This kind of thing can feel like a glitch in the matrix:. I have a shower radio (it’s this one, if you are in the market, and it was/is expensive but I LOVE IT and have used it for years and years now with no issues), and it has five pre-set stations. This morning I clicked on the first station, and it was just finishing up playing Jessie’s Girl, and then it went to commercials. I switched to the second station: commercials. Third station: commercials. Fourth station: commercials. Fifth station: just finishing up playing Jessie’s Girl, and then went to commercials. (It is only TODAY, right now, that I learned it is Jessie’s Girl and not Jesse’s Girl.) (It seems like it should be Jesse’s Girl.)
Yesterday we talked about colonoscopies, and I don’t think there’s any denying that over the last 17 years this blog has been slowly segueing from Parenting to Aging, because today I would like to talk about knees. I am not sure how long mine have been bothering me, but I KNOW they were bothering me in 2017, because that’s when I read that the keto diet could be helpful in reducing joint pain, and decided to try it; 10-year-old Henry had been on a “Let’s go for a walk!” kick, and I was having trouble walking with him, and that seemed like something to fix.
Anyway it’s been at least six years. I keep mentioning it at my annual physicals, and my doctor keeps saying yep, arthritis, these things happen as we get older. (I made her sound dismissive there, but she’s not immediately dismissive: she does a bunch of little tests, bending me and pinching me and saying “Does this hurt? How about this?” and so forth. And then she tells me I can try turmeric, and I can try glucosamine, and I can try icing it, and I can try five-day courses of anti-inflammatories, and I can try diclofenac gel, and I can try a knee brace, and I can try stretches/exercises, and so forth.) But LAST year she said that we COULD have me get an x-ray, just to peek, and if nothing else to get a baseline—and as I was thinking that over, she said actually she didn’t think an x-ray was necessary. THIS year I was ready, and when she said we COULD, I immediately said “YES THAT SOUNDS GREAT,” and so I got knee x-rays.
Both knees hurt, but one of them hurts more than the other: I have been doing stretches and muscles-around-the-knees exercises, and with one knee I can do them, and with the other knee I sometimes can’t. And the x-rays showed it’s the sometimes-can’t knee that looks bad; the other knee looks normal. I am a little surprised it looks normal, because it DOES HURT. Well, perhaps I am compensating for the other knee, and putting extra strain on the normal knee. In any case, one knee looks bad, so I am glad we did the x-rays: firstly, so that my doctor knows I am not just complaining; secondly, so we can see how much worse it gets over time; thirdly, so that *I* know I am not just complaining / just not getting enough exercise / etc. The situation apparently looks degenerative/age-related/wear-and-tear-related, as opposed to injury-related.
The doctor said there are Next Steps we can take, depending on how things go from here (sometimes a knee situation stays where it is, and sometimes it gets gradually worse, and sometimes it gets abruptly worse). At the very end of the timeline, an end we might never reach, is knee-replacement surgery. Between here and there are things such as a referral to an orthopedic doctor who might give me injections, or who might do a smaller surgery, or who might want to try other medications/treatments. This is a fourth reason I am glad we did the x-rays: because now I feel I can ask for the NEXT thing.
This morning I am shopping for knee braces (I am supposed to wear a knee brace), and I am wondering if anyone has one they’d recommend. I am browsing and it seems like all of them have 3 or 4 stars out of 5, with legitimate complaints: they roll down; they don’t feel like they help; the elastic loosens quickly; they need to be constantly adjusted; they’re sweaty/uncomfortable; they’re bulky and make it hard to move around.
Edited to add: Also, do you have any favorite brands of glucosamine chondroitin? (I am supposed to try glucosamine chondroitin.) (I have already tried the turmeric. The doctor said to try it for two weeks, and if it didn’t do anything, I could stop. It did not do anything noticeable.)
Perhaps you are already doing this but supportive shoes in the house all the time too? I had to start doing that about three years ago and it has made a big difference in my daily amounts of “well, that hurts.” I favor a slide because I can easily take them on and off when I am sitting down and standing up.
I, too, have an ouchy knee. I have not mentioned it to my doctor because my family has been going through a much bigger health crisis and my knee can wait. I’ve been thinking about getting a knee brace because I figured it couldn’t hurt. I’ll be checking back to see if you get any recommendations.
Estrogen is a powerful anti-inflammatory and could help your knee pain. I went on hormone therapy about a year and a half ago and noticed a huge reduction in the joint pain I’d been experiencing. Not everyone is a candidate for HRT, but for me it’s been helpful for dozens of perimenopausal issues (dizziness! anxiety! muscle weakness! insomnia! itchiness! hot flashes! crying all the time! and more!). The modern forms of HRT carry less clot risk than older forms, and the cancer/heart disease risk we all heard about 20 years ago was way overblown. I learned a lot about HRT from the book Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter, and that gave me the gumption to ask for an estrogen patch.
Thank you for mentioning this! My Dr put me on HRT awhile back, and I hadn’t realized until you said this, but that’s when my hips stopped hurting! I’m going to make an effort to appreciate my ache-free hips while it lasts!
A truly comfortable, “don’t even remember it’s on!” brace probably does not exist, unfortunately. *But* if braces are returnable, it might be worth trying some number so as to figure out which of those issues are applicable for a specific brace on your specific knee, because bodies are so wildly different and braces fitting properly can be about the same difficulty level as jeans fitting properly, but because they are not marketed that way, bad reviews are likely to show up from everyone they don’t fit.
(also it is sometimes possible, if the problem is with the material, to wear something like a tube of old sock under a brace, to slightly increase breathability and decrease contact to itchy material)
(I would not bother with the “the elastic gives up too fast” one, however. That’s an intrinsic problem. But surprisingly-stiff things can be decently comfortable if they *really* fit the shape they’re on. So. Maybe?)
Good luck. Also I am 100% on board with more Aging-Related Content.
This is probably overkill but I have this. Shock Doctor Compression Knee Brace for Men & Women, Maximum Support, Adjustable Dual Hinges https://a.co/d/5hdAVUH I had ACL replacement 20 years ago and that knee still hurts after a lot of activity. I wear this when skiing (downhill or x-country), hiking and on longer walks.
I never liked the sleeve-the braces. Instead I learned how to correctly use k-tape for when I didn’t want to wear the big brace.
I was going to suggest KT tape. Especially for summer – not so hot, looks sporty not aged, fits with all pants/leggings/jeans, fun colors and nude-ish tape available.
I don’t have any specific advice.
But if it makes you feel better in terms of thinking about your knees as ‘ageing’, I ended up having major reconstructive surgery on one knee at the age of 30. THIRTY! Before I’d even had my first kid.
I’m fairly hyper-mobile, dislocated it at 17 and then the ligaments were just… spaghetti basically. So I re-dislocated it (minus 10000/10, DO NOT RECOMMEND. More painful than natural childbirth by a huge huge amount) a bunch of times until eventually I had a surgery to replace all the ligaments with bits of my hamstring. Recovery took about 6 months total but it’s mostly fine now, just achey when the weather is damp.
I used to use a patella brace for physical activities, which helped stabilise my kneecaps but was very uncomfortable to wear, and I think much more structured than what you need.
Mine was an MPFL reconstruction, for what it’s worth.
KT tape is surprisingly helpful, especially if you can learn to properly apply it yourself. It eliminates many of the challenges with bracing (itchy, rolly, clunky), which means it can be worn more often and provide more help to that joint. I purchase the athletic type because it’s more durable. It’s available in large rolls on amazon, which is a pretty good price break over buying a small roll at academy.
Ditto on the tape. It is really a miracle. I can leave it applied through about 2 showers.
I, too, have developed Knee Problems as I age and I also got an x ray earlier this year, which revealed “some arthritis.” I take meloxicam daily and it seems to help. I don’t limp when I get up from a seated position and my knee isn’t always stiff and painful.
I second this. I am 50 and have had 2 hip replacements; and the years leading up to those were much better because of taking meloxicam daily.
If you find yourself regularly reaching for anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen; it’s definitely worth moving to one that you really can take every day.
I wear an incrediwear knee sleeve for osteoarthritis in one knee, and I love it. I bought one medium and one large, and wear the large when walking a lot or overnight all night if my knee is achey. The medium feels too tight for long wear but is soothing when my knee aches a lot. PT recommended the brand and wears it herself. They are a bit spendy at $54, but for me well worth it.
I had both knees replaced at ages 59 and 60, and a hip at 60. I’m falling apart, is what I’m saying. I found cortisone shots to be incredibly helpful before the replacements. They look super scary, but they numb up the skin, and they didn’t hurt any more than a tiny poke. The effects lasted six months for me, and interestingly, helped with pain in other areas as well. They didn’t help my brother as much, so results may vary, but worth a try. Keto has made a huge difference in my life, I have arthritis all over, and most days now I don’t hurt at all, and I can feel it if I cheat. Knee replacement is thoroughly unpleasant for a couple of weeks, but worth it in the end, I’m about to go to Europe. Last time I was there they hurt so much I could barely walk, and this time I’m not worried about it.
No one has mentioned the Glucosamin / Chondroitin, so I thought I would mention what I take (or was taking), as I haven’t taken any in the last few months. I didn’t notice any significant diference while I was taking the medication, but now that I haven’t been, I seem to be more achy then before. I was using the CVS brand & the dosage is 2 tablets daily for the combined medication. I believe they also offer the medications separately in various doses. The combined dosage per tablet that I took (& need to taken again) is: Glucosamin 1500mg / Chondroitin 1200 mg.
My knees are fine (FOR NOW) but my husband has had 3 or 4 surgeries on his, and will need replacement someday. His issues were a result of injury, but it would not have shown up on an x-ray. So….if you suspect there is an underlying issue other than aging, push for an MRI. Also, I’m pretty sure that knee braces qualify for FSA, if you have one.
I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knees last year – one side more advanced than the other. I have had a cortisone injection which I think? helped a bit. The specialist I saw was not keen on knee braces, and preferred that I strengthen the muscles around the knee instead. His suggestion was cycling (which I have not done) but I am inclined to believe that it would help if I wasn’t too scared of the traffic around here (and if I had a bike). For a recent holiday in the UK my GP prescribed anti-inflammatories which again helped a bit but the large amount of walking I did counteracted that and it’s now worse than before I went. I have been taking Glucosamine/Chondriotin for years and years after I started to get knuckle pain and it seems to have helped as they have not got any worse, but now the knees so [shrug emoji].
Obviously I am very much in favour of the ageing vs parenting tendency!
Swistle, I am not ready to segue from parenting talk to aging talk. I mean, on paper yes – I am ready. But, I don’t feel ready.
I read some parenting articles with benign bemusement because I don’t really remember the issue they are talking about or (in an old lady adjacent way) don’t believe it is a real issue. Also, I do nod along to discussion of knees (shoulders!) but I am not ready to have this pointed out just yet. Soon.
(/With much love and affection and completely in jest).
The other day I saw something where a parent was wringing their hands over some newborn issue, and my absolute first reaction (which I DID NOT SAY) was to be like “Oh, don’t worry! These things end up being FINE!” I’m glad I seem to have stopped short of “Just ENJOY this time!” but it was a CLOSE CALL. Like, I wonder how many posts I personally wrote, wringing my hands over some absolutely-fine newborn issue? Best not to count.
A childhood friend reposted some musings about seeing a mom and a grandmother in a parking lot, each taking care of a carload of children, and how the mom was frazzled and the grandmother was a serene and cheerful presence because she understood the passage of time, blah blah blah.
My friend is a lovely person and a doting but useful grandmother, but she got the pile-on she deserved (pilers-on included me and my friend’s daughter) and ended up taking that post down.
I am 48 and I have had bad knees forever. I was told it was hereditary as my parents both have really bad knees. I’ve tried all kind of braces and then went to the gym, which did help some. However, I started taking a liquid collagen for some hair loss and I noticed after about a month or so that I had no knee or joint pain anywhere of any kind! I just finished a five day stint at Disney – walking over 10 miles per day and getting in and out of rides and I had not ONE single issue!!!!!!!!!!!! The only thing different I have ever done is the collagen. My 18 year old daughter was complaining about her knees by about day 4.
Okay, so I don’t have any knee pain myself – hips and feet yes but not knees, at least not yet. However, my brother has had chronic knee pain since his teens and I know some of the things he is doing to deal with it now in his 50s. And they must be helping, because he trained really hard over the winter and spring and just completed a 40 mile mountain bike race with his best time ever, so there’s that. He uses a patellar tendon strap, not a full knee brace. He likes knee warmers also. He takes glucosamine chondroitin but I don’t know the brand or dosage. He also takes powdered collagen daily. And he has had HLA injections, though I’m not sure if he feels they have helped. He bikes a lot but doesn’t run or do squats because those aggravate his knees.
I see several people have recommended KT tape. I was going to recommend it also. There are lots and lots of videos online showing how to tape for different kinds of issues.
My Dad had a bad knee and the shots helped for a long time.
And I know you are a long ways from a knee replacement, but if you ever get there know that they are really great. My Dad put his off for a lot of years and heard horror stories from lots of people. But if you listen to your doctor and are diligent about the PT after the surgery, you’ll be in good shape. He’s doing really well with the new knee.
As far as the aging goes, I had a bit of a crisis of thought when I realized I’ll be 60 in 16 years. How is that possible when I’m just 32 in my head?!?!? I guess that means I’m closer to retirement.
I also have Dicey Knees and I have found these straps to be useful sometimes (I often put them on when doing weighted squats): https://www.amazon.com/IPOW-Stabilizer-Basketball-Tendonitis-Volleyball/dp/B00PA4XCBU/ They’re supposed to be good for hiking/walking too, that’s how I came to discover the product — seeing them on people’s knees last summer in a national park.
A PT-type thing that has helped: every day I do 75 tibial raises. Google for deets but that is a relatively easy (IMO, it lights up the shin muscle but otherwise is not difficult) way to help fortify the knees.
I’ve seen a couple of references to collagen and joint issues, but I’ve read articles that imply that we break down collagen when we eat it, like any other protein, and the jury seems to be split on whether ingesting it is actually useful. (Breaking it down still means we have the building blocks to make our own collagen vs we need to eat other specific things to support this process that aren’t part of the supplements people take, for example.)
I normally have opinions on most things, but I’m not sure where I land on this one.