Case Summary  |  Pain in both knees

My knees began hurting just over 10 years ago, when I was 30 years old. I first noticed the pain when I squatted down to pick something up, the pain was in both knees. It didn't hurt to walk or do anything other than squat down. I didn't suffer an injury, the pain seemed to came on suddenly, it was just there one day. I only have pain when I move, when I do something like squat down or bend my knee too far. there is no pain when my knees are just resting.

It didn't hurt every time I would squat though. Some days it was easy to bend down and get back up, but some days it was excruciating, so I simply avoided squatting down. I had hoped the pain would just go away, but after a few years my range of motion was starting to suffer, it was beginning to become difficult to get in and out of chairs, to go up and down stairs, and to bend my knees more than 90 degrees.

I saw a doctor, but he didn't see anything wrong with my knees. The x-rays were normal. I had been very sick prior to my knees starting to hurt, in fact I was only 80 pounds at one point. So he thought the loss in muscle tone was the most likely culprit, even though the pain didn't start for about 3 years after I was at my weakest.

The only thing that still baffles me is why it hurts so much more some days than others. I've tried to find patterns with the weather, with my stress level, with my diet, etc. I have yet to find a trigger for the pain.

But I do know some things that help me.

I exercise my quads quite often, several times a week. On days when my knees are very sore, I simply lie on the floor and place a pillow under my knee and press down for about 10 seconds or so, then a little break, I do that for about 5 minutes all together. Keeping my leg muscles strong, especially my quads, does help. I still have days that are worse than others, but with stronger muscles the bad days are better than they would have been. I have been doing this regularly for over 5 years.

Heat helps my knees feel better, as does massage. I have a homemade heating pad simply filled with rice that can be heated in the microwave and a bath works as well. My knees don't hurt unless I squat, but then they can hurt for hours afterwords. The heat helps immensely.

Stretching also seems to help, I've only been doing that regularly for a few weeks, but I do believe I can feel a difference. I'll be sure to check back in with more info.

Walking and riding my stationary bike help also, it gives me more endurance. I do one of these for about 30 minutes 3 times a week. I've been doing this fairly regularly for about 3 years. This also helps with my weight, I was 150 pounds only three years ago and I did notice that my knees hurt more often with just that extra 15 pounds.

Now, my pain is much less severe than it was years ago. I have normal range of motion. It's usually no problem at all to get in and out of chairs or to climb stairs. I always have a few days each month where I can bend down with no pain, my goal is to get more and more pain free days each month.