posted
As I get older, I find that if I'm active, my knees bother as I go up or down stairs for the next day. So now I've decided that I need to start icing my knees after my activity.
But here's the question -- how long should I ice them? For an hour? Two? All day if I can?
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
If you use cream cheese frosting, you've got two to three hours at best of light use before it'll get all runny.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
If I started using that, it would counteract all the good affects of being more active. I might as well sit on my butt reading the 'rack all day.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Maybe I'm 12, but I'm vastly amused by the juxtaposition of cream cheese frosting and butt in this thread.
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I'm 37. I always keep a knee brace in my tennis bag for whichever knee decides it might want to ache that day. If they both ache at the same time, I take that as a sign I should just go home.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
May I also suggest topical arnica? Another good one is Jason Tea Tree Oil Mineral gel. I have osteoarthritis, and those are the inly things I need to use. Of course, if you then want Bev to lick iceing off your knees, that would taste nasty.
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My husband has the same problem except now his shoulders are achy too. We can't figure out what to do about it.
Posts: 188 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Elevate and leave the ice on no more than half an hour at a time. Wrap it when you're up and about.
And take two ibuprofen.
If you've strained some muscles that's all it should take. If it seems to be a continual problem, go see your doctor. Knees aren't supposed to hurt just because you use them.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Stretching is crucial to good knees, regardless of weight. Stretch for twenty minutes before and after exercise doing quads, hamstring, and IT band.
How does it hurt? Does it hurt when you start from a squatting position and stand, like, right underneath your kneecap? Because I know what that is, and there are some stretches I can reccommend.
Posts: 2258 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote: The most common tendinitis about the knee is irritation of the patellar tendon. Commonly called "jumper’s knee", patellar tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon that attaches the patella (kneecap) to the tibia (shin bone).
quote: In many cases, you will notice a sudden onset of aching and pain in the area just below the kneecap after sports or recreational activities. You may notice pain when landing from a jump or when going up and down stairs. There is sometimes pain at rest, particularly after sitting with the knees bent for a period of time. Swelling in the area just below the kneecap is common, as well as a feeling of weakness at the knee when pain is felt.
quote: Treatment has two objectives: to reduce the inflammation and to allow the tendon to heal.
When the knee is painful and swollen, you must rest it. Avoid stair climbing and jumping sports. Keep your knee straight while sitting, and avoid squatting. Let pain be your guide. You are aggravating the condition if you continue activities while experiencing pain. Mild discomfort or ache is not a problem but definite pain is a cause for concern.
Ice your knee for 20 minutes, two or three times a day and after any sporting activities–apply a bag of crushed ice over a towel. This reduces swelling, inflammation and pain.
posted
mph, I too will try to find a good sports med article for you.
Strengthening quads, stretching hamstrings/calves/IT band, using good technique, ice for 20 min or so, and anti-inflammatories are all good general things to do.
What do you mean by "my knees bother me"? Pain (and where, how much, what kind), crunchy sounds, weakness, slippage ...?
Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Decapitation also generally works rather well in getting rid of all sorts of pain. Though some people find the long term side effects to be distasteful (ie: decomposition)
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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posted
This is not what I was thinking of when I read "basic body maintenance question." But then I realized that it was MPH, and so of course the thread wouldn't be about Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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:blink: I totally don't follow your thought process, but I'm okay with that. Our definitions of "maintenance" must be different.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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"Body maintenance" for some reason makes me thinking of keeping all of the body's levels (energy, stress, libido) in what the engineer in me wants to describe as "nominal operating ranges." Being male, the first of these that sprung to mind was libido, and the curbing thereof. And of course it makes the parenthetical portion of the title somewhat more amusing. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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...means I'm not asking for an explanation. But, as it happens, I think I'm going to stop asking people how they are and start asking if they are currently functioning in their nominal operating ranges.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
It's not an injury or muscle strain -- it's all in the joint.
No crunching sounds or anything -- it just feels a little tender under the kneecap when going up or down stairs.
I actually *have* talked to my doctor about it, and he said that it is probably just a consequence of getting a little older. I've done Aikido for 7 or 8 years, but my knees have only bothered me this last year or so.
It's my doctor that told me to ice it. I just didn't know long you are supposed to ice things for. I've generally been from the "Don't do anything to fix an ailment, not even cough medicine, until you have to go the hospital" school of thought. Or lack of thought.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Oh, in addition to energy levels I was also thinking of the fluid systems (blood, saliva, urine, et cetera). Like tank levels in a process control problem.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote: But, as it happens, I think I'm going to stop asking people how they are and start asking if they are currently functioning in their nominal operating ranges.
Didn't Data on TNG do that?
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Okay, then I won't ever be asking YOU this instead of "how are you," because I really am not interested in anyone's fluid levels but my own.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
M-kay. When I can't reply without multiple posts showing up while I'm typing, it's time for bed. Have fun, all. Good luck with your knee, mph.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I think my knee will be fine. I'm doing things differently and trying to take care of me body before it breaks.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I came into this a bit late. All aches and pains can be solved by chopping off the part of the body that is aching and paining. Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Stan -- I'm confused as to what you mean. Could you demonstrate by getting rid of a headache next time you have one?
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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