types of pain

[NikkiE]

I always expected that OA would feel like a constant ache but for me I find that it manifests in a  multitude of aches and pains at various times.


  There's the general soreness when you know youve overdone it.
  There's the achey feeling
  There's the locking up, which probably bothers me the most. This happenes when bending or straightening the leg and it gets to a certain point and feels like all the tendons are stretched really tight and it hurts like hell. This is the one that wakes me all night long.
  There's the wierd nervey type of pains which can shoot out from the point of origin. Which can feel like burning or spasming or pinching. This is the one that defies pain killers.
  There's the wierd tightness that can come on suddenly in the back of the knee or on the opposite side to my sore side and shooting pains up the ITB

Just to add to this my limping around has caused chronic bursitis in my hip, and the knee and hip like to gang up on me at the same time. If I stand my knee hurts, if I sit my hip aches....and forget trying to get comfy in bed!

What are other people's experiences?

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

Um...That about sums up what I experience too!  Nice no?   I also get to have low back issues too from all the limping around.

[dm]

Yeah, the knee pain manifests in a variety of ways, depending on how it's been abused. The biggest thing to keeping it from affecting the rest of the body is to try and keep as normal a gait as possible. The worst part is now that my other knee's suffered some as yet undiagnosed injury, it's hard to limp on both sides.

[Lottiefox]

Yep, those about sum up my knee (s) too - its also really frustrating that as already said, other bits then hurt because of the knee - lower back, hips, even my ankles hurt sometimes. Then your "good" knee plays up as its doing most of the work. I spent 3 days trying to do "normal" things this week - normal to me now but NOTHING like what I used to - so that was an hour shopping one day, lunch out, an hour at the gym the next day and some supermarket shopping (nothing impact based ay gym, just cycling and upper body weights), and then a trip to the city with about 40 mins walking the day after -  last night - fricking agony. Its SO frustrating. I used to walk 15 miles up hills and spend 6 sessions a week training at the gym. 

Someone should just develop easy fit, bionic knees that can be slotted into place at a drive-thru unit. 

[jasmine0070]

That sums it up in a nutshell, there is no comfort I only pray that after the surgery that I get some relief.
Pain sucks, it affects every aspect of your life,I think that sometimes Dr. underestimate the pain that you are in.

[Natalie.D]

Hi Nikkie

Yep, that sounds sooooo familiar!  I get the deep nagging, nawing, toothache-like constant pain 24/7.  I also get a sharp catching pain in the medial side of the knee and the lateral posterior side of the other knee, like someone is stabbing a knife into my knee and shooting sharp pains going up and down my leg.  I usually end up with pain from my ankles right the way up to my thighs and into my lower back, my hips are giving out now too and thats only if I've overdone it a little, overdo it a lot and I can hardly walk for days - total bummer!  choice for me is either be totally spaced out on pain killers or just deal with it, neither option is much fun.

Natalie.

[NikkiE]

Hi since I wrote on this forum, I have to say my pain has actually improved. It happened by accident really. I got a routine blood test that came back with having a slightly elevated blood sugar. I totally freaked out about being at risk of developing diabetes so I completely changed my diet and lost 15 kilos. Ive since been given the all clear as far as blood sugar is concerned but I continue to monitor my eating habits and keep ther weight down. (I exercise too, but I was doing that before)

Prior to my diet epiphany I was eating a lot of processed food, take away, white flour, white rice, sugar, salt and snacking a lot on chips and chocolate (probably comfort eating to a large extent). I have since gone low gi, lowER (not low) carb, eat lots of 'brown' food, have cut out sugar, limit alcohol and always eat my vegies!

I dont know if its the weight loss or that the diet I had previously was contributing to to inflammation (or both), but I feel it has improved things quite a lot.

At the risk of sounding like a zealot, I can really reccommend eating as healthy a diet as possible!

[kscope09]

Well! I havn't been diagnosed with OA yet but my left leg which was my good leg until it got sick of carrying all my weight around waved a white flag and starting protesting bigtime.  I have all the same aches and pains along with warmth at nigh and some really horrible clicks that range from little rice crisy noises to big gunshots.  This is really weird thougha s I had a huge flare up of these symptoms in May this year and then by the end of July it felt like it was almost normal and things were looking up, but now it is getting nasty again.  I'm still hoping its not OA and my GP assures me I don't have RA and most likely don't ahve RSD.

[Ilya]

I highly recommend yoga.  Had the same issues with my hip from limping around and after about a couple of months of yoga I feel great! 

[bracebaz]

I'm still trying to get to grips with all the different types of pain!! I was only diagnosed 3 months ago and i'm still finding new kinds of pain. I turned sharply y'day and it felt like a red hot poker was being thrust into my knee. Not too bad today though just a dull annoying ache.
The swellin's coming down more daily since i've been using the brace i've been put in, and have been taking less than half the painkillers I was.
I'm just hoping this is the start of it settling down a bit and I don't get any new pain.
Bazil

[paddletennis]

I hate the pain that comes at night when I sleep...comes and goes, but that's the worst for me. I am almost bone on bone, but I still get out there and play tennis and paddle tennis, probaby way too much. One doc said I should think about a PKR, but I am going to keep playing until I have to drag my leg around. THEN get a replacement. I can't fathom the idea of not playing tennis at the high level I play now. Today I am going to see a DR about a knee brace to see if that will help and allow me to keep playing.  But I will not throw in the towel yet....

[P.Row]

Has anyone tried Physiotherapy?? I would recommend it because it really helped me! I am not completely pain free but it has helped to stop the chronic pain.

My physio gave me various different exercises to help re-train my muscles which in turn strengthen the joints....it really has worked wonders! ANy one else had any success with this???

[flowride]

Well, I've been dealing with the pain as well, more of late.   Up until VERY recently, I was able to do CrossFit and have always been into bodybuilding & weightlifting. After doing a few majorly heavy CrossFit WODs, I needed to take a week off-just so I can walk with less pain. 

I was curious if anyone has found homeopathic remedies in regard to dealing with the OA?  Prolo helped a great deal in the past, but I've found that one needs to keep going for prolo, as there seems to be a "maintenance" aspect to it.  Note: after 5 prolo injections, I was able to lift for over a year and do CrossFit for the last 6 months.  I think the strenuousness of the CrossFit workouts finally did me in.

Anyway, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.  There's a doc in my health system that does PRP on Achilles injuries.  I have an appointment this upcoming week to BEG him to address my knees.  I hope he says yes.  The cost of the PRP/Prolo specialist I utilize is $800 per shot, per knee.  The cost of the doc in my health plan, if he approves?  $5 co-pay for each visit.  Slight difference there, no?!?

[teacher ted]

Two OA knees here.....I'm reduced to isometrics and swimming, the pain that really gets me is when I try to ride with the bike club for a short 25 miles and I come home feeling great, energized and then the pain starts up the next afternoon, knees get sore, then my shins commence to hurt to the point that limping is barely possible and it lasts for 4-5 days.

OTOH, I can still teach (thanks to the 5/8" rubber mat that I put in the front of the lab) and I still work as a surveyor on a part time basis, gotta be thankful as we all know there are worse situations than  the ones we have.....

[flowride]

Ted, that's true.  There are worse situations out there.  I think for us, the key is to start addressing these issues NOW, while we have mobility.  Even if I have to raid the 401k, I will be looking into everything from PRP to stem cell therapy.  If it works, as many are saying it does, I'd rather do that than cut into my legs again.  The OA is a direct result of those damn surgeries.

[amoler]

Hey flowride, I can totally sympathize with the no more cutting idea. Like you my OA in the bad knee is heavily a product of chopping out a big chunk of my meniscus.

[P.Row]

Thats unfortunate, Im facing the prospect of a meniscal Opp aswell but I'm trying to put it off for as long as possible! I am terrified to go under the knife....

I have heard that HydroTherapy is meant to be pretty at relieving the pain, anyone had any experience in dealing with that?

[amoler]

Flowride- RE your q on homeopathic options. I recently discovered I get a little relief from arnica gel (works better than the cream) Not a magic bullet by any means but anything the cuts down the pain a notch, is a good thing

[flowride]

Amoler,

Thanks for the tip on that gel.  I have to take a look into it. 

I'm going to see a chiropractor about some other underlying pain, which in itself may be adding to the knee pain.  My PT said that my right hip seems to rotate inward, which could be causing some of the extra pain that radiates all the way down the leg, including some nerve pain.  I've been doing the exercises she's suggested, but I think an alignment, followed by a good deep tissue massage, would be somewhat helpful.  Who knows?  Maybe it can help alleviate pressure on the knee as well. 

As for getting cut again, I think the only way I'd do that is by looking into some of the procedures done by The Stone Clinic.  The Biological Knee looks promising.  I'm very interested in stem cell and am glad to hear of some of the positive outcomes, whether it be Regenexx or another reputable clinic, but I can't say that it's not being met without some skepticism on my end.