KNEE ARTHRITIS - General principles of managing Osteoarthritis of the knee :

OA and the cold weather? - - Posted by maybride (maybride), 19 December 2003

I have OA, a torn meniscus and my knee cap is out of alignment all in my left knee and I am 28!! Anyway, I have been to my doctor and have had PT and an MRI to confirm all of this.  Basically, I am going to have to live with this pain for the rest of my life. I have been taking Celebrex on an as needed basis but with the weather turning so severely cold (east coast) that at night it hurts to move! I am too young to feel this way and it is so frustrating b/c even my workouts have become extremely limited.  Is anyone else going through this? I am just getting so frustrated that I have this and then other issues come into play such as my weight.  Any tips or advice would help.
Sorry to sound like a whiner! I was just happy to find this board  
Posted by wend1175 (wend1175), 26 February 2004

I also live on east coast...and i have had knee surgery a maquet procedure and have arthritis in the opposite knee....and there is really not to much you can do when the cold or rain comes in...i know if i get swelling i usually wrap my knee in ice which usually helps....as far as the pain i usually take an anti inflamatory which usually takes the edge off......not sure if your doc would recomend this but i have been recently trying lanocane patches with you can put right were the pain is and that helps a lot....hopefully this is some help to you.
Posted by Beauzer (Beauzer), 26 February 2004

Cold weather sucks!  Anti-inflammatory's really help.  I find in my case, though, I take Vioxx (like Celebrex) which is long acting, on days when I need something to last all day, but it's not great for more acute pain.  Days when my knee is really bothering me I'll take ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, etc.) instead.  It kicks in much faster and works better (you just have to take it more often).  Just make sure you don't take the two together!!

I also ice a lot (doesn't make sense to me either, the cold weather makes my knee hurt, but ice makes it feel better ).  Sometimes I use heat though (if the ice doesn't work) and have these really cool gel packs that I can use for either.

I can really relate to what you say, I'm 29 and need at TKR, but can't have one yet.   I'm doing PT to get maximum function from what I have left in my knee.  I'm working on losing the extra weight (this makes a huge difference in OA, every 1 lb lost is 10 lb less force on your knee).  In addition, I'm getting Synvisc injections (due for my third and final one in about 2 hours) and just got fitted for an unloader brace (which may help if your OA is only on one side.

If you have any questions or just want to talk or vent, I know what you're going through

Danielle
Posted by kcb (kcb), 16 July 2004

i suffer in thecold also. nothing helps me for any kind of pain. i call my left knee my worse one and my right my bad one. when its cold i get stiff in my knees and wrists. i say the same thing i am to young to feel like this. you arenot whining you are in pain.

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