Losing weight would be a hell of a lot easier than going through knee replacement surgery and subsequent rehab.
I would not google knee exercises and start doing anything without consulting a medical professional. You don’t want to end up worse than you started. Use that googling time to instead schedule an appt.
I am not an expert but I have watched dozens of people at the pool rehab their arthritic knees - even people who had stairlifts and are now fine. They all swear by the water - water aerobics mainly - for relieving arthritis symptoms. Swimming would probably help, too, but I personally think that impact is important. The water blunts the impact but it’s still there and it will strengthen.
Judging by my observations of this and very heavy people and very thin people who’ve strengthened their knees, the weight argument lacks merit.Your problem is not so much your weight, it’s a lack of strength and probably lack of exercise. My knees are pretty iron and never hurt but if they get kind of weak what is bugging them are sitting for long periods of time and failing to do squats every once in awhile.
My next statement will be more controversial. I also think the more supportive shoes you wear, the more destabilizing it is for your leg and foot muscles. The weaker your feet are, the more your knees and hips have to contort to stabilize your gait. Make your feet strong by going barefoot or wear shoes with minimal support and it will lessen the pressure on your knees and hips. The only authentic arch support comes from your own muscles. Start doing foot strengthening exercises like picking up a handkerchief with your toes. Balance on one foot (if it’s not dangerous for you to do so). Walk barefoot. Etc.
@mamom I’m in the same boat - have actually got torn meniscuses (menisci?) on both sides of the right knee as well as “advanced osteoarthritis” in the part of the knee that DOESN’T hurt - go figure. Having the orthoscopy in 9 days to clean out the torn parts and smooth the arthritic part. My knee and been hurting on the outside and getting stiff for months and I finally broke down and had it looked at. The dr. ordered an MRI right away. I disagree with what @BunsenBurner said that the dr would be unlikely to order an MRI - they need to know what is going on before ordering PT as they don’t know what the exact issue is yet.
It depends on many factors. Age, too. OP says she is approaching 50, so on the younger side here. If the pain persisted for months, that is a clear sign that PT might not be the right choice. OP says it only hurts during some activity and the pain only began recently. She did not point to a clear traumatic event that could have caused it. My bet in this situation PT will be first prescription, but obviously, it will be up to the doc. Mine sent me out to PT which was awesome.
My doc said that many people live and die with osteoarthritis without experiencing joint pain… so it really depends on the joint mechanics and the strength of the surrounding muscles and yes, tears.
I would start with trip to doctor. Even primary care person can recommend you for rehab and they will teach you what to do and help you strengthen muscles. No need to wait until In bad pain until you look for help. If you don’t want to go dr route some PTs also do training or have people in their place that do private training. That was case in one place I went and the trainer often.
Just to be clear, my recommendations were confused because I thought you said you had arthritis. I misread.
For now, especially because the knee gets better with rest. RICE and doctor. You injured yourself. You may not need rehab but you still need to get it checked out if its buckling on stairs. No reason to make this a head injury, too.
The buckling needs to be checked out. However, keep moving, walk, bike, etc. If you want strengthening, biking is a great exercise.
I had meniscus tears in each knee, and had arthroscopic removal, back when my kids were young, in my early 30s. Post surgery I was warned that arthritis shows up in 15 to 20 years. 30 years later, I am fine, so far. My knees felt a bit scary and unstable for a number of years afterwards, but when those kids were finally old enough to bike, and I could bike a good deal, all cleared up. I have a bit of creakiness at rising from the floor, but good range of motion, no pain and no loss of function. I bike in season, walk a few miles several times per week, climb stairs as a quick work out at work, and all is good. I could stand to loose weight, but am committed to keeping these knees well supported by muscle.
@Creekland , there isn’t a person on this thread, regardless of credentials, myself included, that can give sound recommendations about the diagnosis of your condition or safe and effective rehab. The knee is a very complicated joint. It could be so many things, from skeletal issues, mechanical joint interface issues, to soft tissue tears, to muscular imbalances and compensations that could be exacerbated by excess weight and body composition, to diseases of aging (sorry, lol). There’s no way you will know without going to an orthopod who will evaluate you and if appropriate order an MRI (although, @BunsenBurner is right that you may have to jump through some less costly hoops first, depending on your insurer and your doc’s proclivities). Until then, it’s real simple. If it hurts, don’t do it. If it feels inflamed, elevate and ice it for 20 minutes to help reduce inflamation and pain. Get a knee wrap from your local drugstore to assist a bit with joint stability when walking. RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
I messed up my right knee with 2 minutes on a teeter totter and a 2 yr old. I did PT and cortisone shots. A friend recommended an acupuncturist who had helped them with a sever back situation. I thrived under this China trained acupuncturist who is also a licensed MD. I went weekly for about 6 weeks and then every other. Turned everything around and I am doing quite well.
I think it’s clear it could also be nothing more than temporary incident. OP asked about preventing worse. She didn’t describe something that needs an immediate ortho visit. Maybe not one ar all. No limping home, etc. Her primary can get her to a PT. Or yes, an exercise bike.
I couldn’t agree more with @MichaelNKat . I work as an X-ray tech for a large Orthopedic Practice and have seen it all over the years. Many of the problems (as previously covered above) are from being overweight and out of shape. Age catches up with all of us and no one escapes osteoarthritis.
Conservative treatment always to start. PT is great if people take it seriously. Steroid injections are also terrific, but only give short term (3-6 months) relief. Visco supplementation (gel shots) are hit or miss IMHO and expensive if not covered by your insurance. Next some people might have a “knee scope” done to trim a torn meniscus and scrape some of the arthritis. These surgeries seem to be a little more effective in middle age folks.
Last resort is a knee replacement these tend to have a long recovery time with stiffness, swelling and minor pain for up to a year for some. Everyone should avoid surgery if they can or put it off for as long as you can. My two cents.
Let’s see, knee giving away coming down steps, pain on turns when walking on flats, family history of knee issues. Yeah, “It’s just a flesh wound” says the Black Night.
Best advice for short term. If RICE doesn’t help, then see your ortho doc or GP if you need a referral. Long term, lose weight. No it’s not easy, but gravity is real.
Well, even if RICE helps, I would still go to the doc. Alleviation of symptoms is not the same as determing and addressing causation.
I agree with the recommendations for RICE, seeing your physician and PT if necessary. I think losing weight would also be beneficial. You frequently mention the inability to exercise when you’re with your mother as an obstacle to weight loss. While exercising is beneficial, I think diet is far more important. Just my 2 cents. I hope you see a medical professional soon.
I think most experts feel diet is about 80 percent of weight loss.
The number one thing that strengthens a joint is strengthening the muscles that support the joint. I would google knee exercises and try some once you have ruled out a medical problem.
Interesting read this morning. Food for thought. Today (so far) all seems fine. That’s typical, so I’m not sure it’s an immediate need to see a doctor. Boiling it down, my main concern is the buckling on stairs when it happens. Since it’s an out of the blue thing, I’m not always prepared for it. Last time at my mom’s I almost fell. That’s a wee bit scary.
I think catching myself with that incident pulled a muscle (med school lad told me which one - starts with a G if I recall correctly and is below the knee). It hurt for a day, then got better overnight, but I believe it’s the same one that got hurt in the classroom yesterday because the pain was in the same area and I haven’t had more issues with steps in the past 2 or 3 days.
Otherwise, I’m stymied. I’m used to things either being there or not - especially “mechanical” things. The vision issues from my brain tumor are always there. They don’t vary. I have a heel that hurts. It always hurts and needs cushioning. It doesn’t come and go. If something is wrong with the knee, one would think it would always react the same way rather than being fine for so long, then not, then back to fine. The extra pulled muscle (or whatever) is probably a one off thing - given enough time I would like to think it would totally fix itself. Something about that turn in the classroom re-irritated it I suppose. Rest fixed it (again).
Regarding some other aspects…
I am an active person - hence, not wanting to lose activity as my sister and mom did with major issues. I can’t fathom life without motion. This certainly isn’t an issue of inactivity. When I talk with my mom and sister about health things, so much seems to be genetic from mom’s side - everything from menopause issues to little details like needing extra salt and not being able to tolerate iron supplements. I had assumed their knee problems were mechanical and theirs due to their lifestyle (sis works for Fed Ex, mom messed hers up traveling and tripping on a sidewalk). Sis told me hers had times of pain prior to a complete separation tear. Now I’m wondering if I’m at that “stage” and if things can be strengthened while it’s still mostly good to avoid the rest of it happening. I’ve been able to avoid diabetes that runs in my family (both of them and more) by my diet differences or at least that’s what I’m giving credit to. Can I avoid this?
Diet is certainly the reason I gain weight at my mom’s. I never get hungry (supposedly a side effect of radiation). At home I eat accordingly (aka not much and usually healthy). At my mom’s she believes in 3 meals per day - often take out and rarely healthy. There’s a ton more calories coming in even when I try not to eat much. Couple that with less than a third of my typical exercise. Weight comes on at the rate of roughly 3/4lb per day. Fortunately at home it comes back off. We just returned Monday and I’ve only one more lb to go to get to my pre-mom’s weight - then ten - fifteen more to go to my desired weight that I used to be at prior to her cancer diagnosis. I doubt it’s the extra weight causing this.
I’ve never been a barefoot person - not even on the beach unless the sand is very smooth with no shells. My feet are tender and without decent arch support I get shin splints. Such has been life since my young youth. Now I certainly can’t go barefoot. My right heel wouldn’t let me walk far without sock/decent shoe cushioning. (No clue what that cause is either - probably age - but it’s an easy work around.) It would surprise me if my choice of footwear were the cause. (Keens or hiking boots for hiking, decent walking sneakers for home - not Keds, nicely cushioned flats for work.)
If I’m home the next time my knee buckles with the pain (from that part vs the pulled muscle) lasting, we do have a walk in ortho clinic I could see about going to. Seems odd to go there when all is fine. I’ll see how long “fine” lasts. It could be hours or it could be days/weeks (which alone makes me wonder if something just gets “caught” or “pulled” or whatever). I could see specific exercises being useful if there’s a muscle my normal activity is missing or using incorrectly.
I just can’t understand the reluctance to go to an orthopedist and have it checked out. Something could be torn that is causing the instability. It can be an intermittent thing. Geez. Just go get it checked out and then move on to PT. And lose weight.
I’m no expert, but I will say that I had intermittent knee problems with one knee, including the sudden buckling you described. It did progressively get more frequent but still not a daily or even weekly occurrence. Then I joined a gym with hands-on trainers who could make sure I was doing the workout correctly and adapt the exercises for me. As soon as something hurt, I said so, and they gave me an alternative. These do not require a bike or any other special equipment – just a lot of body weight moves with free weights and sometimes bands or balls. Within a month of 3-4 workouts per week, I had lost 0 weight (and I could use it), but I could do the same exercises as the rest of the class and my knee quit bothering me at all. I know it can be a pain to work in appointments and exercise, but once you have the proper form down, you can do squats anywhere.