Knee joint pain

[Edible Roadkill]

Knees always feel a bit achy and have for a while now.

I'm aged 36

Don't exercise excessively, but do a bit - look after myself, a light gym user and take daily vitamins etc

Never been much of a runner or footballer or anything that could explain excessive wear on joints.

An older friend mentioned cartilage problems and surgery he had to have to trim it. Maybe it's this I'm suffering.

Anyone recommend a good supplement to take that may help? I already take omega 3 and glucosamine sulfate, as well as multivitamins.

[IanJ9375]

Go see your doctor would be my advice, I tore a cartilage when I was 14 apart from when it used to "lock" on me there was no pain or discomfort, also had that Osgood Schlatts (sp?) condition that happens to teens who do lots of sports whilst having growth spurts. The only time I get any pain is when I sit with my knees at an angle, suggest you try and study how you have your knees in work see if you can spot anything that might be causing it.

Also consider if the excercise you do currently is low impact or not, I found as I got older that 5-a-side which I had used to do 2/3 times a week used to cause enough pain that I was doing it once a week and it was still sore/stiff few days later - put that one down to age and increase in weight with age which compounded it!

[technodup]

Edible Roadkill said:

An older friend mentioned cartilage problems and surgery he had to have to trim it. Maybe it's this I'm suffering.

Anyone recommend a good supplement to take that may help? I already take omega 3 and glucosamine sulfate, as well as multivitamins.

You want to self diagnose and self medicate based on some old guy and randoms on a forum?

Go to a doctor ffs.

I'm 40, have arthritis in most of my major joints including knees and hips, have seen endless doctors and nobody has ever suggested supplements.

[Edible Roadkill]

LOL yeah you're both probably right regarding seeing the Dr, truth is I've only been to the Dr once in my adult life about 15yrs ago when I was diagnosed with the mumps. I guess I like to do a bit of research as with anything else and I can talk myself out of Dr visits for something minor.

Just wondered if anyone has suffered the same.

[Edible Roadkill]

IanJ9375 said:

Also consider if the excercise you do currently is low impact or not, I found as I got older that 5-a-side which I had used to do 2/3 times a week used to cause enough pain that I was doing it once a week and it was still sore/stiff few days later - put that one down to age and increase in weight with age which compounded it!

I've cut out the small amount of running I used to do on a treadmill.

I've mountain biked on & off for years but not often or excessively.

For the past 12 months since i done an ankle ligament (drunk - stairs) I've not done cardio just weights.

I'm not a fatty or anything.

So no heavy impact sports or exercise.

[Jockman]

Had an arthroscopy on both knees in my 30s. Excessive football, rugby cross country and athletics in my youth seemed to have taken its toll.

Pop in to see your doctor. No harm in that, seeing as you’ve already paid for the advice. You’d be surprised how many times they’ve seen your symptoms. Could be a minor solution.

[IanJ9375]

Edible Roadkill said:

I've cut out the small amount of running I used to do on a treadmill.

I've mountain biked on & off for years but not often or excessively.

For the past 12 months since i done an ankle ligament (drunk - stairs) I've not done cardio just weights.

I'm not a fatty or anything.

So no heavy impact sports or exercise.

At least you can go to the doctors with an appreciation for avoiding any particular knee stress, hopefully they will help you out

[gazapc]

Also, consider a physio (either private or NHS). Obviously every case is different but I've kept on top of various hip issues with this. At 40ish quid a pop it's good value and means I can be seen fairly quickly.

[The_Doc]

Supplements aren't proven to do anything for knees

Most good sports physios know more about knees than GPs (GPs have much broader knowledge of all medicine)

You can't diagnose with MRI alone, so don't.

Forum advice is useful, but ultimately very very untargeted

[millen]

There are plenty of online resources describing knee problems and solutions eg http://www.kneeclinic.info/knee_problems.php and http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/ (which has a lively forum under 'Communities').
As others have said, the key is to get a proper diagnosis first - for which a physio or GP is your best bet. And yes, glucosamine and other snake oil is for most people no more than a placebo, despite the marketing spend. There was a government study published a few years ago (GAIT report??) which looked at the clinical evidence for many 'cures' and found minimal evidence of efficacy.

[hyphen]

Strengthing the area around is always a good idea. Do stretches, calf raises, yoga etc.
.

[768]

gazapc said:

Also, consider a physio (either private or NHS). Obviously every case is different but I've kept on top of various hip issues with this. At 40ish quid a pop it's good value and means I can be seen fairly quickly.

This. You might be able to self refer into the NHS physio locally to sort circuit the process, otherwise a private one will likely see you much sooner and be able to give you more time, etc. Either should send you back to a GP if necessary.

[croyde]

I went to my GP ages ago about a knee problem. I twisted it and it's played up ever since.

He sent me to a specialist after an MRI but they couldn't find a problem and just gave me exercises to do and told me to do more cycling.

Now it's worse than ever.

It started just being a problem on downhills when out walking and I took to using a stick to help.

Now I can walk for miles on the flat but as soon as there is a slope up or down, even the mildest one, it hurts. Mainly on the outer side of my right knee.

Stairs in my house are a mare and I'm in the attic on the 2nd floor and driving is fine whilst doing it but as soon as I'm parked, it's difficult to walk on.

I'm 56, well within the correct BMI and quite fit.

Any ideas before I try my GP again. Ta.

[TwistingMyMelon]

croyde said:

I went to my GP ages ago about a knee problem. I twisted it and it's played up ever since.

He sent me to a specialist after an MRI but they couldn't find a problem and just gave me exercises to do and told me to do more cycling.

Now it's worse than ever.

It started just being a problem on downhills when out walking and I took to using a stick to help.

Now I can walk for miles on the flat but as soon as there is a slope up or down, even the mildest one, it hurts. Mainly on the outer side of my right knee.

Stairs in my house are a mare and I'm in the attic on the 2nd floor and driving is fine whilst doing it but as soon as I'm parked, it's difficult to walk on.

I'm 56, well within the correct BMI and quite fit.

Any ideas before I try my GP again. Ta.

Id see a decent Physio , you might have to try a couple, as Ive found some better than others

They will be able to assess it and advise

If you are lucky it could be cured with exercises/stretching etc, if not they can give you advice on what to do/where to go next

Ironically the best physio I saw was on the NHS, he was very knowledgeable and spent over an hour testing every element of my knee, shame it took me 6 months of waiting to see him, where as I could get a private appointment with a different physio in a week