Knee pain, foot lumps, oh my

Parent Cafe
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<p>Any one else with these problems? What worked for you?</p>

<p>One knee or the other has sometimes hurt for a couple of weeks from time to time over the years, but now it is both knees, and constant. Not sure what kind of doctor to consult for this. I doubt it is arthritis but it sure is interfering with life…I’d say the pain is about a 6 out of 10, but only when I’m walking. Running is out of the question.</p>

<p>A few years ago, I found a lump on the bottom of my foot…podiatrist dismissed it as a common “plantar fibroma” & said nothing could be done. It has slowly grown, has now become painful, and I have a second, smaller one as well on the same foot. He said that surgery to remove them would only result in more scar tissue creating an even bigger lump. But I just saw some website for a U.K. medical practice talking about a new technique - cryosurgery.</p>

<p>A friend who is an MD (but in an unrelated field) tells me the knee pain is probably caused by the foot issues…that the lumps are making me stand funny & putting pressure on the knees. I suppose I should get back to the podiatrist (a different one, perhaps) - maybe shoe inserts would help straighten everything out?</p>

<p>Any ideas, suggestions, commiseration? My husband tells me I walk funny. Don’t want to be in pain and it is way too early for me to be walking like an old lady. I saw the thread hear on plantar fascitis but I guess that is something different (heel pain).</p>

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<p>I started going to a physical therapist for my knees. My feet go one way , my thigh & knees another. It has helped immensely.
Don’t know anything about fibromas however.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the thought on the physical therapist. I tend to think the knees have their own issues, since that has been going on for far longer than the foot lumps have. It is so encouraging to hear that the physical therapist has helped you! I’ve never gone to one…is there a particular kind for knees, or are physical therapists ‘generalists’?</p>

<p>My dear old mom, who also has knee issues, swears by weights and such, to build up strength. (Now that’s a sobering thought, your elderly mom telling you that you need to pump iron like she does LOL…). Does your therapist do strength building exercises with you as well?</p>

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<p>It isn’t just strength but some ligaments are very tight & she helps me by stretching them & teaching me exercises that help me relearn the way I walk & stand. ( I also had her help me with my impinged shoulder)
And physical therapists may specialize in different sorts of injuries, but for the most part they are generalists.</p>

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<p>Knee pain covers so much ground that it’s pretty tough to guess without a lot more detail. However, the biggest cause of non-specific pain in the front of the knees (as opposed to specific knee injuries) is poor mobility/activation of the hips and glutes (butt muscles). </p>

<p>Conditioning coach Mike Boyle uses an analogy to explain the problem. If he ties a rope to your neck and yanks on it, you are going to complain of neck pain. However, the pain isn’t from anything wrong with your neck, it’s from the yanking on the other end of the rope.</p>

<p>Same thing with the major muscles that attach to the knee at one end and to the hips at the other end. If poor use of the hips (a problem for nearly 100% of us) is yanking on tight muscles, you are going to feel it in the knees.</p>

<p>The mom recommending strength training is absolutely right – especially resistance trainign that target the hips and butt – miniband walks, high steps, single leg deadlifts, kettlebell swings, etc.</p>

<p>This would be a perfect exercise to start with. Easy to do. No equipment needed. Targets the hips like crazy.</p>

<p>[Quadruped</a> Hip Extension on Elbows - YouTube](<a href=“Quadruped Hip Extension on Elbows - YouTube”>Quadruped Hip Extension on Elbows - YouTube)</p>

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<p>Double pigeon/fire log pose is a stretch that really targets the hips.
[Yoga</a> Journal - Fire Log Pose](<a href=“http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2477]Yoga”>http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2477)</p>

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<p>My husband had similar issues. Turns outdone legs is shorter than other, and he has gout. Several things can affect knees and feet, flat feet, is a very common problem as well, or high arches wearing shoes with no support. My husband went to a podiatrist and getting the gout diagnosis was very helpful. He also learned his flat feet caused all kinds of issues. Having proper footwear can do wonders. Husband couldn’t run and know he’s jogging again. He also has the fatty lumps.</p>

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<p>i second the physical therapist. I’ve had knee problems for years (since i was young) and some of the exercises i learne helped. Also found out that my knees aren’t properly allined with my body, which was a cause of it.</p>

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<p>are you taking Tricor or statin or red yeast rice?</p>

10

<p>You could try a patella band or knee sleeve. These won’t cure the underlying problem but they might give you some relief while your body tries to heal.</p>

<p>You could also try Superfeet or New Balance Ultraarch insoles. Again, these won’t cure the problem but you may feel more comfortble.</p>

11

<p>I’m going to come across as an alarmist. Sorry about that.</p>

<p>You really need to go see a doctor. I’d suggest a sports medicine specialist, just because they’re the ones most interested in movement. Get MRIs done of both knees. Not x-rays. If you can’t move well, you need to know why. As for the lump on the foot, ask the doctor you see about your knees whom he recommends to look at it.</p>

<p>I thought it was “just arthritis” for five years, as I progressed from moving well to limping. Turns out I was wrong. I had an adult bone cancer. It was pretty simple surgery, almost five years ago, and I’m fine now, but it took about three years to fix the back problems the limp caused. </p>

<p>I have a friend–a few years older than me but our daughters have been friends since first grade–who just had both knees replaced, and now is back to dancing with her husband ;-)</p>

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<p>dmd:</p>

<p>Yeah. I would agree with seeing a doctor to rule out (or rule in) specific medical conditions, e.g. bone cancer, torn ACL, statin side effects, etc.)</p>

<p>Alas, with knee pain, they often end up with non-diagnosis diagnosis such as patellafemoral knee pain syndrome, which is a fancy way doctors say, “yeah, the front of your knees hurt when you go up or down the stairs, we don’t have any idea why or what to do about it…”</p>

<p>So, once you’ve ruled out specific, treatable medical conditions, then you are in the realm of physical therapy, exercise, and better movement. With knee pain, the answers come from addressing the hips (and sometimes ankles).</p>

<p>Here’s a brand new study in last month’s Journal of Orthopaedic Sports and Physical Therapy that found a significant reduction in knee pain (both knees) in group of sendentary women, simply by doing eight weeks of very basic resistance band hip exercises:</p>

<p>[The</a> Effects of Isolated Hip Abductor and External Rotator Muscle Strengthening on Pain, Health Status, and Hip Strength in Females With Patellofemoral Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial](<a href=“http://www.jospt.org/members/getfile.asp?id=5497]The”>http://www.jospt.org/members/getfile.asp?id=5497)</p>

<p>Emeraldkity:</p>

<p>That yoga pose is kind of the opposite of what is required. Knee pain comes from having the hips weakened by being bent too often – too much sitting, too much running, too much biking, etc. The muscles of the upper leg become shorter over time because they are never being extended. Those shortened tight muscles pull on the knee and also make the knee (and lower back) provide flexibility that should be coming from the hips. So the range of exercises are those that involve extending the hip backwards, outwards, etc. This whole range of exercises are those that literally make your butt (glute muscles) sore.</p>

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<p>well it helps me. :slight_smile: Although I do a modified version.
I agree that working on glutes helps. I do a lot of balancing on one leg while reaching for the floor.
The tendon strap helped initially at the gym, but when I started to heal I was better off without it.
My knees hyperextend, so it is important to strengthen the supporting muscles to compensate.</p>

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<p>The more I think about it (and thinking about yoga is probably as close as I’ll ever get!), that pose probably does work on hip “adduction” or pressing the leg out at the hip, which would be good for knee pain.</p>

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<p>For my daughters they had knee issues and getting proper footwear made a huge difference. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. I hurt my foot and I was walking unevenly and hurt my hip. I focused on walking properly and hip got bet and foot did too. My husband had really flat feet and he has the lumps. When he got proper inserts and shoes, there was much less pain. He too was told not much to be done, but having then proper arch support made a huge difference.</p>

<p>A podiatrist will measure your legs and feet, test your walking, and joints. Has anything in life changed? Weight? Diet? Car? Work, standing sitting more? If standing on what kind of surface. </p>

<p>My one daughtersnleft knee was bothering her, she adjusted her car seat. Helped a lot. </p>

<p>As I mentioned we found my husband had gout. Painful. It flared when he ate crab. Turns out it’s not that uncommon and can affect various parts of the body. He’s not overweight. Just of a certain age. Check for that as well.</p>

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<p>The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies talks about Morton’s Foot (page 243). The concept is 1/4 of all ppl have a long bone in the second toe (not a longer toe, a longer bone) compared to the same bone in the big toe. This throws off the stride; instead of landing on the ball of the foot and pinkie toe ball and the heel (three points) you stride and land on two points causing a big knob (callous like) under the second toe at the middle of the fore foot. The fix is a bit of cushion under the big toe ball of the foot so the part of the foot comes down when you stride and the pressure is taken off the mid fore foot. </p>

<p>Highly recommend the book; the author claims he learned about Morton’s foot as a young man when his PT showed him he had it!</p>

<p>And of course anything affecting the foot and stride will move up to/through the rest of the body.</p>

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<p>i am so sorry for you!</p>

<p>i have had foot problems for the last three years…it is almost life-changing–except i just won’t let it!</p>

<p>i hope you can find some comfort. i have seen several podiatrists–some are just awful and some are pretty good. best thing that ever happened was that somewhere along the way i was referred to a physiologist and she recommend a physical therapist who specializes in feet! not a single podiatrist that i saw in the same network recommended the guy! hang in there, and be persistent in finding your relief.</p>

18

<p>A big thank you to everyone here for all the helpful suggestions and ideas! </p>

<p>I’m going to work my way through the posts and try everything and make some appointments to get help and rule out the scary stuff. No, I don’t take statins, red yeast etc. But I <em>have</em> become more sedentary over the past year, stopped a regular exercise program, and have put on 20 pounds. I have a very small bone frame, so even a modest weight gain makes a big difference, I’ve found. Also, the less I move, the more I hurt, so the less I move. That needs to change. I’ve been focusing on the kids, and while that is all well and good, mom’s health can’t go out the window in the meantime.</p>

<p>Has anyone had any luck with acupuncture? I’ve heard it has been proven helpful for pain.</p>

19

<p>I had knee surgery when I was a teen for a problem caused by a birth defect. Many many years later my knees act up sometimes. When I mention it to my knee surgeon he just tells me one thing: quads, keep those quads strong. Also my knees bother me a lot more when I gain weight.</p>

<p>Have you tried any type of exercise in the pool? If you are a bit overweight and your knees hurt it may help to do water aerobics to help you lose the weight and keep your muscles working.
Good luck</p>

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<p>" few years ago, I found a lump on the bottom of my foot…podiatrist dismissed it as a common “plantar fibroma” & said nothing could be done. It has slowly grown, has now become painful, and I have a second, smaller one as well on the same foot. He said that surgery to remove them would only result in more scar tissue creating an even bigger lump. But I just saw some website for a U.K. medical practice talking about a new technique - cryosurgery."</p>

<p>Pleases find a doctor who takes this seriously. My H just had a one inch begnign neuroma removed from his ankle. Areas that were numb are now tingling.</p>