@madpom
After all the intense tramping your knees have under their caps it's both not surprising - and sad - to hear that you've got problems with them.
The good news is that they can get better. It might take a year or two of rehab, but mine eventually came right after four or five years of trouble. Including an operation.
Separate events. One caused by daylight saving. Unexpected hole when racing darkness out of Hinshina bush after relying on a gps showing wrong summer/winter time. One from descending to / swimming across the Douglas with the other leg broken.
i've had part of my knee cartilage removed and ligament replaced in the same knee 30 years ago, hasnt caused me problems
@JETNZ,
My physio said my tear was at the mild to moderate scale of injury so surgery wasn't recommended or really an option. My treatment was at the more conservative end, rather than the professional athlete end. I had physio 1-2x week for the first 6 weeks then every 2-3 weeks after that. I was pretty dedicated with the rehab exercises.
Still, it was a long time to the first overnight tramp.
I dont actually know what i did to mine. Too scared to go get a MRI, in case its bad. I suspect ligament(s), pain is mostly just outside the patella (lateral side), but not as far out as the LCL. But my experience is exactly like huthks. No tramping in several months is real killer, but it does feel like its mending. Last weeks 3 day tramp set it back about 2 months. Im just gona need to be patient. Stick to the gym and walking on the beach for the summer. Not a big bike fan.
>I removed all high impact stuff (running) from my exercise regime and worked on strengthening the muscles surrounding the joint through stretching and resistance exercises, gradually increasing the weights involved. I also stopped tramping, which was a bit crap.
>Three months in I began to notice real improvements - I could squat and deadlift large weights with no pain. At this stage I tried easing back in to running. The pain and inflammation returned.
Knee pain is a very odd thing. Sometimes you can point to an incident that definitely damaged something ... like madpom can. In my case I was on my own in Butterfly Creek of all places and my right foot slid down a bank while my left boot remained trapped uphill by a root. Hours of crawling/hobbling to get back out to the car. Months later an op to repair the tear. Worked well with no problems.
But the big hazard to knees is ordinary downhill tramping. One summer, in my mid-40's I spent three months in the SI tramping hard out with no issues at all. Then four months later just 20m down a very normal bit of Tararua track I was in big trouble on the other knee that had never been injured.
How could I be going so well in summer, and then just months later have it go so wrong?
My conclusion was that I was in fact still very fit and moving fast, but I was probably low on Vitamin D after being stuck in the office all day. (I was still doing plenty of exercise in the evenings so fitness was not the issue.) Over the years I've found it essential, especially in winter, to keep the sunshine levels up.
The other aspect which took longer to work out was that like most people, my core stability was rubbish. If you look closely at most people when they tramp, especially downhill, you can see tell-tale wobbles in their motion around the pelvis and knees. This happens because we are very aware of the big muscles doing all the work, but fail to pay attention to the whole body system working to keep us stable.
And all those little wobbles, especially under the stress of downhill on rough ground with a pack on, translate into very damaging transient pressures on the hip and knee joints.
I used to think that the best way to get fit for the hills was to get into the hills. And while this is true to some extent, I no longer believe that it's enough. The older I get the more I'm paying attention to my fitness and core strength before I put a pack on.
This post has been edited by the author on 16 December 2015 at 12:31.
^wise words. I do regular kettlebell workouts at home targeting core strength, helps with tramping, climbing, cycling and pretty much everything else in life.
This really has been so helpful to me to read how others are dealing or have dealt to their respective knee troubles.
My specialist today has advised I don't need an operation right now if the pattern is for continued improvement - which seems to be happening.... albeit slowly.
He recommended 2 months light tramping duties, on reasonably formed tracks, no river bed travel or rocky terrain where it's difficult to keep the foot straight (that is one big piece of NZ I can't access for now) :-( Also no 10kg+ overnight packs for 8 weeks. But MTB has the green light.
Apparently if I keep walking and biking I don't need physical therapy.
Your comments have given me hope and that is one huge boost to morale! Thanks :-)
Good onya @jetnz - I remember how dejected I felt when I first injured my knee. You'll be back to normal before you know it.
>The other aspect which took longer to work out was that like most people, my core stability was rubbish.
This was a real eye opener for me as well. After all the tramping ive done to realise that while quads and calves were strong, that i couldnt do a single prone hold for more than 10 seconds. Nil abs, glute activation etc.
And without that stable torso, we then over rely on the limbs and ignore the fact that the big engines of our body are the hips and shoulders. Which cant work because the core is mush. I wonder how much the pack harness has do with some of that?
And dont get me started on sitting and thoraic/ shoulder mobility.
Short version: do yourself a favour and read Kelly Starret's A Supple Leopard.
