My knees are a mess and I'm only 32 - who do I see?

[Mybobowler]

I'm 32 and a healthy weight. I'm fairly active - lots of walking and chasing after a toddler, but not a lot else these days. I'm slightly hypermobile but that's only been picked up incidentally (during acupuncture and by a hand surgeon!).

I have two young children (three years and three months) and the combined effect of pregnancies, carrying children and spending a long time kneeling or sitting on the floor has completely busted my knees. They pop walking up stairs and have recently been giving me a lot of pain in certain positions or movements. Occasionally, one will give out under me if I squat or push myself up by my legs.

I know I need to get this problem looked at before it gets worse, but who do I go to? GP? Physio? Osteopath?

It's really getting me down, in part because I feel about thirty years older than I am!

Physio first line. They are much better than GPs. (I'm a GP!!)

Physio. I tried for years to get a GP to take me seriously. My knee and ankle pain was first considered arthritis by a physio, GP was not convinced, consultant luckily agreed with the physio. A physio has more experience with how your joints/muscles work and can spot issues better than a general GP.

Physio. I saw one for my knees after dc2, turned out to be my back!

Physio! I had similar. Turned out I had weak glutes. Once that was sorted my knees were much better.

Physio it is then, I'm so glad I asked! I just googled and our local NHS physiotherapy service don't accept self referral. Annoying! I'm not sure I can afford private, but I'll look into it.

@Okeydoky interesting, someone recently suggested my bad posture (see: all the carrying children!) might be fixed by strengthening my glutes. Hadn't occurred to me my dodgy knees might also be connected. Can I ask how long it took to see an improvement?

Physio. Ask your GP fir a referral.

In the meantime, search for Lucy Wyndham Read Thighs and Glutes on YouTube. Do this at least three times a week. It’s only 10 minutes but super effective.

Also look at Dr Jo on YouTube. She is a physio with very good advice fir lots of problems.

Try asking in your GP surgery; ours has a Physio embedded in the practice who does really good value private sessions.

Self refer to nhs physio

Only about four weeks of doing the exercises they gave me. If money is short you could have an initial session and then work on the exercises at home for a while.

My knee & back pain was also helped by special insoles in my shoes as apparently I have really high arches so normal shoes are too flat for my feet. A proper podiatrist helped me out with that.

Also yoga for improved posture overall helps. And when all else fails voltarol gel is fantastic stuff.

Physio definitely. Podiatrists can also help with knees. Good pilates instructor worth their weight in gold. If you're lucky, you'll get a physio who also teaches pilates.

I would go to your GP at the same time as a physio as although physios will know more about knees, the GP can make a referral and get you xrays or an MRI.
My experience was that only the consultant really knew the ins and outs of what could be done re my knee. There was a lot of hoops to jump through before getting to see him though.