Knee problem

[rossie1942]

I love walking and do walk many miles at a time.But whilst on holiday my knee gave way and I could not walk. Dr suspects cartlidge damage/oestio arthritis. I have been forced to rest but now after 10 days it is much better and I am able to get around.

Any advice please from people who have had this problem. Is it better to struggle to walk or rest. I am feeling very down at the prospect of not being able to do any walking again.

Not had XRay results yet but assume as it is improving nothing broken.

thanks for reading and very grateful for any advice or experiences.

[Realfoodieclub]

I haven't had the same problem as you so I can't help On That front. All I can do is offer support and understand your frustration. I have oestoarthtitis and I find that stegnthening the muscles around the painful joints helps in the long term. Things like squats and lunges but I would check with you Gp before starting anything like that as you don't want to hurt the injury even more. If I were In Your shoes I would get a list together to ask questions when you get your X-ray results so you will have a really clear picture of what you can and cannot do. Also ask them about physio referral maybe to prevent further injury to build the muscles up. Take care.

[rossie1942 in reply to Realfoodieclub]

Thanks very much. Great idea about list as I forget what I wanted to ask when I get into GP's surgery,.

[Hidden]

I totally understand as I damaged my knee about 2 weeks ago now and can only bend it a certain amount, my lower leg and foot are also affected. Before I realised both my lower leg and food were affected I went to my GP and he said it looks like I have damaged the Meridian (inner) part of the knee and it's probably the beginning of Osteo Arthritis. I, like you, love walking and especially long walks. I also love cycling but can't feel I can bend my knee enough at the moment to be able to cycle.

My GP said for me to do some gentle exercise like yoga and pilates. I asked him if I could still go out walking and he said I could but of course normal walking i.e. now power walking/jogging etc. I damaged it because I stupidly went out jogging and had little time so thought I would 'hurry it along' by jogging - big mistake!! Anyway, I came out of the doctors not really knowing what to do as he didn't give me any specific exercises, didn't say how far I could walk so I didn't feel I was any better by going to him. He didn't offer me an x ray.

I spoke to a friend last week and mentioned it to her and she said her brother had been down to visit her and used our local facilities i.e. we have a college here where I live that is a teaching training college but also has a sports facility where you can make an appointment with one of their sports injuries specialists. My friend said her brother was really impressed and they put his injury right. I have an appointment at this facility on Tuesday this week so I am really hoping that they can help me but if not, at least tell me what I need to do to improve the injury.

[rossie1942 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks very much for reply and information. I will take your advice and contact a physiotherapist tomorrow. most grateful

[Hidden in reply to rossie1942]

You are welcome and I think that is the best way forward. By the way, I should have proof read what I have said above better than I had as I had typed food rather than foot - lol If you are in the UK I have been told that you can now self refer to a physio on the NHS so if I need more appointments after tomorrow that is why I am going to do as I won't be able to pay for each appointment although the cost for tomorrow is very reasonable as it's £13.50.

All the very best and hope your knee is better very soon.

[rossie1942 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for your help.Good luck with the appointment.

[Hidden in reply to rossie1942]

You are most welcome. I was really impressed with my appointment this morning as the physio (he was a trainee who was a couple of months away from completing his training) spent about 1 hour 10 minutes with me and explained everything very clearly. What I have done is damaged my Tibialis posterior muscle, this is a muscle that runs down the lower part of the leg and I have damaged the inside part of the leg. He has given me exercises to do, I can still carry on power walking and I'm to do double leg calf raises, single leg calf raised and single leg calf raises and to push through the big toe. He has also said to put ice on the knee so I will be making some iceblocks, putting them in a bag and then wrapping a towel or something round them and then placing them on my knee.

He has used Rock Tape and attached from my knee down to the ankle, this is the tape you see athletes wear and it's normally bright in colour.

I hope that this helps.

All the very best

[rossie1942 in reply to Hidden]

So pleased that you managed to get good advice and support. Many thanks for sharing. Hope all goes well best regards

[Hidden in reply to rossie1942]

You are welcome and I hope that your knee improves very soon.

All the very best to you

[rossie1942 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Hidden in reply to rossie1942]

Just to let you know that my knee is now starting to improve, slowly but surely. I have been power walking about 3 to 4 times a week and that seems to help plus I've also had a couple of rest days. I really hope that your knee will be better soon.

[rossie1942 in reply to Hidden]

That is wonderful news so pleased for you.Just got back from Croatia and managed to get around without any problem.

Thanks for your update

.

[Hidden in reply to rossie1942]

Hi there Rosie, so glad you managed to get round Croatia, I have seen from photos that it is beautiful there and hope you had a lovely time.

I'm back from two weeks away in South Derbyshire and spent a good part of the two weeks there just walking - the forests are beautiful and plenty or walking. I am still getting pain in my knee but not to the degree that I had before so I can notice a further improvement but do think it's going to take a while.

I can now get both my legs on the settee by bending both knees which I wasn't able to before.

Onwards and upwards

[rossie1942]

Hello Crazy Thank you I had a great time. So pleased that your knee is improving mine is too .Wonderful that you could enjoy your walks. Derbyshire is a very under rated county for its beauty.Keep up the recovery and thanks for concern and update.