[Dani]

So, I've been having some issues with weakness in my left leg and some pain in my knee. About two months ago, my doctor told me that my knee cap is not sliding in it's groove correctly and presribed a knee brace and told me to limit some of my exercises (not all of them, just some of the more knee strenuous ones). Well, the clicking stopped for the most part, but now the weakness, and feelings of my leg wanting to give out started to increase during a bootcamp program that I did through my gym.

Well, I went back to the doctor and told him about the weakness feelings, and he sent me in for x-rays and to start PT. The results of the x-rays were that I have osteoarthritis, narrowing of the joint behind the patella and spurring of the medial joint. Recommendation is anti-inflammatories, PT, and glucosimine (which I'd already been taking).

I haven't been able to find anywhere where any of these three things cause leg weakness like what I've been feeling, and everyone seems to think that I'm going to need replacement surgery eventually.

Anyone with any experience with this? I'm not stopping my physical activity any time soon and don't plan to.

 

[Garth]

No experience with knees but I have it in my lower back so I know what you're going through. Does your Dr have you on calcium Dani? I take 1X600mg/day as well as the glucosamine & anti inflammatories on bad days. It might help in the long term if you're not taking it already.

 

[Di]

I dont have any personal experience but my Aunt has had to have both knees replaced. With great results with the 1st one, and some not so great with the second one- but it was related to an infection she got in the joint. I will ask her about the leg weakness, maybe she will have some insight I can pass on to you! Hope the conservative treatment works Dani.

 

[labby]

Welcome to my world. Don't you run? If so, I'd bet a lot of it is from the running and constant pounding. My brother was a runner most of his life and his knees are almost as bad as mine. His doc told him to stop running. Once he did, the knee pain was better, but it will never be 100% again.

Build up the quads. What I was told when I blew my knee out at 12 was the quads help hold the knee stable. Of course, that was a few years ago and I don't know if the docs still feel that way. My ortho doc told me the last time I was in to keep the quads hard, so maybe it's still true.

I've been holding off on total knee replacements for almost 20 years. Once you have instability in the knee though, your time is limited. Braces work, but my doc doesn't want my legs to become dependent on them either. So I pay special attention to my legs when I'm in the gym.

 

[amazongold]

When I fell in December, the one thing I was told was that if the knee starts feeling like it's going to give out, or that the leg is weak, to get it checked by an ortho. He didn't say why specifically, but gave me the impression that it would probably mean surgery of some sort. I assumed it was the ligaments, as they help keep the joint stable.

 

[Dani]

Yeah, I run...and I don't want to stop running. I do so many squats and lunges that I can't see how my quads aren't strong. Interesting. It will be interesting to see what PT says on Tuesday. I'm not in constant pain..it comes and goes.

Thanks for your insights.

 

[labby]

squats and lunges are very hard on the knees as well.

 

[Linda1]

I need a knee replacement and have been trying my best to postpone it as long as possible. I had to stop many of the things that helped keep me physically fit. To keep the pain at bay, I've been getting cortisone shots and like Laura said, keeping my legs strong which is harder to do since I can't do the lunges and squats. They make the pain worse. I walk a great deal and use an elliptical. I can't trust my one knee. I have fallen several times when it just out of the blue goes out from under me. I hope PT can give you a plan that works for you.

 

[Bob Pr.]

Knee pain isn't fun and there is a typically long series of steps to reduce it:
-- braces can help some,
-- G&C helps some,
-- PT helps some,
-- cortisone shots help some
-- arthroscopic surgery helps some
-- but when all those have run their course and no longer give enough relief, after that it's reconstructive/replacement surgery (and successful r/r surgeries help a whole lot more than those that are less than fully successful).

Surgery (in my experience) does eliminate the pain but at the price of somewhat reduced flexibility; the less than successful surgery may eliminate the pain but reduce flexibility and mobility a lot.

ETA: words in blue

 

[labby]

As someone who has had unsuccessful ligament surgery, it should be your LAST resort. My right knee has never been the same. My left knee which underwent reconstruction when I was 14, is the better of my two knees and the surgery on the left was much more invasive and complicated than the surgery on the right.

BTW, I'm so old I'm one of the first people in the US to have had arthroscopic surgery. They did it for the second left knee surgery a year after the reconstruction.

 

[Labs4life]

Skip the lunges and squats and try leg presses instead. Take a break from running and switch to the stair master. Try it for a few weeks.

It will take a little of the strain off the knees.

 

[Benson's mom]

I don't have any knee-specific advice, but I was having shoulder/arm pain and weakness. PT did help alot. I hope they are able to help you, too.

 

[YellowJakesMom]

Could you swim instead of run? Or use an elliptical machine? Hope the doctors can find a way to get you some relief!

 

[Clanceycanuck]

Hope you find some long term answers Dani, that sucks.

 

[Emyly]

Build up the quads. What I was told when I blew my knee out at 12 was the quads help hold the knee stable. Of course, that was a few years ago and I don't know if the docs still feel that way. My ortho doc told me the last time I was in to keep the quads hard, so maybe it's still true.

This is what my ortho told me last March when I injured my knee (dislocated kneecap due to torn ligaments etc). He said the only thing keeping that knee in place (other than the J-brace I have to wear if I'm doing anything more rigorous than sleep or walking on a level surface) is the quad-- and that was the area my Physical Therapy focused on.

My particular problem is hereditary--the way my knees are built, my kneecaps point out which makes them more susceptible to this injury. My brother had the same injury in college. It's a particular pain in the rear now because i need lose weight and my cardio is limited to swimming or recumbent bike or brisk walking because anything else jars the knees

Oh, and they threw in a second J-brace for my "good knee" for when it goes out