knee pain now

[mogs231]

i have rheumatoid and oesteo arthritis but my knee is now really painful... when I try to weight bear or go upstairs do you think this may be more arthritis or weak joints cannot get an appt with gp for some time...getting really fed up now with all of it!

[Deejojo]

Hi hun sounds like osteoarthritis I have the same when I do stairs I’m having a knee replacement in the summer have u got handle bars on stairs??? Try and pull yourself up if u can that’s what I do hope u feel better soon x

[rab1874]

I would try and get bannisters fitted try occupational health they fitted bannisters for me and gave me other aids

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to rab1874]

When my husband had his hip replacement last year I got my favourite builder to come and put in a second banister - husband didn’t half whinge about how he didn’t need one etc. and wouldn’t even tough it before he went int hospital. The hospital physiotherapists and the one who came out to see him at home we’re most impressed and in the end he did use it. Same with the crutches I got him in advance - he was able t leave be pait upstairs, go up using both banisters and use the other set of crutches upstairs. He had to eat humble pie in the end and admit I definitely had the right idea so banisters are a real help.

[AgedCrone]

Join the club mogs231...I think we all know the feeling...one day a joint is OK the next it's letting us down &'hurting.

Try to get a physio appointment...getting muscle strengthening exercises definitely helps knees, & as rab1874 says good solid banisters to haul yourself up (when your shoulders aren't playing up) also helps.

You can self refer for physio...Google NHS physio self referral& fill in the form, I got an appointment quite quickly.

[nomoreheels]

I couldn't say which it is but I have the same & also have RD & OA. Not much help I'm afraid but I do empathise, pain in the knee is a pain in the neck.

Have you tried Voltarol gel when the pain comes? I've used 1.16% & 2.32% & it can take the edge off which is better than nothing when you've such pain. Or hot or cold compresses? Whichever you respond to best.

I'd also agree with the others, two bannister rails really makes such a difference when hauling yourself up stairs. I have them. Never thought I would at 58 but I don't care, needs must when it helps! Do ask if you could be assessed for one to be added.

[NeonkittyUK in reply to nomoreheels]

Same here NMH .. Damn knee RA and osteo. 😑 Stairs and getting up off low seats (they are everywhere .. I usually try remember my wedge cushion when I go out to places I may have to sit for some time!) send my RA/oseto knee crazy but I'm due my infusion in two weeks so think I'm running my RA batteries down at the mo. It is hard to know what is causing the pain when you've both RA and osteo but mostly the pain for me is the tendons and ligaments behind my knees and the Baker Cyst but I do have moderate-severe knee osteo so I've bone on bone. Hydrotherapy soothes and relieves my bad knee and bad anything .. and gets me moving and gives me strong muscles. Also some Voltadol rubbed into the front and back of my knee when it is bad and I have to walk anywhere. It enables me to be able to do some fell walking too, it is so effective for me. I don't use it every day though. Mogs, I find Comfrey cream at night is effective dubbed into the knee but not at the same time I've been using Voltadol. Voltadol gel let me to climb quite a big steep hill overlooking Grasmere today. I will have to have a knee replacement at some point but I'm not quite there yet. Our stairwell is so narrow we don't have a banister. I go up with a stick but it is a very good idea to have bannisters. Wish I had. Heat for me for painful joints. It gets the blood flowing and oxygen moving round the joint which is good for movement. I've also soaked a linen bandage in a solution of hot water with Epsom salts dissolved in it and wrapped that around my knee and then in a towel for half an hour. That soothes for me too but tbh the Voltadol gel-cream is so quick to apply and absorbs nicely, it's easier but Epsom Salts is more natural. My other great relief for my joints is the steam room at my gym. All aches lessen after a session in there. X

[Soreknees2016]

That sounds very similar to my experience - I have PsA affecting my knees and ankles and also OA in my right knee, which regularly swells up and gets painful, often triggered by going up and down stairs (my rheumy has confirmed that this is caused by the OA). I find using Voltarol 2.32% gel at night and wearing a knee support during the day really helps. And avoiding stairs as much as possible, otherwise using handrails to support your weight as others have suggested, and coming down stairs sideways, thus not putting weight on your knee as you step down. Hope this helps!

[NeonkittyUK in reply to Soreknees2016]

Yes .. Sideways excellent when you can't put the pressure on the front of the knee.

[rabbits65]

Me too, left knee worse than right, I had an injection into left knee which has helped. I had a stairlift in my last house, the lazy mans tool, but it was very helpful.

[Anniebl24]

Not a fix but possibly a way of dealing with it. They say go up to heaven i.e. Put the good leg up the step and pull the bad one up without weight bearing. Then go down to hell i.e. Go down on the bad knee first so that you keep it straight.

[Hidden]

I am also in the same situation and have OA in both of my knees but worse in the left one. In my case, we have stair rails on both sides but I can't pull myself up on them because I have extremely bad OA in my left shoulder and arm. It is so painful now that I can no longer lift my arm or do much with my arm and shoulder at all. Our solution has been to get a stair lift. It is expensive but has been a Godsend. It had got to the stage where I thought I was not going to get up to bed anymore. I saw the orthopeadic surgeon last week and he was amazed at just how bad my shoulder and arm are and is putting me down for a shoulder replacement as nothing else has helped (I have had steriod injections and tablets, morphine both orally and in patches and a nerve block injection). I also need a knee replacement but the shoulder has to come first. So I don't know how long all this surgery will take to come through and how long before I can do normal things again. So if you can possibly afford it, perhaps a stair lift is the next step for you.