Knees taking a beating

[Your_Crazy]

My normal day is up at 4:30 am, 20 to 30 minute drive to work. 13 hours at work for four days (8 to 12 hrs on feet). I take the stairs up and down a 6 story building. 20 to 30 minutes drive home. Home by 8-8:30. Just enough time to spend with my wife and kids before bed. Then the other three days are 8 hours of work. I’m on my feet all 8hrs. My knees are taking a beating. My left knee is starting to cause me concern. It feels almost like a hyperextension.

My question is.

1) How do I take some of the pressure off my knee?

2) Is there anything I can do to help me strengthen my knee, for this kind of abuse?
3) Would standing be considered exercise?

4) Any recommendations on shoes that can take long day beating?

5) Would a cross trainer or a running shoe work well than a walking shoe?

[Lady C]

It could be from overuse or even bad shoes. It it too hard for people on the internet to diagnose. I would start with simple things like wearing a brace or changing your shoes and see if after a few days it improves or not. If these fail, go see a doctor.

This link might help you. Knee pain - WrongDiagnosis.com

[luke.w]

I'm not giving you any advice, I'm just saying what I do-

stay away from long workout sessions, and ease up on intensity.

focus on staying on the heels and being light on my feet as I walk, and up and down the steps.

any chance I can I do bodweight squat (usually do this insstead of being in a bent over hunched position, like if I have to apply something low to the ground) I will sit in that position (as low as possible, but to heel) and strech "weight on heels".




I recently been digging up my backyard about 2hours a week (on sundays) I'm finally finished, it seems this and tiberlands are putting a hurting on my knees, and running with my dog was a concern for me this weekend. amazingly (and I had a hunch of this) my pain is now gone after some 14"deadlifts up to 445lbs!!!

[Your_Crazy]

No workout with equipment. Just bodyweight workouts here or there. I started to do calf raises when I start to feel my knees act up. It seems to work. I am just concerned about how many I can do in a week. I have done 200 a day in the past few days.

The only thing I am concerned about with this is over strengthening my calves and having a pulling effect on the other muscles.

Many a people have indicated how doing parallel squat wall sit holds have helped their aching knees. I believe the reason is that they are strengthing their leg muscles to better support their body.

Give them a try performing multiple sets with hold times short of failure.

You can perform sets with feet flat on the floor, toes raises, and heels raised, all working slightly different muscles. You can also play with the stance distance and toe position angle for further variety.

Once you have done these, if you want a tougher variety let me know. I have a video of me doing them and I can share it with you.

[Your_Crazy]

all information is appreciated

[F_Mac]

Start taking a joint supplement. Glucosamine at 2g per day works very well for me.

I also agree with Lady C about the shoes. Spend the extra $$ and get a decent pair fitted for you by someone who knows what they're doing..........maybe even look at orthodics. You will be amazed at how much this helps.

[bodyshop20]

Crazy, get another job.
They are like pit pony hrs

[mdedge]

I would try new shoes, this could make a big difference.

[Your_Crazy]

Originally Posted by bodyshop20

Crazy, get another job.
They are like pit pony hrs

Are you hiring? I could use a flexible job making a lot of money. Then I could workout more and play with my wife more. One job is part time to get caught up on some finances. The other is a 4 on 3 off job.

And yes I do work like a pit pony. Sometimes harder.

[Your_Crazy]

Originally Posted by F-Mac

Start taking a joint supplement. Glucosamine at 2g per day works very well for me.

I also agree with Lady C about the shoes. Spend the extra $$ and get a decent pair fitted for you by someone who knows what they're doing..........maybe even look at orthodics. You will be amazed at how much this helps.

How does the glucosime normally start to take effect? After I sit down for a while my knees sound like firecrackers.

[Merrida]

Note: You have to make sure you HAVE cartilage for the chondroitin/glucosamine to actually work. If you have any bone to bone contact, all the glucosamine in the world won't rebuild the cartilage. They are experimenting with injectible cartilage replacement however, and,....they find it most successful in knees.

I actually just purchased my bottles of honkin' horse pills (I got them separate under the delusion the darn pills would actually be smaller),....and the pharmacist told me it would take 8-10 weeks of continued use for results to be noticed. It's funny because I thought I read somewhere it would only take 4-6 weeks for you to know if it would work for you.

The biggest caveat however is to make sure you have sufficient cartilage where you need it for this to work.

Another supplement, if you're looking that route, is hyaluranic acid. (As long as you're not allergic to shellfish or chicken). It's generally made from the sternums of chicken embryos. They're using it topical for all types of collagen repair (but many doubt it's efficacy when applied topically),...but injectable uses have been in practice for a while now. You may consider just running the thought past your doc (assuming if that's the route you're taking).

[Your_Crazy]

I have cartilage it's just that being on my feet all day has been beating them up. Especially if I have to stand in one place over a long period of time.

[tyciol]

Hyperextension is when the knee goes past being straight, prying the kneecap out of the socket. Apparently women can actually handle a bit of this, flexible ligaments or something.