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How long have you been living with knee pain? - Stand Up 2 OA
Stand Up 2 OA
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How long have you been living with knee pain?
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CalvinHU
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Hi, I’m Lakshmi, 67, and have knee pain from 2005. I had a ligament injury to the knee while coming downstairs and suddenly turned mud-stride. The pain was something terrible. But as a single parent working with NGOs and in a job involving travel practically every month, I could not afford to take off, or afford the surgery to set it right. It became better over the years. I managed by wearing an elastic kneecap when I went out. Then, 5 years later, a meniscus injury to the other knee started arthritis. I’m careful now, I dont do long walking stretches. Someone advised knee replacement, but it lasts just 20 years. My travelling has come down, so that’s not a problem. But not being able to be as active as I used to be has meant I put on 20 kilos of weight since. Trying to deal with it through LCHF, but not too disciplined about that, I must admit.
My knee pain started 4 years ago and I never believed I would still be in this much pain. I have had an MRI which shows a meniscal tear and wear and tear arthritis on the inner side of my right knee. My mobility is awful as I have a slipped disc in my lower back which gives me sciatica so walking is hard. I get cortisone injections which help short term but I can't have a pkr because of the need to use crutches afterwards. I am looking forward to seeing how other people cope with this condition 👋👋
i have ha knee pain for years know . it comes and goes . it is mainly noticabley as soon as i lie down to sleep possible from a damged disc im not sure . given up talking to doctors they just putit down to fobro like every ther pain i get
My knee pain has been annoying for at least a decade( osteoarthritis). Im 65, now retired nurse. Back then I underwent an arthroscopy, which seemed to make it worse. Ive had a few injections( rooster comb stuff) which helped for a few months. A year ago I saw a young ortho doc who told me to lose weight, stay active and make surgery my absolute last option. Due to a fib and anticoagulant meds, I cannot take NSAIDs so pain was becoming increasingly problematic. Last winter my mobility was down to only walking 1/4 mile at a time. I bought a recumbent exercise bike and decided it was going to be my exercise plan. At first I couldnt even make the rotation as my knee was too stiff. Finally got it to pedal with seat back as far as it would go, I managed a few minutes. I ride it every day. Now, 8 mo later Im up to 45 minutes and have moved the seat 3 notches up to get a bigger bend in my knee. The only knee pain I have now is if Ive sat a few hours, the first few steps are ouchy. I can now easily walk 1 mile, some days 1 1/2 miles. My weight isnt falling off as fast as I want but it is zlowly going down. My BMI went from 34 to 31. I may have to get my knee replaced eventually, but Im a big chicken and right now, Im still able to do what I want to do.
bethedifference• in reply to
Thanks for sharing your progress. It's really great to see what a HUGE difference it made to start moving. It sounds like your knees were locked up but you gradually released them using the exercise bike each day.
Had knee pain as long as I can remember. Diagnosed with Fibromylagia about 16 months ago.
The pain varies but it is never the worst pain in my body. I would class it more as inconvenient, annoying. As common with fibro it can be a dull ache one minute and change to a stabbing pain the next.
• in reply to
I understand fibro is an ugly monster, sorry you have to deal with it
I have been dealing with knee pain for about 4 years now, the same amount of time that I've been running. It seems to come and go and moves around to different parts of the knee. Sometimes it's one knee, sometimes it's both. I've been to a chiropractor multiple times. It manageable with lots of stretching but I also haven't tried a real long distance run lately.
Hi, I'm Chancery and I'm an alcoholic.. Sorry, just kidding - couldn't resist! My knee pain story goes back to around when I was 43 or so and living on the Isle of Orkney. We decided to get bikes so we could cycle to the nearest town as we didn't have a car. I bought an old second-hand thing which either had no gears or just two. It was a cheap bike and no great shakes. The route to town was up a very steep hill called Wideford and my bike made you do all the work. My knees started hurting quite soon into our bike adventures, but I cycled on through the pain, not wanting to be a stick-in-the-mud. Subsequently I damaged both knees and they simply never got better. I've never been on a bike since, which I regret.
I'm now 61 and my knees are stiff and non-bendy, but they don't hurt me on a day-to-day basis, which is good. Unfortunately though they are no longer strong enough to do anything with them other than walk, but at least I can do that. So the moral of this story, children, is when your body makes it plain you are over-taxing it - LISTEN! If I had I might still be able to cycle and hunker down without needing a rail to pull myself back up again!
I've never received any treatment for them because I never went to the doctor. I thought it was just pulled muscles or joints sore from lack of use (more like over-use) and I assumed they would get better. They never did and now I'm stuck with them.
I am 59 years old and have had knee pain for the last 4 years. In 2012, I got PMR (auto-immune form of vasculitis) and went on long-term steroids. Then, my right knee developed OA, followed by my left knee a year later and then 2.5 years ago my right hip. These 2 syndromes interact and make each other worse.
In the beginning, I had steroid injections that worked well, then they stopped working and I have been in so much pain that I have a blue badge and get PIP. No painkillers have helped at all, including codeine and Butrans patches.
8 weeks ago, I had a hi replacement that has helped my level of pain significantly. I still can't walk very far due to the knee pain, but I am not yet needing knee replacements and am trying to become more active and lose weight. I had to pay for my hip replacement as my BMI was too high for NHS operation, but it was well worth it!
Hi again, I been living with knee pain for around 42 years now. When I first had it in the RAF I was not given anything other than exercises for them, though tbh they were really quite strong, just used to fail me through pain quite often.
After leaving the RAF in the 1980s I had a housemaids knee in my right knee due to kneeling while working as a mechanic. Antibiotics was my care. My knee pains carried on then around 2002 had x rays MRI and arthroscopy on each knee within months care of private health BUPA all to no avail as the pains really got worse. Later had physiotherapy but that never helped. Even when I couldn't walk, I could always cycle so long as I never stood up on the peddles and pushed too hard. These days things aren't too bad I can walk six miles in a day without collapsing. Just cannot run to save my life! Hurts way too much.
Hi, I have arthritis in the knee and also other places. I have alrady had a left hip replacement because of arthritis and although my right hip was showing singns of going the same way since my left hip replacement the right hip has not deteriorated so still going strong after 8 years. Was doing well and exercising to keep my knees strong and trying to avoid a knee replacement but diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 with treatment early 2017 - Hormone Treatment and radiotherapy which really hit muscle mass. Just got back to exercising and acquired Atrial Fibrillation - thankfully that has now been treated successfully with a cardioversion. Again that meant I couldn't exercise too much for about a year because I got so tired and breathless. Have since done a prostate Cancer survivors rehab course and a phase 3 cardio rehab course. Now going onto the next stage cardio rehab course and geting back to the gym a few days a week. Don't think I can avoid the knee replacement for much longer but going to try and get my fitness back up before I absolutely hav eto have it. I did ask to be referred to the Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital as they have a Veterans Section and I was in the Royal Air Force for 37 years and I was told I could be referred there but our health service refused me telling me any physio or operations could be done here. A laugh really because I waited a year to be seen by a consultant for the first time - he sent me for an x ray and then I waited another 6 months to see him again! Still, I know there are lots of people worse off than me. My knee does give me pain and sometimes when I get out of the car it gives way but just got an exercise bike so trying to build up the muscles again - or at least do the best with the muscles I have left!
I'm not too sure when it started, but its been a few years now...I have Pseudogout, also known as chondrocalcinosis, its a common joint disease caused by deposition of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystals. It comes and goes, and i have had to use strong anti inflammatories at times....Im a hard person to keep down, and love to move, but if it hurts me I lay off, and do some different exercise...When it doesnt hurt, then often that knee is very stiff...Im 61 and a half 
and female...
I had trouble with my left knee ten years ago. A very good physio therapist got me going again. I kept OK for eight years when my right knee got injured, several minor things happening together. This time I saw five physio therapists and one student, was told by one to accept knee pain. Fortunately I eventually saw a chiropractor who diagnosed a torn meniscus and treated me for that. I exercise regularly am now very much better.
I’ve got a torn meniscus too. What did the chiropractor do kneesand toes? Feel free to PM me too
Hi Neeta-K,
First of all she diagnosed it. The doctor had said probably early arthritis. She asked me to squat and when I did that my knees pointed inwards, very common with women. She told me to make sure my knees point outwards when squatting. She used ultrasound and she manipulated/massaged the knee. I had to sit on a part of the couch, which was suddenly lowered while she pulled at my leg. I think the purpose was to create space in the joint. One of the physiotherapists had found that there was an injury to my calf muscle and I was convinced this was important. I found the tender spot at home, marked it with a cross and asked her to work on that. It was very painful the first couple of times, but things improved a lot from then on. I was told to do squatting and lounging exercises.
I injured myself in March 2016 saw the chiropractor a year later and in January this year for the last time. I get twinges, more in the calf than the knee, I walk three miles regularly and am hoping to extend that.
I saw a chiropractor who is closely connected with the chiropractor college in Bournemouth. I have heard good reports from people who go to the college and get treated by last year students at a reduced rate.
Hi Calvin, I have had knee pain for around ten years. At first I could manage with gel but eventually I needed cortisone injections. I was sent for physio and the physio told me my legs where weak and I needed to do exercise to strengthen my legs. When I told her I did aqua aerobics daily as it was the only exercise I could do due to a foot problem, she gave me this exercise - cycling on a woggle, for 10 mins each day building up to 15 mins. I tried it and found it helped and the pain was much less, eventually I could cycle in the water without the woggle and the muscles in my legs grew stronger. I am now at the stage where knee pain is only there occasionally.
I’ve had knee pain since April and I was advised to do physio which I’m currently doing
Hi everyone, I'm afraid I'm playing catch-up as Im on holiday!
I'm Fiona and I am 59 years old and I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus since just before my 21st birthday. Multiple joints are involved some constantly in pain and others like my knees not all the time. Sometimes my knees just ache from the arthritic damage and other times, all of a sudden the pain becomes excruciating! When t's like this I can't weight bear at all, luckily it always seems to be only one knee at a time that's affected.
I've been given advice and exercises by Physiotherapists over the years, the message seems to be that if I can strengthen the muscles that support the affected joints then I can stave off joint replacement for several years (fingers crossed). I currently go to a hydrotherapy pool and have a set of exercises designed specificall for me by a Physio/Hydro therapist. Gentle exercise is definitely the way to go!
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