The wear & tear of the cartillage...

[titanium_spine]

…has taken it’s toll! My knees feel like they're proteceted with only a tiny cob-web, and standing in place (without moving) makes me very uncomfortable. This is really troubling me, especially when I take my little boy to the park and I have to stand near by to watch over him so he doesn't hurt himself on the playground. I endure the pain as much as I can, but then I have to take a break and sit down on the bench, which sometimes isn't that near, so it dissapoints him that I'm not close around... 

My 240 lbs doesn't make it much easier on the knees either (age 43). Other than that, I've quit deadlifting completely, I'm only doing rack pulls from mid shin (no leg movement). I do sumo squats, which places most of the overload to the hip joints, with much less knee travelling forward. And that's one work-set only, once per week! I don't do any isolation work for the legs (leg ext, nor leg curls), although I do not feel that kind of pressure bothers me, only when I'm pressed from directly above...

It's interesting that I don't feel that kind of uncomfortableness while I walk and move around. I feel quite fine while I'm warmed up, and move around in the gym loading/unloading plates...

I'm using a glucosamine/chondroitine/msm supplement.

The volume I use for the lower body is as low as possible.

I have no other ideas of how to help myself.

Any suggestions will be appreciated...

[theroymccoy]

Sorry to hear that brotha...it's good you're pumping the brakes and not trying to "fight through it" as some may suggest...

You never mentioned it but are you trying to make your calves stronger? Everything is connected; from the ankles to calves to knees to upper leg to hip to the lower back...If your ankle and calf strength is lacking, the knees may be overcompensating.

Maybe strengthening the calves/ankles can help alleviate the stress on the knees since more strength (muscle mass) around the calves and ankles can become more load-bearing.

[titanium_spine]

Maybe strengthening the calves/ankles can help alleviate the stress on the knees since more strength (muscle mass) around the calves and ankles can become more load-bearing.

Well, I've recently dropped doing these too, 'cause I hafta stand in one place with a lot of weight on top...

[titanium_spine]

Sorry to hear that brotha...it's good you're pumping the brakes and not trying to "fight through it" as some may suggest...

I was not that smart when i started. I've grinded till there's nothing else left to grind!

I've learned a great lesson, which I try to pass on:

If something doesn't seam right, drop it - immediately!

[Agi]

I've been using SuperCissusRx instead of the gluc/chon/msm supplement I was taking. My knees feel a whole lot better.

[titanium_spine]

I've been using SuperCissusRx instead of the gluc/chon/msm supplement I was taking. My knees feel a whole lot better.

Thanks, Agi! I recall your post from a month ago about cissus. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my country, only the classic joint formulas based on glucosamine...

[Joe P.]

I was not that smart when i started. I've grinded till there's nothing else left to grind!

I've learned a great lesson, which I try to pass on:

If something doesn't seam right, drop it - immediately!

Sorry to hear about your pain issues! Been there myself and I couldn't agree more with you! When you get in your 40's (I'm 43 as well) you need to check your ego and really listen to your what your body is telling you!

Not being to play with your kids or roll around on the floor with them because of the pain it causes is most times a worse feeling than the pain itself!

Good luck!
Joe

[Heckman]

I've been using SuperCissusRx instead of the gluc/chon/msm supplement I was taking. My knees feel a whole lot better.

just curious, how are you dosing that? 2 morning & 2 at night?

Thanks, Agi! I recall your post from a month ago about cissus. Unfortunately, I can't find it in my country, only the classic joint formulas based on glucosamine...

TPC doesn't ship your way? They have cissus in caps and powder.

[titanium_spine]

TPC doesn't ship your way? They have cissus in caps and powder.

Nope, I don't think so. I live in Serbia, south-east Europe...

[j0n020]

These threads freak me out.

I'm 22 and do deads not super heavy but above my weight already and always freak out when old guys talk about bad knees/bad shoulders.

Because of this I am super anal about my form and always deload alot...still scared though.

[Agi]

just curious, how are you dosing that? 2 morning & 2 at night?

Yep. For the first week or so, they say you can take more. I think during that time, I went with two three times a day. Now, two twice a day works well.

[titanium_spine]

These threads freak me out.

I'm 22 and do deads not super heavy but above my weight already and always freak out when old guys talk about bad knees/bad shoulders.

Because of this I am super anal about my form and always deload alot...still scared though.

It's interesting that I never-ever felt pain in the knees while squatting. But after 20 years of consistancy, they started to creak. If I knew what I know now, I should've stopped doing close-stance squats, and should've switched to wide-stance. I would've been much better off today...

It's a good thing that you're more conscious than I was at your age. When I read that someones knees hurt from squatting, I used to laugh and ask myself "How can anyones knees hurt from a compound movement???!"

Well, it's all about consistency...

Although the genetical make-up also plays a huge roll... I've alwas been deadlifting heavy from the start, and I never had trouble with my back what-so-ever...

...on the other hand, any kind of extension movement for the triceps soon became pure hell... When I was young, I thought it will go away if I just pushed through it long enough... Never did... Eventually I just dropped them, and from then on I used only compound movements for the triceps (shoulder-width bench presses, floor dumbell presses, etc.)

[clh5341]

Saw Dante mention it elsewhere but it needs repeating. Are you sure it's because you don't have any cartilage left? I ask this as a multi-knee surgery guy. The problem a lot of us have is tracking issues with our knee caps caused by tightness and imbalances elsewhere. It's horribly painful but can be relieved to some extent with loosening up other areas that let our knees track better. When I get pain now, I concentrate a lot on foam rolling the IT bands. hip, hamstring, and lower back stretches. It's all connected, and an imbalance in one usually leads to pain in the weakest link.

[titanium_spine]

Saw Dante mention it elsewhere but it needs repeating. Are you sure it's because you don't have any cartilage left?

I went to the doc in a private clinic and he made some kind of x-rays (sorry my english is lacking for the correct term), and said that I have synovitis...

I told him that I was doing squats for many years, and his face seamed totally puzzled, telling me he has no clue what I'm talking about...

At that point I felt it was quite useless to ask him what kind of exercises I COULD use to preserve the muscle mass in my thighs...

[titanium_spine]

It's horribly painful

Actually in my case, it's not even near intense pain. It's like the knees are sending me a loud & clear signal: "Sit down, man! Or keep moving!! Otherwise, we're gonna swell..."