brace question...

[Sarlon]

I KNOW no ones a doctor, but we all have our aches and pains....so I wanted to see what you guys can suggest...please note that this is NOT serious enough to take to a doctor since 3 have already told me there's nothing I can do for now.....MAYBE surgery 20 years down the road.

back in 2002, I fell at work and landed HARD on my knee cap, bounced and then fell on top of it (all 200 pounds of me). Nothing broke, nothing tore, just a severe bone bruise on the knee cap. That night the thing swelled to the size of a softball, and i went to the doctor first thing the next morning after making sure I didn't need to go to a specific doctor to be covered under work's workers comp...thus i found out about the bone bruise, put on muscle relaxers, and told to take it easy for a week.

Fast forward through the years, and I can now accurately predict the weather within 24 hours, because my knee will lock up and hurt like a , its to the point where keeping it bent like I'm sitting in a chair hurts less then stretching it out....I handle these with over the counter meds since its rarely bad enough need something stronger.

So now comes my question, I'm taking a bowling class this term, and while I've learned to balance on legs so not my full balance is equally on both, when I go to throw the ball, after the 13th or 15th frame my knee starts acting loopy and can't deciede if it wants to stay in place or not. (not physically dislocating of course, just the popping feeling).

I thought maybe a brace or something similiar? and if so, any suggestions?

[Chanlin]

I am not speaking from personal experience. I work at a summer camp and one of the girls who works there was in a car accident. Long story short she wears a knee brace whenever she is going to be on her feet for long periods of time.

One time when she was complaining about putting the brace on and taking it off all the time we asked her why not get a velcro one. She responded that the first brace she got was velcro and the straps wore out after about a year or so.

It could have been a cheap brand, but just figured I'd share the story as a possible consideration of the type to get.

[BlaqueKatt]

I thought maybe a brace or something similiar? and if so, any suggestions?

Problem with braces is they're made to support certain specific weaknesses(acl, pcl, lcl), and the wrong one can cause extensive damage. Best bet even though you don't think a doctor will help, a physical therapist or sports medicine doc would be able to suggest the correct brace.

[Sarlon]

wonder if the student health clinic could point me in the right direction

[Sapphire Silk]

wonder if the student health clinic could point me in the right direction

They can give you a referral. You should see an orthopedist or sports medicine specialist.

You don't need a prescription for the over the counter knee braces you could buy at Wally World or someplace similar. Some are simple sleeves, some contain complicated hardware. But if you decide seeing a doctor is too expensive, I do think wearing a brace with hardware added to it could create problems for you unless you've been evaluated and that type is recommended for the problem you have.

The wrong brace can cause you more problems if you restrict movement too much or in the wrong place, or if you wear it too long or for long periods of time. You can end up with muscle weaknesses that make the problems you have worse. I wore an ankle brace that I think contributed to the foot problems I had when I broke my foot; it added stress to one part of my foot in the process of stabilizing it.

Currently I wear a knee sleeve on both knees when I do Tae Kwon Do. They give me a bit of stability, and have gel pads to protect my knee caps during sparring, or when I have to be on the floor practicing certain things (even with the mats, kneeling is normally very difficult for me). I only wear them during class or while I'm actively competing.

And . . . I hate to bring this up . . . you said you weigh 200 lbs. Unless you are over 6ft tall, losing some weight would help the overall knee problems. I understand it can be difficult to do. I get that. But I know from personal experience that losing 25 pounds took a lot of pressure off my knees, and I am having a lot less knee pain as a result.

I suspect the doctor will refer you to physical therapy. If you have insurance, GO! I did. Even though I didn't go very long, the therapy taught me some good exercises to use to strengthen my quadriceps muscles, and that led directly to a lot of reduced pain.

The weather ache you can't fix. If you've developed some arthritis, you'll probably have that for life. I have the same problem in both knees (left is worst, dislocated it a few years ago). We had a storm earlier today; knee ached like you wouldn't believe just prior. Now it feels fine. I've just learned to live with it.

[Sarlon]

the brace would only be for the bowling class, and I KNOW loosing weight will help with the stress on the knee joint.....I'm slowly working on that.

as for physical therapy? I still do the excercises they taught me to help keep mobility on it, but its the suddenly shift of weight to it when I bowl thats causeing the knee pains....walking about campus? nothing more mild than any other day.

bowling? I KNOW my throw will go bad if i feel that pop.

[Sapphire Silk]

I suggest you work on some exercises to improve your quads specifically. Walking, especially power walking, can give you some cardio which is good for weight loss. But you need some strength training as well.

If you have access to the campus gym, use the machine weights. Do some treadmill first to warm up, then do the Leg Press, and incline leg press.

Lunges and squats are great exercises for the quads. Do them without weights; weights should only be added when you need the increased resistance to get the effect of the exercise. Don't lunge or squat any more than you can stand. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. You don't have to go all the way down. When you feel discomfort, stop and let up. Then go back down.

Try leg lifts. You can do them single leg at first; lay flat and keep the leg straight. Slowly lift the leg and slowly lower it without letting the heel touch the floor. Do three reps of 10 alternating with each leg. Later, you can do double leg lifts.

Work on your core. Push ups are good for this, as is the plank. Sit ups are iffy; if you have a bad back I avoid them.

Take a circuit training class. Full body training will balance out the rest of your body while you work on the quads. You'll lose weight, too, which will help all on its own.

I do the leg lifts every day before I get out of bed in the morning. I also do foot and ankle exercises because of my plantar fasciitis.

The trick is multiple reps of 10 3-4 days a week. Drink a protein shake afterwards to give your body the building blocks for muscle (check with your doctor if you have kidney problems; high protein diets aren't good for the kidney if it is unhealthy).

[bhskittykatt]

I'm a student PTA so I'm a bit biased but...I second the suggestion for physical therapy if you can get it. Also, Sapphire's suggestion of quad work is also a very good idea. All the muscles around your knee, really, but the quads are what really affect your kneecap.

You could have patellofemoral syndrome or a torn ligament in there somewhere. A PT can help diagnose what's up so you can get an appropriate brace and/or better targeted exercises. I would start at the student health clinic and see if they can hook you up with a PT.

[Shangri-laschild]

If it would help any, can you take an ice pack with you in a small cooler or something so you can ice your knee in between frames? I can't wear any kind of knee brace (every single kind makes my knee click and hurt) and so I've had to adapt around that and find ways to help my bad knees without them. I highly recommend clay ice packs, they are amazing.