Tackling knee pain without injections or surgery

[hc75]

As a child I suffered incredible knee pain for a few years aged around 14. Doctors said growing pains, and my Dad used to rub my legs with wintergreen, sort of horse lineament I think. I played sport until I was 23 and was active all my life but aged around 70 I began to suffer very painful knees. I even began to use a stick until I finally saw a doctor who referred me to a specialist who referred me to a physiotherapist,, This by the way is in Serbia where there is a slightly different approach to these sort of problems. My physiotherapist said I was not active enough my thigh muscle tone was nil and since their job was to hold the knees where they should be I needed to exercise and get fitter, I saw him everyweekday for 10 weeks , had laser and other treatments but exercise was the main treatment, I continue to do the exercise 3 times a week which he told me I would need to do. My knee pain is occasional especially in winter and I do not kneel as I used to but apart from that I can walk as far as I want. He warned me against having any injections into my knees because he said they give symptomatic relief but will over time destroy tissue, Eventually he said, they will not work, I am now 76 and with a minimum of effort ( I am no athlete) I keep mobile and relatively pain free, a couple of paracetamol help me if its bad. I also use a method my son (a sports coach) advocates which is standing in cold water just over my knees for 3 or four minutes then step out for 5 minutes, doing this five or six times.. Apparantly that is what athletes who damage their knees do!!! Why dont our doctors tell us all this????

[HeronNS]

Interesting. Although I'm curious how you manage to get cold water that deep unless you are going to a lake or the ocean!