sore knee

[paulxcook]

Here's a weird situation: for the last 2 weeks my left knee has gotten increasingly sore, to the point that sometimes I have to limp for a minute if I get up from sitting down for a while. The weird parts:

- I'm 23 years old
- I'm overweight, but not obese (6'2, 230 lbs with greater-than-average muscle)
- I haven't been active since I took a new office job over a year ago, hence I don't do ANYTHING that would cause an injury

I can't exactly take it easy to let it heal, because all I do is take it easy. That's why I want to join a gym, I'm already tired of being sedentary. I've never been prone to aches and pains, I've never broken a bone or seriously sprained anything despite being pretty active during my childhood, teens, and my early college days.

I really don't get it, but rather than trying to understand it, I just want to get past it. As I mentioned in the gym membership thread, my wife and I are getting gym memberships soon. Squats and deadlifts will be foundational in my workout routines, and neither will go well if I have this mysterious knee injury.

Any suggestions on what I can do to self-rehabilitate? That might be a bit over-the-top, but the pain is real, and weird. I don't really want to bother a doctor with this, what would he say anyway? Give it some time to see if it feels better? Probably.

Any advice would be appreciated, even if it's "just go to the doctor, you schlub."

 

[crt1530]

Knee soreness can result from all kinds of things. The things that you can do to that might help alleviate knee issues are: taking glucosamine and fish oil supplements, light rehab work (slow, full ROM bodyweight squats), and foam rolling.

• Glucosmine has been proven effective in easing osteoarthritis pain, rehabilitating cartilage, renewing synovial fluid, and repairing joints that suffered injury.

• Fish oil helps the body reduce inflammation.

• Bodyweight squats through a complete ROM will help stretch and strengthen any muscles that might be tight and/or excessively weak.

• Foam rolling (i.e. myofascial release) can do all kinds of good things to your muscles and the joints they're attached to/across.

These are all things that you can do when your knees are hurt/hurting or mildly injured. There are many issues for which you should definitely consult a doctor (e.g. patellar tracking issues, torn ligament). I have no idea what is wrong with your knee and your description was pretty vague. It might just be that your leg muscles have atrophied with all your inactivity in the past year and are not happy having to move around your 230lbs when you do get around to doing something other than sitting.

 

[purbeast0]

serious question ... did you just start driving stick shift?

when i first started and learned earlier this year, my left knee would bug me. i would have to kind of have my knee turned sideways while I pressed the clutch in and out to get it around the steering wheel.

i then realized my car had a telescopic steering wheel and pulled it out so that my knees would fit under it when i push in then pop the clutch out

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: crt1530
These are all things that you can do when your knees are hurt/hurting or mildly injured. There are many issues for which you should definitely consult a doctor (e.g. patellar tracking issues, torn ligament). I have no idea what is wrong with your knee and your description was pretty vague. It might just be that your leg muscles have atrophied with all your inactivity in the past year and are not happy having to move around your 230lbs when you do get around to doing something other than sitting.

Sorry for the ambiguity. I'll try to describe it more fully...

Say I start with my leg at 180 degrees and begin to bend. The pain and discomfort increases as I bend it until around 80-90 degrees. At that point its like the pain reaches a threshold, there's a kind of popping sensation (though no audible noise), and further bending feels less and less painful as I go. Then if I fully extend my leg again the same thing happens at the same angle range. That's why stairs are a lot more painful than just walking, I guess.

I will look into fish oil at least, as I should probably be taking that anyway. And the other suggestions as well, thanks.

purbeast, no, unfortunately I still have the same automatic transmission car I've had for the last 2 years.

 

[nflesher87]

Definitely look into the fish oil, and check all your local health stores to see if any have some on clearance as it can be had very cheap if so.
Not only has fish oil been found to decrease inflammation, it's also thought to aid in joint lubrication.
As for the glucosamine, while that's also a popular option for joint pain, there's still no great evidence as to whether glucosamine and/or chondroitin are actually even absorbed and utilized by the body when taken as supplements..though sadly that's the case with most of these supplements...

All that said, do you/have you begun recently sitting on your leg? Seeing as you aren't doing anything active/strenuous this would almost have to be a result of bad posture.

 

[crt1530]

Start doing those things I recommended and pay attention to what you're doing with your legs throughout the day. You might be doing something that's causing the problem (e.g. how you sleep, sit, drive, etc.) and be completely unaware of it.

 

[GenHoth]

Watch your posture, it can cause knee problems

 

[IGBT]

..you might get a gell ice pack and freeze it then wrap it around your knee. From time to time my right knee bothers me and the frozed gell pack works great. I put it under a neoprene knee wrap to hold it in place.

 

[TallBill]

I agree with the body weight squats. Or light weight and work your way up. I've read quite a few stories about the motion helping people.

 

[StageLeft]

This is a massive box you've opened. I will say for now that looking to supplements to solve it is almost certainly not going to give resolution (it may correlate to the resolution, but they will not substantially motivate it).

When you do end up doing squats, I'd highly recommend against going below a 90 degree knee bend. Also, I believe that body weight functional squats are better than strapping on a bar and going through the movement. For most people, this will mean one-legged squats. You can use dumbells held to the front if you want, and try to weight the heel, but again avoid more than a 90 degree knee bend. I have looked into my particular knee problem from untold angles and believe there is no benefit to anybody besides power lifters doing heavy, deep squats. The more time you and spend on one leg, too, the better, because it forces balance which bar squats do not force.

The average sedentary person is so far out of whack from a flexibility and strength perspective that they may find various problems from time to time. A physical therapist could probably diagnose any glaring shortcomings and I bet simply a yoga class (and on oxygen each morning, you could DVR "Inhale" and do that instead) would show you how grossly unbalanced you are in certain areas. I'm rather sure my chronic knee condition is a result of a mild imbalance exacerbated with many miles of long distance running (hence the fact it's on one side and the other feels like a perfect knee).

Sups will not be a solution because their benefits are mild at best. Glucosamine the jury is still somewhat out on, which hints to me that it's no panacea and the contemporary studies show it has some benefits to people with significant arthritis--which you probably do not have. I take it for the heck of it and to cover all my bases, but any substantial issue you have will not be solved by a sup; you need to look at the underlying cause (which can be hard) and solve it instead.

Given the short duration of this issue, it's very very possible it doesn't warranty any attention. All of us from time to get get a weird pain that just eventually sorts itself out.

 

[paulxcook]

I'm making a conscious effort to not tuck my left leg under me while sitting at my desk at work. I was doing that earlier without realizing it, and noticed my knee was getting sore. Maybe that's it.

 

[Vic]

You should get it checked out by a doctor just to be sure, but I'm willing to bet it's Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome

Welcome to my world. It's a chronic condition, but it can be managed.

The "popping" is your patella (kneecap) floating in and out of place. The pain is from the irritation caused by that.

Most PT's will tell you that you need to strengthen your quads, lose some weight (to reduce the stress on your joints), and avoid repetitive impact exercises (like running and jumping). Although you should still be able to play the occasional game of basketball, cycling will be your new favorite cardio exercise.
You should also pick up a pair of simple elastic knee braces for when you exercise, like these.

 

[paulxcook]

Update: if any of you care, since paying more attention to my posture my knee pain has gone down. If it keeps decreasing at this rate I should be back to normal in 3-4 days.

 

[thespeakerbox]

Do you have insurance? There's no harm in going to the doctor and getting it checked out.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Vic
You should get it checked out by a doctor just to be sure, but I'm willing to bet it's Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome

Welcome to my world. It's a chronic condition, but it can be managed.

Can you provide a little more info on this? I'm pretty sure that I've got *something* wrong with my knees. There's no one think in particular that seems to cause it, but after some nights of basketball or after doing leg presses I find that my knees just completely give out on me.

Trying to walk up stairs is misery, but even worse, I've actually collapsed when trying to walk down stairs. It feels like somebody is driving an icepick and twisting it around under my kneecap.

I can go three months without a problem but then out of the blue I find that I have to walk up stairs sideways and make sure that I have two hands on the railing before starting my climb down. It'll last for a few days and then go away. It started happening a few years ago (I was around 27).

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Vic
You should get it checked out by a doctor just to be sure, but I'm willing to bet it's Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome

Welcome to my world. It's a chronic condition, but it can be managed.

Can you provide a little more info on this? I'm pretty sure that I've got *something* wrong with my knees. There's no one think in particular that seems to cause it, but after some nights of basketball or after doing leg presses I find that my knees just completely give out on me.

Trying to walk up stairs is misery, but even worse, I've actually collapsed when trying to walk down stairs. It feels like somebody is driving an icepick and twisting it around under my kneecap.

I can go three months without a problem but then out of the blue I find that I have to walk up stairs sideways and make sure that I have two hands on the railing before starting my climb down. It'll last for a few days and then go away. It started happening a few years ago (I was around 27).

You should get that checked out by a doctor. It could be more serious.

 

[paulxcook]

vi that sounds awful. Have you been to the doctor for it?

 

[GenHoth]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Update: if any of you care, since paying more attention to my posture my knee pain has gone down. If it keeps decreasing at this rate I should be back to normal in 3-4 days.

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Watch your posture, it can cause knee problems

vi, same thing. I have virtually the same problem you do. I find that it comes from when I relax my back to much and get this weird 'lean forward' type of posture problem. Fortunately it sounds like you have a head start on me, yours is just in a few exercises and sports, mine was while just walking around too

 

[nflesher87]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Update: if any of you care, since paying more attention to my posture my knee pain has gone down. If it keeps decreasing at this rate I should be back to normal in 3-4 days.

good to hear bro

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: GenHoth

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Watch your posture, it can cause knee problems

[/quote]

I bow before the mighty posture consultant

 

[GenHoth]

Originally posted by: paulxcook

I bow before the mighty posture consultant

Diagnosing knee pain since '04!

 

[eits]

sounds like a pelvis issue to me. it's causing your i.t. band to be tight, which causes your knee pains. get a chiropractic consult, do some foam rolling, and make sure you stretch out your low back and hip muscles.