I am living with knee pain. It has been a fact of my entire adult life. I know, for a fact, that it is a problem for millions of people. There are many factors that are attributed to it.
I attribute some of my pain to when I played softball in high school on a community league. I was the catcher a lot and the constant squatting and up and down motion was the beginning of it. At least, that is what I think of when I try to remember when I first started noticing the pain.
Add to that, my after-school jobs and a long career as a teacher. It adds up to the fact that I have been standing on concrete floors for over 30 years.
I started out as a teenager working as a cashier. This turned into ten years of that, along with over twenty years of classroom teaching. Teachers are rarely at their desks. There is too much going on. It is usually the end of the day when they finally get to sit. At least, that is the case with the many teachers that I know.
Adding on top of that, both figuratively and literally, I am not the ideal weight that I should be…or ever was for that matter…
That little glimpse into my history is leading to the point of this post…my knees hurt!
They hurt mostly all the time nowadays.
But, I am trying to increase exercise, which of course is very important for someone trying to get healthier, lose weight and exercise more.
So, I exercise. I go to the gym and use the treadmill. My goal is at least three times a week for 30 minutes each week. Most weeks I make my goal. On the other days, I try to do a yoga routine at home, but that is another post or two in the future about that subject.
I figure that if my knees are going to hurt when I am sitting at my computer writing this article, for instance, I might as well exercise. They will hurt either way but being sedentary we know is not the healthy way, so it’s off to the gym I go.
It is just life, you know?
There are different machines at the gym (obviously, right?) and you have to know your own body and what the limits are. For me the treadmill works because my knees do not work well under the pressure of the elliptical. The motion of the knee and putting all the weight on it is not good for me.
Stairs can be an issue too, so stairmaster is a no go!
The bicycle rotation also ends up with my knee clicking so since I’m trying to not need anything surgical for a long time, I use the treadmill.
A lot of people are fine on all the equipment and I envy them with their strong knees, so make sure you know your body and what it can do.
Just a little friendly advice there. I do not want anyone getting hurt on my watch.
Unfortunately, those are the machines that have had me ending up at the knee doctor about pain, but that is just my story.
Yours may be very different. I hope it is and that you do not have any pain when you work out.
Unfortunately, as we get older or are overweight, or sedentary, we may have more pain than we would like (not that anyone really likes to have any pain at all, I’m just saying).
I have been to the doctors when the pain has been bad; had an MRI on each knee at different times for different pains; had a cortisone shot in each knee at different times (which did help to stop the inflammation but it is not a permanent solution); worn a brace or ace bandage at times for support; took anti-inflammatory medicines to relieve pain; and gone to physical therapy which helped me to learn how to perform exercises to strengthen the muscles of the knees.
These things happened over the course of years of dealing with pain and figuring out how to assimilate it into my life.
I kind have been around the block in terms of knee pain, and as you travel around that block, you pick up things, you learn all about injuries, home treatments, and you get to know what works for you personally and what does not.
So, as I start this venture, into the blogging world, hoping to get healthier and lose weight, I want to see if I can help relieve some of the knee pain in the process. We will have to wait and see if I am successful in that department.
I know ideally that losing weight will take pressure off the knee joint, so that is a main goal of mine anyway. But less pain, without medication or needing surgery in the future would be ideal. I will keep you posted in my journey!
For anyone suffering from pain like me, here are some general things you can do at home to help relieve the pain. You may already know them, but it could not hurt to repeat them.
- RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevate)
- Anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen but check with doctor- not everyone can use them)
- Stretch before activities
- Gradually increase your workout
- Wear good shoes
- Lose weight
How about you? Do you suffer from knee pain? Do you know of any other ways to relieve pain? Comment below and let us know.
This is so great to read. My mom suffers from chronic knee pain. She played basketball ball in highschool and college and taught preschool for 25 years. I’ve learned my lesson from her and in reading this that prevention (if possible) Is key!
Teaching is not good for the knees and I taught the littles for my last six years. The bending and squatting involved with the little ones makes it worse. When I taught other higher grades, I didn’t feel as much pain, except for lower back if I was bending over their desks. But I was also getting older along the way, so there is that too. My weight isn’t helping matters, so hopefully I will start seeing some progress there as well. I thought with the solid walking routine for the last two months, I would see something happening, although my muscles have to be getting better and stronger with the gym habit of 3 days a week over the no days a week I had previously.
Forewarned is forearmed, so that helps you since you can learn from your mom’s pain. Hope she finds some relief too and that yours doesn’t start!
I have chronic knee pain as well, I feel like I spend half my day icing/ elevating etc these days! I hope yours feels better!
Thanks. I’m working on walking even with the pain. I feel good when I’m on the treadmill, then when I sit for a while, I wonder if I even had been walking earlier, feeling good. I hope it starts to feel better and I need to lose weight, which should help too. We will see. Good luck with your knees, as well.