Knee support? (Athletes out there?)

*Ratmagiclady* · 09-30-2009, 10:04 PM

So, now that (yay!) I seem to be over a certain hump after a recent flare-up of ow, getting strength back, inflaming the heck out of joints, letting that heal, (repeat process) one of these thoughts occurred to me again: this, not to mention getting something done, would probably go a lot more easily if I could find some support for my knees, which are a real weak spot among my general malady.

I was lucky enough to have a doctor some years ago who happened to have a sideline in sports medicine, you see, and she told me that one exacerbating factor in my general arthritic troubles is that my joints have a great deal of 'play' in them. Once this made me quite flexible, now it makes me prone to injury, inflammation, and such.

(There are some *really uncomfortable* exercises I can do for this, same as for fairly common injuries to the lining of the kneecap. The name escapes me at the moment.) These exercises, though they're the more uncomfortable cause the rest of the body is hard to keep strong when walking is limited. )

What I'm thinking to look for is possibly something I can wear to walk around to take some load off the knees and keep them from being excessively damaged in the process. Hopefully without actually weakening them.

So, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, or knows a good site to look into such things. Kind of on my own at the moment, for medical guidance. But given how short an interval for which I can stand still, anything sensible might be a useful tool at this point.

*graphicgr8s* · 09-30-2009, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by Ratmagiclady

So, now that (yay!) I seem to be over a certain hump after a recent flare-up of ow, getting strength back, inflaming the heck out of joints, letting that heal, (repeat process) one of these thoughts occurred to me again: this, not to mention getting something done, would probably go a lot more easily if I could find some support for my knees, which are a real weak spot among my general malady.

I was lucky enough to have a doctor some years ago who happened to have a sideline in sports medicine, you see, and she told me that one exacerbating factor in my general arthritic troubles is that my joints have a great deal of 'play' in them. Once this made me quite flexible, now it makes me prone to injury, inflammation, and such.

(There are some *really uncomfortable* exercises I can do for this, same as for fairly common injuries to the lining of the kneecap. The name escapes me at the moment.) These exercises, though they're the more uncomfortable cause the rest of the body is hard to keep strong when walking is limited. )

What I'm thinking to look for is possibly something I can wear to walk around to take some load off the knees and keep them from being excessively damaged in the process. Hopefully without actually weakening them.

So, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions, or knows a good site to look into such things. Kind of on my own at the moment, for medical guidance. But given how short an interval for which I can stand still, anything sensible might be a useful tool at this point.

I know I will regret this.

I feel your pain. My knees and ankles/feet are riddled with arthritis. And tearing my knee up 30 years ago sure didn't help anything. And reconstructive surgery wasn't really around. And I had one of the best sports surgeons around in NYC back then. The day I got out of the hospital I was on my motorcycle riding. One thing that helps is indocine but that tears up your stomach so I take it sparingly. Painkillers sometimes takes the edge off but I just hate some of the side effects. So I rarely take those. And I find I am allergic to ibuprofen. But boy on those days when pain is not around it sure feels good. And of course when I am in the most pain IV wants to be carried and walked around.

*res3567* · 09-30-2009, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by graphicgr8s

I know I will regret this.

.

You giving good advice graphic. What is there to regret?

*graphicgr8s* · 09-30-2009, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by res3567

You giving good advice graphic. What is there to regret?

It will come back somehow someway to haunt me.

*res3567* · 09-30-2009, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by graphicgr8s

It will come back somehow someway to haunt me.

It's called GOOD KARMA graphic!

*Wheatfield* · 09-30-2009, 10:34 PM

I've had a screwy knee since I damaged it mountain climbing 30 years ago. Not arthritis yet, but I have to really be careful to not knock it out of line or twist it.
I also have a young, exuberant and rather large Rottweiler that either gets a lot of physical play or starts to destroy things.
Anyway, about 4 months ago while playing with him he took my bad knee out from under me by hitting it from the side.
I'm weaning myself off a knee brace now...
I just bought one of the Tensor brand knee braces, which are, more or less, an elastic loop with a couple of lightweight metal bands sewn in to transfer some of the weight past the knee.
It seems to have helped. It keeps my knee in alignment and takes some of the strain off of it.

flippedgazelle · 09-30-2009, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by graphicgr8s

I know I will regret this.

I feel your pain...

I'm hearing this in a "Bill Clinton" voice.

I typically use a knee sleeve I picked up at a drug store for around $15. I was born with severely deformed feet that of course mess up the rest of the legs, and the knee sleeve really helps when playing basketball, mowing the lawn, etc. Lateral stability is a good thing.

flippedgazelle · 09-30-2009, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by res3567

It's called GOOD KARMA graphic!

Haven't you ever heard the expression, "no good deed goes unpunished"?

*Ratmagiclady* · 09-30-2009, 10:39 PM

Yeah, one day I'm gonna run all the way to the Florida hill country and liberal all over it. Or. Not be around all day to 'debate?'

Appreciate the info, though it's really mechanical support I'm looking for. The root cause isn't really the knees, they're just the most prone to damage. I can have Advil, though it doesn't seem to do wonders for my mood and loses effectiveness after a while, so I try to save it for anti-inflammatory use or when I really need it. Kind of in a constant state of either resting the things or as-catch-can rehab, usually a random salad of both. I take some other stuff, SAM-E, (which actually works pretty well, though I went off it for a while recently cause I was worried an inner ear problem was a side-effect,) glucosamine, as much calcium as I can get, some topical steroid samples I got slipped by selfsame sports medicine-qualified doctor some time ago and have been rationing... 'when I start crying,' being the rule for those)

Don't know whatever happened to plain old cortisone. That would probably help.

Anyway. Mostly just looking for some mechanical support, I'm of the general opinion it'll be of benefit. As long as I'm not in an active flareup, I'm not as old as I feel sometimes. If I can exercise (ie walk, for a start,) without hurting myself, it makes a big difference.

*heliphoto* · 09-30-2009, 10:40 PM

I know of one athletic brace which is supposed to limit unusual motion of your knee joint, but I can't really bring myself to believe it will really work in a big wreck (the sort of fall which makes your ACL into two pieces of ACL in a split second). Might be worth asking your doc about though... Asterisk. You'll need baggy pants or a long skirt/dress to avoid looking like a robot

.

*graphicgr8s* · 09-30-2009, 10:46 PM

RML take the calcium with vitamin D. Suppose to make it more effective.

*Ratmagiclady* · 09-30-2009, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by Wheatfield

I've had a screwy knee since I damaged it mountain climbing 30 years ago. Not arthritis yet, but I have to really be careful to not knock it out of line or twist it.
I also have a young, exuberant and rather large Rottweiler that either gets a lot of physical play or starts to destroy things.
Anyway, about 4 months ago while playing with him he took my bad knee out from under me by hitting it from the side.
I'm weaning myself off a knee brace now...
I just bought one of the Tensor brand knee braces, which are, more or less, an elastic loop with a couple of lightweight metal bands sewn in to transfer some of the weight past the knee.
It seems to have helped. It keeps my knee in alignment and takes some of the strain off of it.

It sounds like this might be the sort of thing I could use. (Sounds horrible, but transferring some weight and keeping things in alignment sounds like just the thing)

Is it one of these?

BD - Canada: Tensor™ Knee Support

Flipped hit on one of the things: the exercises I mentioned are supposed to strengthen the lateral muscles around there and thus help prevent things from rubbing the wrong way.

*res3567* · 09-30-2009, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by graphicgr8s

RML take the calcium with vitamin D. Suppose to make it more effective.

That was to be my suggestion as well.

*Ratmagiclady* · 09-30-2009, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by heliphoto

I know of one athletic brace which is supposed to limit unusual motion of your knee joint, but I can't really bring myself to believe it will really work in a big wreck (the sort of fall which makes your ACL into two pieces of ACL in a split second). Might be worth asking your doc about though... Asterisk. You'll need baggy pants or a long skirt/dress to avoid looking like a robot .

We'll work on reviving my bike courier career and the martial arts later.

(I'm just a pile of obsolescent analog skills, aren't I? I miss the dancing, though)

Clothes aren't a problem, I think. I could probably even work in a little padding for shooting on one knee and all my not-having-a-workshop doings.

Skinny leg jeans are in again, but I don't have any.

And the Vitamin D point's well-taken. I didn't even notice the last supplements I got on sale lacked it.

You could try this SAM-E stuff, Graphics, or at least look into it. (there were some grandiose claims for this that of course didn't bear out. Still. It doesn't work for everything, but it works pretty darn well if it does. Clinically, it works for osteoarthritis, unproven for rheumatoid. But I've got multiple things going wrong here, so it's been a godssend. It replaces certain compounds that my generally-shracked endocrine system comes up short on, seems to be what's up in my case. )

And, the advice is appreciated all around. It appears that what Wheatfield suggested is available at Walmart, at least somewhere. So I may just go look for them.

*reeftool* · 10-01-2009, 08:45 AM

I have a daughter who is a pro freeskier and has had 2 major knee surgerys and wears a brace when she skis. She had it made custom for her. They run in the $500 price range. Most sporting goods shops that cater to athletes who compete should have a line on braces and supports that they can order. There are different types of braces that will work better for different conditions so maybe a consultation with a physical therapist would be worthwhile. You want to get the right one for for your condition and the activitys you want to do. Meanwhile, I'm sending an e mail to my daughter to get some feedback. It might be a few days before I get an answer as I'll be out of town for the weekend. One of the brace companys used to sponser her.