KNEES - mine are shit. Come and talk to me if you have crappy knees

[ButImNotOldYet]

Namechanged because this will out me as one of my closest friends is a mnetter.

I fractured my tibial plateau about 5yrs ago. Since then I have ongoing problems with my knees (the injured one is worst but the other hurts too). I had an arthroscopy a few years ago on the worst one. I have a hole in the cartilage in my knee joint.

Walking up and down stairs hurts. Sitting still for too long hurts (when I get up), I can’t crouch down to pick things up, carrying heavy things hurts my bloody bastard knees. I’m in my 40s, I feel more like I’m in my 90s Come and talk to me about your knees, grumbling or positive stories welcome.

@ButImNotOldYet The one that was done spring of 2016 is absolutely perfect. By last summer I was back to walking four or five hours a day with no trouble at all. I even started running again.

My knees are shot to shot. Sports injury about 8 years ago - 2 arthroscopies, steroid injections and now grade 4 arthritis in my right knee and I'm on the list for a knee replacement. It's shit!

Running?! That is amazing, I can’t run or jump. Can’t squat, sometimes can’t even lean down as it puts my knee in the catching position. I have to couple this with a complete lack of desire to run but not being able to squat down and now leaning is tricky is an absolute pain and making it increasingly difficult to do my job (primary school teacher - EVERYTHING is low down!)

Gingergenius - how old are you? I’ve had one arthroscopy and one steroid injection so far. I think I will be in line for another arthroscopy soon in all probability (self diagnosis though!). Did you find the steroid injection useful? I didn’t but the arthroscopy did work for a while.

Can I join too , went from super fit to tearing my Miniscus three months ago and now cannot remember what it felt like to not have knee pain. The worst is sleeping at night as I can’t control my leg movements and often wake up feeling like someone has been at my knee with a hammer. Just had an MRI this week so awaiting results and then depending on results wether I have surgery . I must admit I am not sure about surgery as during the day if I take care I can minimise the pain so no running , sudden jerks to the knee etc and it has improved to a manageable pain it’s just at night when it can be really painful. Do I risk possibly ending up in a worst ( or better) position by surgery?

@ButImNotOldYet I'm 48. Steroid injection was bliss - arthroscopies didn't really help. I can't run, jump, dance or walk properly up and down stairs. They hurt when I sleep and it's affecting my back too. Orthopaedic surgeon very resistant but as I need a ligament repair which they can't do because my cartilage has all disintegrated, a full knee replacement is the only option. But I'm a self employed photographer and also at uni so worried about my recovery time!

One torn cartilage, one arthritic. Years of grief. Knee would collapse, once in the middle of crossing a road. Pain. Couldn't climb, couldn't go hill walking so got rather down, piled on weight..tried various physios, but just got worse and worse. One knee was always really badly swollen. I ended up sobbing in front of my doctor. And then in front of the specialist who basically said that operations or replacement would make it worse in the long run unless I gave up everything i love. Our local hospital ran a physio program that she put me on. Exercises from the tummy down for every muscle, strength, alignment and stability. I did everything they said. As hard as I could. Including doing the exercises at home. I still do them sometimes, especiallly after a break from exercise . The problems are still there, I have to be careful, but I can pretty much do anything I want. It's amazing. The physio programs are not always successful, but the nurses knew who would be ok because it was such hard work so many people didnt work at it enough, but it was totally worth it

Hi OP
I’ve torn the same ACL x3 in my left knee doing sport, and had c.50% of my lateral meniscus in the same knee removed, so it feels like the wind whistles thru it in this weather! It gets quite stiff if sitting for a long time, I’ve found what has really helped me is to keep it moving, makes a world of difference. I’ve bought a cheap exercise bike and do 30 min gentle cycling first thing on a morning, not so much for fitness but to keep the joint active and loosen it up. If I miss doing it I can tell the difference and really stiff etc. I do same before bed.
If possible I’d also recommend building up your quads and thighs/hamstrings (squats etc) and this extra muscle will help alleviate the strain on your knees as the muscle will be doing the work rather than the joint itself

My right knee is fucked, left one is fine.

I did it running, haven't run for more than 2 years now. It's degenerative meniscus damage apparently, little response to physio, steroid injections and platelet serum injection complete waste of money

I've given up for now. It's permanently swollen, agony if I do a long walk or climb hills and I can't kneel back on my feet if you know what I mean. I'm an RMN who does have to get involved in restraint at times so not being able to kneel properly is a pain in the arse.

Now my shoulder has started hurting too for no apparent reason but that's for another thread....

I'll be back to read this thread and join you later after work.

(another crap knees person)

@midgebabe was that private physio??? Tried nhs and it was useless

@doyouthink
My meniscus is devernerative too, I’ve been told to avoid running but that if I do to do it either uphill or on treadmill with a few degrees incline. If you’re running on the flat you put 8 times your body weight through each knee each time your foot hits the deck, obviously worse running downhill, so running in an uphill incline lessens the impact and damage if that makes sense?

@gingergenius nhs.. tried private first, as it was so hard to get nhs physio, and they were useless. Which tells us something I guess

I had a lot of trouble with my one knee in my 20s which turned out to be due to my patella not tracking properly. After various scans and physio I had a TTT (tibial tubercle transfer) to correct it. I was told at the time that it's likely I will need a knee replacement at some point.

20 years on I would say my knee has good and bad days/weeks. Sometimes lots of walking aggravates it, other times it's fine. Walking down hill kills it. What I've always struggled with since the op is crouching and kneeling and putting weight through it when it's bent.

On a positive note I always thought that I didn't trust it enough to ever run on it but when I joined a gym a few years ago I gave it a go and managed to run a bit. I know it sounds mad but I wanted to know that in a serious, emergency situation I could leg-it if I needed to! I'm not talking about any distance or time or even running regularly, I'm just talking about actually running as a one-off, a short distance without my knee giving way.

Ah, my people! Tore my meniscus in my right knee three years ago falling down some stairs. Still painful going up or down stairs, physio was useless, a teenager with a clipboard telling me to do some squats and not even touching my knee.

The surgeon I saw said the chance of success with an op were negligible and might cause more problems than it solved. I'm 3 stone heavier (not helping anything) than I was before the accident and it is all so bloody frustrating. midgebabe your story is inspiring, perhaps there is hope!?

SpecialAgentDaleCooper, your situation sounds like mine. I had TTT in 20's due to maltracking but unfortunately it made things worse. I have needed 10 operations to rectify! I had knee replacement almost 4 weeks ago. Am in early 40's.

Hatingliferightnow - 10 ops . I've only had one since and that was to remover the screw that was in danger of coming through the skin!

What problems did you have after the TTT?

Hope the knee replacement solves it and enables you to get on with things pain free.

Problems with patella not being elevated enough, scar tissue build upscrews needed removing twice, ligaments were damaged during operation. It was never quite right after the TTT. operation. I have been told my current consultant that the risks are well known. You clearly benefitted though.

I am hoping the knee replacement will give me the relief needed. Glad you are doing well.

Wow yes midgebabe's story is inspiring!

My knees are shocking. I'm only mid 30s but they've been going downhill for years. Arthritis related to another chronic illness and damage from a fall has made a pig's ear of them. I keep ploughing on but the cold makes the ache terrible.

Things that work

(a) First and foremost, get your weight down. Sad but true. Get your BMI well under 25, get your waist less than half your height and get your body fat well down into the healthy range.

(b) Strengthening all of the muscles around and under your knees - balancing on one foot is one of the best. Lots and lots of core strength to improve your posture and how you move your body.

I never did have mine replaced (the 3 stone weight loss and getting a gym habit saved me) but among friends who have had total knee done
(a) keep the weight down
(b) strengthening - yoga, pilates, swimming, walking, cycling (no impact)

Hypermobility is (according to every physio I've chatted to about it) actually a sign of weakness.
Strengthen the muscles and it goes away.

Has anyone heard of micro-fracture surgery? That was another option my consultant suggested. They basically drill tiny holes in the bone where the cartilage has worn through, the bone then heals and creates a scar layer which replaces the cartilage.
The recover is a biiiiitch, loads of physio and hours on a continuous passive motion machine and 6 weeks non-weight bearing. That’s the thing that’s really put me off.

Marzipan, I was just about to write exactly what you did! Although I’m 27, almosr 28 (going on 80) Chronic pain since 11, never been able to kneel since!

I agree Ta1kinPeace, very sensible advice.

However, I tried all of the above and still needed replacement. I have BMI of 21 and was at gym 3x week prior to replacement. There is a history of arthritis within family and mine could not be helped. However, I do feel that people should follow your advice and seek physio advice prior to going down surgical route.

Yeuch, that sounds awful
what exercise do you do to strengthen the muscles up the sides of your knees
and the ones on the sides of your ankles ?
Just that working on those was what made the real difference for me
as they hold the parts of the joint into position and reduce the amount it grinds