at least we have knees, right? I try to remind myself of that a lot. Let us know what happens with the ortho, take care!
 
Tneah- Wow! You've been through a lot for someone so young. A hip replacement and ACL surgery?! Dang! It's motivating to see someone like yourself who still works out and is healthy after so much frustration. Many people would just say "screw it." I remember reading some of your posts regarding your hip problems, and although you seemed frustrated, I could tell that you are a fighter and would continue on the fitness journey. So, kudos to you!

Gayle- So great to hear that you can ski now. You're making me want to get back into it. I go through my phases. It was skiing, then water sports, then tennis, then running....

Nadja- Thanks for info. on the cortisone shots. The truth is that I'm not going to stop trying to stay healthy. It just does too much for my mental health (figured that out this year!), so I have to do whatever it takes to get my knee working properly again. I'm happy that you seem to have some relief.
 
>
>I had the exact opposite sentiment! I had asked my docs for
>cortisone injections, got the brush off- 6 weeks later was
>seeing an ortho and within minutes he was offering me
>cortisone injections in both knees. Yes, please! I had been on
>prednisone for a over a month by then with no improvement
>(ortho was not pleased with that, he says 7-10 days MAX with
>prednisone). Within 24 hrs I noticed a huge improvement. Of
>course cortisone might not apply to your situation, but wow, I
>am so glad I got those shots!
>
>Nadja


My doc would only do 1 cortisone shot. He said too many weaken the tendons and I would end up with a torn tendon, which would not be good. I had mine for tendinitis. Maybe it depends on what its for and where they inject it? It also didn't do any good.

Nan
 
>>I have a constant dull ache under both kneecaps and sharp
>>pains to the right and left sides of both knees. The pain is
>>actually worse while sitting and of course jumping.
>>
>>I went to Dr. Meister's office 2 weeks ago. I was a bit of a
>>mystery for his office. According to them my knees are
>>perfectly aligned, they track well, my quads and hamstrings
>>are equally strong, I'm flexible etc.
>
>Perfect alignment? I'm so jealous! :D Pain while sitting is
>apparently a big tip-off for chondromalacia. I saw Wall-e last
>week (adorable, btw!) but it was agonizing from beginning to
>end. Sitting with my knees bent always hurts, but there really
>is something about the angles of movie theatre seats. Anyway,
>by 'tender and swollen' do they mean that the cartilage has
>actually softened, or is it just irritated? (I'm not sure if
>there's actually a difference). Did they give you any specific
>reason for it, like osteoarthritis or something?
>
>I've heard good things about hyaluronic acid injections, but I
>guess they take a while to kick in. Right now I have it in my
>G/C/MSM supplements, but I might ask my ortho about it since
>the grinding just drives me nuts.
>
The Dr. told me the cartilage was inflamed and my knees are tender to the touch in certain spots where he put pressure on them. He didn't give me a specific reason and chalked it up to overuse. However, I don't feel like I do too much for my knees. I'm a moderate exerciser. Ususally 45-60 minutes 6x a week with variety. I've been following his orders to rest them as much as possible. I am still doing low-impact floor cardio (no access to a pool or bike), upper body weights and floorwork. I haven't noticed any improvement. ;( I will be going back for a follow-up appointment. Were you diagnosed with chondromalacia? I'm off to look it up. Thanks!
 
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