knee trouble

[karen]

Hi,has anyone on here struggled with knee trouble?My right knee is holding me back.Whenever I try to squat over 100 lb.or try regular deadlifts,carry a box of stuff downstairs etc.I get a twinge of sharp pain and soreness afterward that lasts for days.Sometimes when I least suspect it.It is right under my kneecap and underneath between the bottom of the kneecap and the bone of the joint.Sometimes I can pop it by holding my knee and bending it and it seems to releive it.Sometimes I feel a little snapping as I ride the bike like something is catching under the knee cap.It is frustrating to have to squat 85 and go higher rep to avoid pain when you know 200 is possible.I`m just glad I have good genetics as far as legs but still would love to squat heavier.Any ideas besides the obvious go to a knee doctor?Karen

[TrishB]

Oh those knee problems.....they just keep getting worse and worse the older we get. :(

Sounds like you may have torn the cartlidge. The tear is probably minor.....you would really know it if you had torn it right thru.
Best advice....rest for awhile. Do not do any squats!
The worse thing you can do is to try to "work it out"

It will get better...but give it some time.
Take glucosamine to help with the dailyaches and pains.

Good luck!

[bufchk]

http://www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/opectoc.html


Go here for some info I think I actually found out what my knee problem could be even though I'll still go to a doctor :)

[Batgirl]

Karen, what you are describing is definitely worth taking to a doctor but perhaps a doctor of a different sort. A number of years ago I really screwed up my knee and had this cracking popping sound in it.

My knees were bad from playing catcher as a kid and a bicycle accident. (Then I messed up the other knee with a compression injury in a car accident - never prop your left foot up anywhere in a car while you're driving!)

Needless to say the development of the cracking noise was scary. The noise seemingly came out of nowhere. Luckily I was going to a chiropractor/kinesiologist at the time. He was able to fix my knee in a couple of accupressure type treatments.

We had to have the knee x-rayed though because the possibility of floating bone chips had to be eliminated.

A chiropractor concentrates on the bones, a kinesiologist concentrates on the whole body as machine - muscles, nerves, glands and everything. A doc who does both is usually great.

You can read more about this science at: http://www.kinesiology.net/

After you have eliminated the idea that you may have something seriously wrong with your knee, I have found supplements to do a very good job maintaining the health of weak joints.

So far I have used flax oil 1000 mg a day
and Glucosamine 1500 mg

The Glucosamine is a demented "horse pill" at that size but it seems to work. I'll do anything to keep the insides of my knee joints feeling slick. When I don't take these pills I really feel a diference.

Perhaps one day I'll have to be like Steve Austin and become the $6 million dollar woman and get new knees, but until then - these pills keep me going.

The next thing I'm looking at is Collagen Type II (from chickens). I haven't taken it yet and I have a post in the supplements about it. It's supposed to have a much better absorption rate than shark cartilige (which is also used for joints).

Good luck - get yourself to a chiropractor.