After 3 surgeries for various things including torn cartilage and loose bodies I started experiencing pain in my knee as I aged. As the pain got worse and I was literally dragging my keg behind me I decide to have it checked out. The doctor explained that the joint was riddled with bone spurs that was the start of arthiritis and would lead to eventual replacement. There was space left between the joint and no bone on bone so we thought I still had time. he suggested some experimental shots taken in a series but I declined. iw as going to opt for what I calle d a roto rooter procedure and clean out the bone spurs to buy some time. I started using glucosamine with chondritin and the culmative effect of the treatment really helped. However the pain did get worse and I opted for total knee replacement before I was too old to recover quickly. The best thing I ever did.

Although I'm only 18, I have problems with my left knee. I was going down a twisty slide when I was 10 and a kid sat on my leg as I was going down. My leg twisted until the kneecap popped out of place, and cut the tissue blow it. Scar tissue has built up beneath it, and after strenuous activity it gets agitated. I've tried stretching, hot and cold pads, rub on tylenol. But the only thing that works is rest.

I am 67 yeasr old and for over 15 years, I was a long distance runner (marathons and 10K races) and about 10 years ago converted to long distance bicycle riding. I had always prided myself on never having serious injuries, after putting so much stress on my legs.

Then I started to notice that both of my knees would have unpredictable and unexpected bouts of weakness. I would get up from a sitting position and one or both of my knees would go limp and not be able to support me. Or I'd be walking along and all of a sudden there would be a twinge in one of my knees and it would just go limp. There was no appreciable pain associated with this feeling, just an increasing sense of insecurity in walking and standing.

I decided that it wasn't really the knees so much that needed help, but the muscles and tendons that surround and support the knees and the legs.

So I began a regimen of leg lifts at the gym and at home with the flexible bands. I could almost instantaneously feel some strength returning to my legs and knees as my quadriceps began to get stronger. Sometimes I lift each leg separately and sometimes together. I do 12 repetitions, rest for 30-50 seconds, and do 12 more. If the weight is too high for the second set of reps, I decrease it.

If I go for any noticeable period of time (say a week) without doing the leg lifts, I get the weak feeling in the knees again. It's great to have a personal solution that doesn't involve surgery!

One summer a plastic lawn chair broke while sitting on it and I went down landing on my rear end and hitting my elbow. The elbow hurt for a few days then I thought I was fine. Two weeks later while trying to get up for work in the morning, I discovered I could not pick my head up off the pillow, let alone turn it left or right. I was taken to the E.R. and it was found that I herniated the discs in my neck. I had to have surgery which they went in through the front of my neck and removed two of my discs, put a titatitum plate with 4 screws into it. The surery was done within 3 months of my fall. I did not realize it but it also affected my back as well and that went on for about 2 1/2 yrs before they had to do surgery on my back. It turns out that I herinated 2 discs in my back as well and I tried several different things first such as phyiscal therapy, pain meds, cortisone shots, and it got to the point where I was dragging my right leg and I knew I had to have the surgery. They removed two of my discs in the lower lumbar area, and inserted a plate there as well as 4 screws to hold it. A year and half after surgery, I am still in pain and a new MRI reveals 3 new herinated discs (2 above the plate and 1 below). I have been told there is a chance I will need another surgery which I am going to really try to avoid having done being I still have pain from the first and it is very expensive.

Since I moved out of my mother's house to live with on my own, my diet changed drastically. My knees began to throb and ache almost every time I would walk. I couldn't run very long, and my bones felt overall weak.

I believe my knee pain might have been caused by lack of certain nutrients. I researched my diet, I tried mixing it up, and realized I lacked a lot of fruits and vegetables. Once I introduced more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains into my diet, the knee pain nearly went away.

I also bought some Dr. Scholl's Cardoba shoes, thinking Dr. Scholl's probably designs their shoes to be less stressful on the knees and legs. It turns out my knee pain is nearly non-existent now that I'm eating more vegetables and wearing proper shoes.

I also began exercising, and now I feel great with virtually no knee or joint pain.

Describe what happened, how you treated it, and what's going on today
For about 4 years now I have been suffering with my right knee. I have been under doctor's care. I have received cortisone injection and rooster comb injection(I do not know the medical terminology of this procedure) and I was taken various prescription drugs for treatment. Nothing has helped. I am presently waiting for surgery.

I had partial knee replacement on my right knee. Before the surgery I had bone on bone pain. Now there is a different kind of pain. The rehab ws not easy. I am feeling better than before the surgery.

The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee, as I found out while playing tennis last spring. Women are much more likely to tear this ligament especially while playing sports. If the tear in the ACL is small and the knee is still stable surgery won’t be necessary. I had only a slight tear so instead of surgery, exercise was used to strengthen the muscle and help to compensate for the lack of stability in the ligament. Today my knee is back to normal and I can participate in all of my normal activities.

I first hurt my knee in 1986 playing basketball with some teenagers. I got kneed in the side of my knee. My knee hurt for about two weeks and then went away. Since then if I do too much strenuous activity it starts hurting a little during the event but the next day it will hurt a lot. It doesn't swell it just hurts. The two activities that always make it hurt are playing basketball and running. The reason that I have not been to a doctor is that I can not stand the thought of being laid up for weeks and I can't afford to miss work. Also I have found self remedies that have helped to manage my knee problem. I don't play basketball anymore and I don't run. Plus I use some home remedies that really do manage the pain.

Leg lifts every day or every other day. 2 sets of 12 repetitions each at a weight of 3.