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Knee Problems
Thanatos
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've been having knee pain off and on for a few months, now. I've been applying the tried-and-true man-cure of "ignore it and hope it goes away." It gets pretty bad at times, but never worse than a 4 or so on a ten-point scale. It primarily hurts when I'm putting pressure on it while it is bent, particularly when going downstairs, or any sort of squat-type movement. It is a pain directly on the knee, though there is what feels like some muscle soreness around it. It is my right knee, and only my right knee; no problems with the left knee.
So, I've got two questions: 1) anyone have any idea what this could be? The closest description I've got to what I'm experiencing off of, like, WebMD is patellofemoral pain syndrome, but that's mostly a thing that happens to athletes, it seems like, whereas I'm just a moderately-active fat guy. 2) What is the best way to find a doctor for something like this? I've been using my insurance company's website to find in-network doctors, and I was going to use the top doctors on Yelp to compare and find the best nearby one, but the first twenty "medical professionals" ranked in my area are half a dozen dentists, an eye doctor, and 13 chiropractors/acupuncturists/naturopaths/bullshit artists, which doesn't exactly cause my confidence in that site to skyrocket.
Other potentially relevant facts: I just turned 30, I'm a pretty fat guy (5'10", 280 pounds), and I walk a lot, and hit the gym fairly frequently (usually 3-4 days a week), and do a mix of weightlifting and cardio; I was running on treadmills for awhile, but stopped when the knee pain started, and I also stopped doing squats shortly after the knee pain started.
So, I've got two questions: 1) anyone have any idea what this could be? The closest description I've got to what I'm experiencing off of, like, WebMD is patellofemoral pain syndrome, but that's mostly a thing that happens to athletes, it seems like, whereas I'm just a moderately-active fat guy. 2) What is the best way to find a doctor for something like this? I've been using my insurance company's website to find in-network doctors, and I was going to use the top doctors on Yelp to compare and find the best nearby one, but the first twenty "medical professionals" ranked in my area are half a dozen dentists, an eye doctor, and 13 chiropractors/acupuncturists/naturopaths/bullshit artists, which doesn't exactly cause my confidence in that site to skyrocket.
Other potentially relevant facts: I just turned 30, I'm a pretty fat guy (5'10", 280 pounds), and I walk a lot, and hit the gym fairly frequently (usually 3-4 days a week), and do a mix of weightlifting and cardio; I was running on treadmills for awhile, but stopped when the knee pain started, and I also stopped doing squats shortly after the knee pain started.
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The only way to find out what the problem is it is by consulting with an Orthopedist (An orthopaedic surgeon), he would need to order x-ray, this will be the first step to determine if more studies are needed.
However, it's only one knee (I probably should have mentioned that), and it makes it hard to exercise.
As to where it may have come from, unless you're prone to arthritis it's probably from injury/overuse. I recall you being in a bike thread recently, mayhap you are not properly sized? I'd probably take it easier and adjust the seat post so your leg doesn't fully extend on the downstroke as you may be hyperextending. Also, cannot recall if you lift heavy, perhaps your form is breaking down on squats; I get a little twinge in my knee during squats at times, on the interior side, and it reminds me to keep everything flexed/tight.
I would start by finding a general practitioner Dr through your insurance. Look at the ones near you, and I look for older ones that have been around long enough to have seen some shit. They can recommend a specialist if it's warranted.
Steam
Only the strong can help the weak.
A couple of things come to mind:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tear_of_meniscus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knee_arthritis
and if you take two aleve arthritis pills, do you still feel the pain in the middle of the day, doing the same sort of activities when you would otherwise feel it without the pain reliever?
Yeah same here, it's on my right leg, though I'm not sure which one is my dominant leg. The other knee is like whatever lightweight.
Knee braces help though when walking and biking, I couldn't do many leg things like presses until I lost weight just because of the pain.
If you are trying to exercise though just try to stay away from bending intensive exercise, it has worked pretty well for me, my knee only really bothers me if I am trying to do squats or go from runs now.
long story short my advice is don't spend too much money on doctors looking for a problem, chances are it may cost you thousands of dollars to figure it out. again this is my personal experience so initially seeing a doctor might be good just in case they may find an actual problem with your knee. If you get scanned and they don't see anything, just move on and try not to agitate it too much
The other thing is try doing easy exercises on your knee, like if you have some rubber tubing work your knee by bending it with the tube around something secure.
I want to second this. I hurt my knee doing judo back in high school (I think, I fell out of a tree once too so it could be that
But what I wanted to say was this: Last summer I started running pretty intensively in a couple of really good custom fit shoes and my knee problem disappeared within a month. It has taken a sedentary last 6 months for it to reappear. So finding a way to build muscle in your knee could help a lot. At least it did for me.
So, basically, no studies of any kind, is this doctor a certified one?
And yes, he's an M.D.
Having found that I was flat footed and over-pronate, wearing trainers that support my arch and heel properly improved my bio-mechanics and stopped issues that I had with my IT band and knee pain. Much nicer being able to walk upstairs rather than hop after a 10 miler!
Not sure about the states but in the UK the large chain running shops (Sweatshop etc) will all do gait analysis and recommend the correct footwear for you.
Just a thought! Good luck, hopefully it gets sorted and you can get going properly.
Edit - This problem was actually picked up by a friend that runs and confirmed by a physio. Obviously follow your Doctor's advice, but maybe get it checked by someone who is aware of the activity specifics - my Doctor didn't pick up on it.
This is the situation I had. Knee pain behind the knee-cap by the around 2nd-3rd mile of running. Turns out it was my gait and the fact that I had irritated the tissue overdoing it. Ibu helped (and Aleve) to relieve the pain, but in the end I needed to do stretches for 30-48 days to realign my hips properly and tape my foot a little each day. No meds needed. It's not that my hips looked out of alignment at all, but they were slightly off because I tended to put more weight on one leg for certain things. After knowing this and taking care of my leg properly I was free and able to run again, no problem. It was all thanks to the physical therapist. I recommend you also see a physical therapist who can advice a good stretching and tape regimen. Glad you had a doctor check this too, though.