Is this the start of osteoarthritis?

[mils7083]

I am a 21 year old female. I used to be anorexic and bad a pretty bad exercise addiction - running around 20km daily. Now running about 7 km a day and have lately been feeling like there is some sort of strange feeling when I folded my leg at the knee and straightened it out back . Its hard to describe , its like how its a crankiness with the worn out door hinges , sort of !

Also have a pain inside my left knee joint that hurts when I am twisting, pretty sure it is a lateral meniscus tear but I can't remember what I did to it-so this is also adding to my fear of osteoarthritis.

I don't have any major pain in knees after running but if I place my hand on the knee cap and then bend my knee and straighten out , I can feel the vibrations like how a door hinge gives a vibration as we move the door. Really concerned. Please help!

[deniseinmilden]

I am not trained in orthopaedics but have some nutrition knowledge and have had arthritis in both my knees for many years.

I think it is unlikely that you have arthritis, as the main symptom is burning pain in the joint between the bones. The only way to find out is to see a GP and get a referral and scans. Easier said than done at the moment! Worth getting on the list though so they can definitely rule it out.

Well done on managing your exercise and eating - that's a great start to being well and it's good to hear you are controlling your health now. 👍👍

Even if you don't have osteoarthritis you obviously don't want to get it and I wonder if you can cycle instead of running? It is less punishing on your joints and is recommended to arthritis sufferers to build up the muscles around the knees to help support the other structures.

If you look up NHS physio exercises for knees online there are some good things to do which also help. Years ago I was told I'd need knee operations soon but with looking after them (no more running and making sure the muscles are good) my knees are better now than they were then and I've managed to "buy" years of extra life in them.

I'm sure you know more about nutrition than most but making sure you are absorbing plenty of the methyl donors vitamin B12 and B9 (folate) - ideally red meat and fish and leafy green vegetables - and are getting plenty of calcium (dairy products) and vitamin D (eggs, sunlight) will help you no end.

Are you taking vitamin and mineral supplements? If not a daily broad spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement (supermarket A-Z ones are as good as any, if not better) will help you repair soft tissue damage more quickly and this will support the joints.

There are mixed reports of the efficacy of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements but might be worth trying - they definitely help some people.

Good luck with getting them feeling better!

[Batty1]

You need to see a doctor and get X-rays to rule out injury before you start thinking about osteoarthritis and STOP running until you see whats going on because exercising through pain is not a smart thing to do even if you are young.