Hey guys.. how ya'll goin? Not sure if this is in the right forum, but I apologise if its in the wrong one.. ... Here's the problem.. I've got a school tourney thing going on tommorow and I just got back from work. My left knee seems to feel 'weak' and 'wobbly'. I'm not sure why.. but I'm assuming its related to my knee problem. Its never been like this before and I'm really worried that it'll stuff me up on the court tomorrow. Over the past few years, I've managed to twist my knee and it ends up going swollen.. butI havn't had any knee problems for nearly a year now.. till tonight.. I've seen athletes wear bandages around their knee. Although I already wear a knee strap/support.. I was wondering if I were to bandage/wrap my knee.. would it further help strengthen it? Any advice would be much appreciated.. thanks in advance..
Hey ErrBerr have you seen a physio about it? I have knee problems, they make a horrible squeaking sound like they need oiling, apparently I over exherted them when i was younger! I find that the knee strap supports you can buy don't do much good but have you tried zinc oxide tape bandages? I find them really good for supporting joint injuries. Not sure it'll strengthen your knee in the long term but should be good for your tourny
What I have found to work on knee joint chronic pains is exercise. Specifically free squats and wallchair (leaning against the wall with legs bent at 90deg). These exercises build endurance and strength w/o additional weight resistance. Highly recommend that they be done everyday. Once you keep this regime, you'll find that your joints make much less noise when you walk and the chronic pain reduced gradually. No special equipment or guidance needed, just start and keep at it regularly. I definitely suggest you try them out before you book an appointment for knee surgery.
Yeah.. I told my dad this morning.. he told me to see a physio too.. But I'll put it on my to-do-list.. . What are Zinc Oxide tape bandages? Are they just like regular bandages but with 'special' stuff to work with the legiments? Thanks for the advice Cappy.. I'll give it a go and see what happens. My coach also told me to keep doing them footwork drills to strengthen my knee joints..
They look like normal bandages but give you really good support. Much better than the latex knee supports in my opinion. Here's an example , you can get them from sports stores and maybe drug stores too. Hope this helps
In the meantime, you might want to take dietary supplement for your joint: before each meal take 1,500 mg glucosamine sulfate + 1,200 mg chondroitin sulfate + 1,200 mg MSM 1,150 mg celadrin 600 mg Turmeric + 300 mg Bromelain 750 mg Calcium + 375 mg Magnesium Citrate + Vitamin D (200 iu) I follow RJK's formula and it seems to work. However, free-weight squats and squats with light weights work the best.
The irony of wearing support for your weak knee is that while it'll help you manage your pain and sustain longer games for a period of time, it will eventually weaken your joint in the long run. Lots of recreational players get progressively worse joint injuries over time because they only play baddy for their workout or they neglect to work the lower part of their bodies in their training. As your games get more intense, your joints get more shocks. Good shoes will help reduce the shock but you still need to strengthen your knees. Pharmaceutical help manage the pain and could reverse the damage done, but it's expensive and may not be effective as long as you keep up with your usual routine (assuming that you do little to no resistance exercise on your legs).
Wow.. never thought of knee straps doing one's knee a bad thing.. So you're saying that I should stengthen my troubled knee to point where I no longer need to rely on a knee support?
Exactly!!! But first you must see a specialist with sport medicine experience. You need to find out what exactly is wrong with your knee. FYI, the weight training I am training for my knee requires no more than 45 degree bent. Anything over 45 degree will actally hurt the knee.
I really really recommend you see a sports trainer. From my past sports medicine background, weak/wobbly knees mean damaged ligaments and require rehabilitation for stronger muscle support.
Please see a sport medicine specialist first before proceeding with exercises. Procceed with 30 minutes of stationary bike at the lowest resistance for the first session (increase resistance slowly during the course of 2 months). The body-weight squat is quite simple: (1) feet shoulder width apart and pointing straight (2) now bent knees downward until 45 degree (while you lower your body keep the back as straight as possible) (3) very slowly straighten knees until you are upright in starting position & repeat (4) do 20 repetition per set for three sets One week later, do the same exercise with 5 lbs weight in each hand Third week, use 10 lbs weight in each hand Fourth week, 15 lbs Fifth week, 20 lbs and so on WARNING: make sure your feet is pointing straight. When the knees are bent forward, the patellar should be in alignment with the second toe.
Depending on the severity of your problem, there's no point seeing a specialist unless you really couldn't do a simple bodyweight squat. As long as you're mobile and could reasonably bend your knees, those exercises are really not that taxing on your joints. Since you're still playing baddy and assuming that you play hard all the time, I would suggest you at least do the wallchair for a minute. It would make your joints sore but won't hurt or cripple you. Do it every day for at least a month and evaluate your progress.
