two completely unrelated questions!

[kristen]

Hi everyone--may be a sign of how disjointed my brain is these days, but I was hoping to get info from any of you who know on these two completely unrelated topics.

First is I'd love a recommendation on a good brush for my Labrador Retriever. I have a wire brush, and that works OK but seems like overkill in a way--it's not like her coat is wiry or hard to get the brush through. Does anyone else have a Lab and found a brush or type of brush that you and your dog really like?

Second is a knee question (for myself, not the dog ). I periodically experience pain in my knees. It's located in the tendons (or ligaments?) on the inside of the knees (I mean right before the inner thigh starts) and I think it's basically getting inflamed from time to time, especially if I do squats. Does anyone have stretches you'd recommend for this part of the knee? And just any good general stretches for the knee area as a whole?

Thanks to you all! Kristen

 

[purple_magada]

Hi Kristen. I don't know the name of the brush that we had for our lab so I"ll just describe it. It was wire, oval shaped and had a lot of sharp teeth. Kinda reminded you of peeling a carrot when you brushed him. It really did help to get rid of the excess hair (which he had a lot of). Unfortunately we had to give him away (our yard was too small - he's now on a 86 acre farm).

Sorry but I have no experience with the knee pain. Hopefully someone else will.

 

[endorphin_junkie]

Hi Kristen, I'll take a shot at your second question

The tendinous insertion at the inside of the knee is called the 'pes anserine' insertion which literally means goose foot. Three muscles insert here, sartorious (flexes the knee, adducts the thigh and externally rotates the hip as in crossing one leg over the other)gracilis (flexes the knee and adducts the thigh), and semitendinosous (one of the 3 heads of hamstrings). There is a bursae at this site to reduce internal friction which may very well be the source of your inflammation after squatting. Ice is a great first course of action with any inflammation. Next time it gets inflammed try a cold pack over it for about 15 minutes 3 separate times that day. Stretches that oppose the action of these muscles will also help, so hamstring stretches, quad stretches with a tucked pelvis and inner thigh stretches. Don't stretch right after you ice it though, warm up with large range of motion movement through the knee and hip before you stretch. HTH

Take Care
Laurie

 

[forever39]

Try taking a glucosamine supplement daily to help with joint/knee problems. It's worked wonders for me!! I take it daily.

 

[kristen]

thanks to all three of you for your help! I really appreciate it and will give these ideas a try. Happy Friday to you all! Kristen