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

With OA what is good to do or not to do? - - Posted by sarah (sarah), 5 November 2002

I am in a state where I am afraid to worsen my OA by doing any questionable moving (like skiing, hiking). What exercises are GOOD for the knees and what are  bad.  I am thinking about swimming and cycling (indoors). What can I do? I'm going to do Suppartz injections soon. I have moderate OA in both knees and am 45 years old. I'm trying some alternative medicine now...I'll keep you posted on that.

How can I save my knees from what I think is a downward spiral?

Thanks for your help.
Posted by martiniswiller (martiniswiller), 6 November 2002

Of course, check with your doctor before trying any new exercise.  That said, my OS said that stationary biking was one the best things I could do for my arthritis, the motion somehow nourishes the cartilege, and builds your quads.  You have to be really careful to put the seat nice and high though so you don't strain your knee.  Maybe your doctor can authorize one visit to a physical therapist so they can show you just how to best do exercises.  Also, those straight leg raises were something my OS said I can ALWAYS do.  But your knee damage may be different than mine, so be sure to check= you don't want to accidently cause more damage.  Good luck to you, and let us know how the alternative medicine works for you.
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 10 November 2002

Hi!

I agree that the swimming and stationary bike are good choices.  Anything that works on strengthening the leg muscles--and the quads in particular is a good choice as well.

What you want to avoid is anything with a repetetive banging movement, like jogging.  That just contributes to the wear and tear and makes things worse.

It sounds like you are on the right track to me--there are resources for other exercises as well.   There is a website--"collagevideos" I think that specializes in exercise/ workout  tapes and they have a section for people with arthritis and disabilities.  you might want to check that out.

Good luck, Sylvia
Posted by sarah (sarah), 10 November 2002

I originally hurt my knee doing Aikido (I won't blame that but will blame myself for not being careful)  But , even   though I love Aikido I won't return to it for fear of tearing my meniscus again.  I was thinking about T'ai Chi. Do any of you do that? And how is it for the knees.   It involves bending the knees quite a bit.

Thanks for all your input.
Posted by MelissaM (MelissaM), 16 November 2002

You should try a liquid glucosamine supplement to help with your OA. I've been taking it for probably about a month now and I'm finally starting to see a little bit of a difference. I can go up and down stairs without as much pain. I tried Synflex first, but couldn't stand the taste, so now I've switched to Joint Juice.
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 1 July 2003

Another very important thing to NOT dois to ignore it and think it will get better  or go away.  That is how  I started the roller coaster I've been on--by putting up  with it and waiting for it to get better...that didn't work.

I'd love to see some other good ideas on this topic.

Sylvia

This old Forum was so valuable that we have kept it as an archive. It is just for reference. If you want to ask questions or offer advice, there is also a current Bulletin Board which you can access from our home page.

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