What do you do to keep your knees healthy?

I am very familiar with knee pains and issues but from overuse like volleyball and being uber active.
No impact activities is rule of thumb. Get a good knee brace and wear it when you do strenuous or long duration activities like hiking and skiing.
Cycling, walking vs running, gentler slops for hiking, swimming laps.
A daily drink of concentrated cherry juice.
Exercises to strengthen the tendons around your knee joint and patella.
Here is one such post for that
If you feel pain, don’t do it.
Go see an Orthopedic Doctor to have it assessed if you have not already done so.

@ForeverFree Thanks! Some of those exercises and stretches I already do. But when I get on hands and knees my right kneecap slides out of place a few tumes a year. My baby cousin age 40 has the same issue in her left knee. Google suggests it could be hereditary.

What does cherry juice do? Haven’t heard of that one!
Hard pass on orthopedic, not worth it to me, in the US it’s too expensive for non-essential suegery. Sadly.

@KNOWITALL Sorry that you are in pain on these kinds of things. Yes, there are some genetic dispositions that could be at play.
Cherry Juice is for anti- inflammation.
The Orthopedic recommend was not necessarily aimed at surgery but at proper xray, MRI, diagnoses and treatment plan from an Ortho Dr.

I stopped a Volkswagen Squareback in 1975 with my left knee. I avoided the surgery then, but may have to reconsider at some point. I have an ever-evolving set of braces that I use, my right knee is in pretty poor shape from compensating. I have also used the black cherry juice concentrate, I don’t remember the particulars of why, but I do remember it seemed to help a bit.
Collagen has been recommended to me recently, I plan to try that, and CBD really seems to help with the pain.
As I speed up on 70, mostly I try to avoid activities that make my knees noisy, except for stairs. The stairs help build the muscles around the knees which helps support them.

Good luck!

At this point my knees are the only things that don’t hurt.

@Dutchess_III So far its my only issue and I’m grateful. But living without beingcon my kbees is a bit more difficult now, like gardening, washing dogs, playing with my cats, etc…

@canidmajor Guess I’ll try the brace. Sounds very painful stopping a car!!

@Forever_Free Even the appt plus MRI is excessive. I appreciate it though. I’ll definately get the cherry juice!

I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but I’m surprised I’ve not had any issues yet. But I’ve never really been one to sit with my legs crossed, although I do put my one foot up on the opposite leg and sit like that frequently. I’m not in particularly good shape but my knees are just not something I’ve had a problem with. I’ve never been a jogger, so that might help. Do you jog?

Oh, I will say that to kneel for any sort of length of time does make them feel uncomfortable, but that doesn’t come up very often except when I’m scrubbing my floor (yes, I’m old school) and then I usually just sit on my butt to finish the process.

@LifeQuestioner My doc said both feet should be on the floor, no crossing at knees or ‘Indian’ style. It’s super hard.

I did jog in the past and a bit now and was told walking is a better option at my age. :(

I strengthen the muscles in my legs, so that they can support my knees. I do about 800 weighted squats each week along with Spin classes and vigorous walks.

The results have been amazing. A little more than 5 years ago, I was trying to find the courage for knee replacement surgery. Instead, I began this regimen. Within months, I had full mobility and little pain.

@Love_my_doggie Really. I can add more squats, I will wait abother week and add that to my regimen. Thanks!!

In 2020, my knees began to really hurt before and after running. I went to a sports medicine doctor, who checked me out and said I had nothing but normal wear and tear, nothing for him to fix. Bu he noticed I was stiff, and prescribed physical therapy and stretching.

After learning a variety of stretching exercises, my knee pain went away and has stayed away.

@KNOWITALL I’ll keep the crossing your legs thing in mind, thanks. That’s one thing I’ll say, is that I’ve never been a jogger other than what I was forced to do in gym class.

@LifeQuestioner Yeah I was raised to sit like a lady so the knee crossing is hard for me. I’m going with the British crossing at ankles now. Sigh…stupid knee cap.

All the exercises and stretches in the world aren’t going to fix or even help bone-on-bone arthritis if that’s what you have. Once that cartilage is gone, it’s gone. You don’t need an MRI to determine that, an xray will do it. Then you would at least know what you’re dealing with. They can inject hyaluronic acid into joints to help cushion the bones. It’s temporary, but can relieve pain for months. Sounds painful, but really it’s not. They numb the area first. Mostly it’s an achy feeling because they’re trying to put a substance into a narrow joint and there’s no give. If pain had sounds, it would be a small groan rather than an OW!

@smudges Yeah mines not bone on bone, my husbands is. He’s had 3 knee surgeries and needs another to remove scar tissue. Mine is likely a hereditary issue in the patella area.

^^ I’m sorry…I read that and forgot it! I feel for your husband. I’ve had a knee replacement and it’s not fun, but it was so worth it. But damn I miss being able to kneel!

@smudges Ouch! They said he’s too young (46) and he’s really not excited about that recovery process. :( The pain meds are horrible but otherwise his blood pressure skyrockets. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

I just wanted to reiterate how important stretching/maintaining flexibility is as well as wearing good shoes.

@gorillapaws Good point as I’ve amped up my workouts. Any recommendations? I just wear Nikes or Just So So. I dont mind spending a bit more if you think that would help.
I do stretch every day, walk, and strenth exercises with weights and bands.

Sorry, no specific recommendations. My father was in pretty severe pain at one point and we thought he might need surgery. After engaging in a stretching routine, his pain resolved, so it can be a legit conservative therapy option—and often overlooked or downplayed. As for footwear, that’s its own universe that is way beyond my scope of knowledge. I just know that the footwear universe exists and it’s important to pay attention to for joint health. It may be the case that your Nikes are actually really good for what you’re doing.

@gorillapaws Fair enough, I can research shoes. I did finally get my calf to thigh tonight after a week of painful tendon. :)

@KNOWITALL Reading the above reminded me…there are places, like I think Dr. Scholls, where you walk on something that indicates how you walk, where you need extra support, etc.

Feldenkrais lessons can teach you to develop your body awareness of repertoire of body movements, to move more efficiently, avoid problematic areas and movements, etc.

Use ‘em or lose ‘em.
Keep moving.
Walk. Jog. Run. Gym weight training.
Also keep a low body weight. (Don’t carry around 50 or more pounds of extra fat).
Twice a week I walk a hilly 8 miles course.
Twice a week I hit do 2½ hour gym workouts.
Four times a week I paddle outrigger canoes.
I’m 72 years old and have no problem with my knees.
Good health!

^^ and good genes! Don’t belittle the role they play in health and wellness.

When I was in cardio rehab, there was a guy in his 70s who did everything right and was in fantastic shape. He had a heart attack and had to have open heart surgery. There are other people who never do anything for their health, even smoke!...and still have no health issues. It’s a crap shoot how genetics has an impact on us.

@smudges I didn’t belittle anything.
Yes life isn’t fair. There are no guarantees of good health no matter what your actions. Some people can do all the wrong things and live long without pain. However when most people try that then they wind up in a world of pain and misery if and when they reach my age.

I’ve always maintained my physical fitness lifestyle since my 20’s. Never drank alcoholic beverages. Never smoked or used tobacco or used and recreational drugs. Yet for the last 23 years I’ve battled atrial fibrillation and skin cancers.

I never caught the Covid-19 disease. I haven’t caught the flu since 1979 and very rarely catch a cold (and when I do it’s mild and I over it quickly).

True, life is a crap shoot game of chance. But it’s best to play the game by doing all the right things.

Good health!

@gondwanalon You’re an inspiration. I do almost all the right thing’s, and lost 65lbs so I’m at my docs goal weight.
Right now I’m doing Ab July where I do extra core work, mostly for my bathing suit, but also to challenge myself to step it up a notch.
My knee feels really good now so I just need to be a little more cognizant of that one knee.

@gondwanalon no no no…I didn’t mean to imply that you were belittling anything. I’m so sorry that was how you took it, but I can see why. I just meant that people in general should remember the genetics aspect so that when they are doing everything they’re supposed to do and still have issues, genetics is most likely why. Like @KNOWITALL, I admire the good health you’ve maintained for so many years!

Just since March 2020. Covid may have saved my life. :)

I got me some new ones. Problem solved.

@smudges I like how you compared life to a health and fitness game. In such a game there are winners and losers. It’s an unfair game. No matter how well you play, you can still lose. And there are a lot of people just sit on the sidelines and don’t even try to play the game and most of those people will be big losers. If you play then you have a pretty good chance of winning. If you don’t play then you have a very good chance of losing.

I recently heard a podiatrist who said one one best things for tendons is to take stairs flat-footed instead of on the balls of your feet. I guess I have always done that, but many people don’t.

@kruger_d Thanks, good info!!

I do a fair bit of cycling and have avoided knee pain so far. Cycling is worth a try as it doesn’t apply a lot of force to the knees like jogging while still giving healthy exercise.

@Flutherother We gave our bikes away to people in crisis during Covid. I will think about that though!