I assume you're sitting down with your feet on the floor. Now, take one hand and put it on one kneecap. It doesn't matter which, maybe just the leg you favor. (can one favor a leg?) Now, extend your leg until it's sticking straight out.
Did you feel a small pop in your kneecap as you did so?
Here's what's been troubling me. I have IT band syndrome, which means that my iliotibial band (which runs from your kneecap and essentially up your hip and into your buttcheek) is too tight and, when aggravated, drags my kneecap diagonally across the bone. It's very painful, and last year I wound up limping around campus like a hobo faking a Vietnam injury. I've been correcting it by stretching extensively and excercising my hip abductors (ouside hips). However, I still feel a small pop when I do this. A friend of mine feels the same thing, but, as far as I know, he doesn't have IT syndrome. What does trouble me is that the tightness of the IT band could be structural- not from over work. My legs could just be naturally messed up. This is only correctible by surgery. I've been wondering if this is the case, since I feel the *pop*. It hasn't hurt much recently, but maybe that's because I laid off the knee exercises. Weird thing is that the pop is much greater in my right knee than my left, and my left knee was the one that went nuts last year.
I also feel a distinct tightness in my hip when I lie down, draw my knee up to my chest, and then return my leg to the original position. I feel a pop in my knee as the leg goes down, as well, like a tendon is falling into place. My friend reports that he has had the same thing happen to him, though not constantly.
Anyways, if this popping is common I'll feel much better. If it isn't, any advice would be welcome.
Posts: 2258 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Have you tried physical therapy? Find a practictioner of the "strain/counterstrain" treatment. That might help -
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Physical therapists are really, evil and good at the same time.
I had a bad back, and c'mon, I'm only fourteen years old. I went to one, found out something threw my spine out of whack, and he straightened it. That was good and all, but then came my suffering, in order for me to keep it strong and straight, I need to do fairly agravating excersises.
However, my back feels so much better. I'd think to say, go to one, then do what they say... It may seem like torture to do the stretches and excersises they assign, but man do they help.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Actually, they didn't help my back...I ended up in a brace, then with surgery. But if they helped you, I'm glad.
My shoulder, by the way, pops constantly...I think it is actually grating on my rib cage, believe it or not. (I'm a little distorted back there, especially on the right side.) My knees don't pop, though.
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I'm 23, and not only do my knees pop every time I move them, they pop while I'm swimming! I hear the sharp metallic sound constantly in the water. Very strange. Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I've never had any problems with my knees but I do get the slight pop that you're describing. Sounds like it might be something that is common but that in extreme could be a sympton of more serious problems. What do you think?
Posts: 270 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I think there's a difference between the "popping" sound that comes from age, and the popping being described above. My sister has back and knee problems. She is currently undergoing physical therapy for her back, and is not allowed to do her knee exercises. We went out this weekend, and she had problems walking up the stairs, and commented that her kneecaps felt like they were about to come flying off.
My knees are quite musical (as are my ankles), but I don't get any feeling of popping when I bend them. Well, sometimes if I am doing deep squatting or if I've been kneeling on them, but not in everyday use.
Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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(sigh) Well, I'll have to get on that, then.
Edit: Hey, CT, as long as you're around, even though I'm having knee troubles because of my weight, do you think it'd be OK for me to jog or run? Or would that just aggravate it?
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I think low impact is the best Ryuko. (This coming from what I know about sports and the fact I've got genetically wierd knees myself, that I can hyperextend like a stork.) I'd do eliptical work if you possibly can.
Believe it or not we got the el-cheapo version of the Gazelle for about $80 at Walmart (even though I loathe and dispise Tony Liddle and Walmart isn't far behind) after a friend who was heavy and had knee problems started losing weight using it. If I have to stand up and do any sort of exercise (I much prefer to swim or bike) the Gazelle beats most other types of excersise IMO. The other option that is low impact is roller blading. If I actually run or jog much anything over a mile my knees start killing me, they always have. (I would be a decent triathalete if they put something else in place of running!)
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Ryuko, I know so little about this that it's pathetic. It's a primarily adult issue (though kids are becoming more involved), I don't know the details of your medical history, and I cannot examine you over the net (alas!).
Want a sorta-educated guess? I think jogging is harder on the knees, and low-impact would be better (as AJ recommended above). I can't tell you where to draw the line in your own case, but I think that's a good rule of thumb.
Another good rule of thumb is that if one will be doing higher-impact activities on a regular basis, then it is usually good to do some preparatory strengthening/stretching exercises to prepare your knees for the increased workload. Strong quads and un-tight hamstrings make for more stable knees. There are good exercises to do against the wall, on stairs, or just on the floor, and you can do them while listening to music or watching telvision.
Best bet is to talk to those medical professionals (physicians, physical therapists, etc) already familiar with your special needs and make up a plan with them. I'll put in an extra plug for PTs about this -- in my experience, non-sports-med/non-orthopedic physicians have little training in these matters, although YMMV.
(Patience, grasshopper. It took a while to get where you are, and it will take a while to see improvement. Enjoy the journey. )
These links are from a U Michigan rehab site, but they will work for anyone. Good basics. Click on the picture to enlarge.
Next to lastly, consider minimizing impact by doing something like the Gazelle machine AJ mentioned, or swimming, or power-walking, instead of jogging. (But I understand that we have to find our own ways of doing things, and one may be able to get up the jog when the power-walk would be left undone. Listen to your joints, though, if it gets tough.)
Finally, I'll be doing the exercises (strength/stretch) above, and I'll cheerlead if you like, and if you will. Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Thanks. I actually don't know how bad my joints have gotten because I'm already having asthma problems and need to slow down before my knees start to hurt too much. But I'll keep your advice in mind and visit the doctor.
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Fencing is vicious on joints, especially knees and ankles.
One of the ways I've helped try to prevent this is through yoga.
Yoga rocks, and can actually be a very intense workout. Who needs weights, when one can use one's own mass instead? Who needs fancy machines, when all one needs is a yoga matt, and some basic instruction.
Does wonders for my fencing, and I've started to see better muscle tone everywhere. Its uber-cool.
Go yoga! Go Fencing! Wooo! are they doing yoga? maybe..
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