I have been experiencing long term knee pain for a while, maybe a year and a half. It started after I dislocated my right knee at tae kwon-do, and took a lot of bashes to it after. A few months later, just as I was getting back, I dislocated my left knee, haha. I am stuck with two clicky knees that almost always have some sort of mild pain in one of the two when walking or standing (not much when kicking though, oddly). In general, my knees are kinda destroyed, which is disheartening because I'm only 17 ;( With that in mind, what can I do to relieve some of this pain? What vitamins, minerals or fluids should I be having lots of to help the joints? Any dietary changes I could undertake? Exercises? Any help is greatly appreciated, it's tricking season soon and I gotta get then better
stop TKD if its aggravating it and talk to a physio or injury specialist S&C coach about long term development
I don't think it's aggravating it, although it was most likely the original cause, I don't feel pain while I'm kicking or using the knee intensively, to be honest there's most pain when a large amount of downward pressure is exerted on it. And I've been to a physiotherapist, I have two exercises I do but was looking for some more dietary solutions, as I think that may be the cause: I don't eat much of anything, haha. Well, I didn't in the past but I've started to eat more now.
good studies on vit c and fish oil for injury repair and increased protein synthesis respectively. also a high caloric will increase availability of nutrient s and making repair easier. are you talking to a sport physio?
You would not be the first person who has had his or her knees ruined by Tae Kwon Do or other martial arts, especially with teachers who are well-intentioned but simply do things because it was the way they were taught. Talk to a doctor. I don't have enough information here to even attempt a diagnosis. You have a history of dislocation of both knees. Was there any damage to the cruciate ligaments? There is too much information missing to make any valid suggestions. You really need to talk to your doctor.
you've dislocated each knee? wow. and you were back at tkd "months later"? seriously? how do you know it was dislocated? that seems like an ultra traumatic event, one that would probably require surgery to fix. did you tear ligaments also? how's your meniscus holding up? have you visited a doctor? you should talk to an orthopedic surgeon, one that specializes in sports medicine. always a good idea to get more than one opinion also. don't listen to a generalist, physical therapist, nutritionist or an emergency room doctor, they're not specialists. go see a specialist immediately.
Allers, you seem to have come to quite a few conclusions about your knees rather quickly. As Giovanni pointed out it your initial complaint doesn't sound quite right. It wouldn't be unreasonable to have a subluxed or dislocated knee cap at 15 but it would be really odd to have ''dislocated' anything in the knee itself and be back to normal that quickly. Even if it was only the knee cap it sounds like the PT looking at you wasn't looking at someone going back to the demands of TKD with your exercise program. Best thing, as already mentioned, is to get seen by a consultant (physical medicine/orthopaedics/sports medicine) medical doctor (or osteopathic physician in the USA). There are a lot of things possible from a shallow groove on your femur (allowing the patella to sublux) to a hyper-mobility syndrome where your tendons/ligaments have excessive play yadda yadda). The consultant would help to clarify what exactly was going on (MRI/x-ray/blood tests etc). You might be put onto a specific treatment plan to help remedy what ever was found (could be anything from a specific exercise training regime to prolotherapy injections to try to tighten up the ligaments or even surgery). Until it is determined if you have a specific problem or if it was a one off fluke you aren't really getting a clear idea of where to go with things. An internet forum won't really offer anything of real value. People will try to be helpful/supportive but really it's a waste of time all around. Get it sorted and then come back and see whether anything useful can be suggested if the consultants approach doesn't work out. Not sure if we will be much more use then but certainly you will be much better informed and we would have a better chance of giving you some potentially useful advice.. FWIW LFD
Yeah, like LFD said, it was the kneecap that was dislocated. I know they were dislocated because they were popped back into place? :S why are you so defensive? yes that's what happened, yes I was back at TKD a couple of months after, surgery was offered the first time but to drain the swelling and the doctor dealing with me believed that a part of my kneecap may have chipped off rather than to fix the knee itself, I had MRI scans done; no ligaments were torn, the knee was not chipped, and I don't know what a meniscus is. I'm naturally very hypermobile, not sure if that has helps in any way. @Zaad, nope, wasn't a sports physiotherapist, the person who did my knee rehabilitation gave me some exercises in case of long term pain but I don't think they're helping much. @Count Duckula, I already said that the TKD caused the issue but does not aggravate it. @Latefordinner Yeah, looks like I'll probably go to see a consultant, it would be good to know exactly what's going on with them.
glucosomine slulphate is supposed to be good for joints etc. TKD is generally not brilliant for the knees, as the kicks tend to over stretch the knee joint - doing so repeatedly is bad mmkay. I think seeing a consultant or sports physiotherapist should be able to tell you exactly what is wrong, and how to go about improving your situation. More leg exercises may well build up the muscle around the knee joints and help support them. I was told that was a good way of improving my dodgy ankle after doing ligament/tendon damage there.
Second on physio, however I say see if you can get some scans 1st. Dislocation of the knee then coming back a few months later sounds like you either didnt get it diagnosed or you came back too quick. It could be that you may have torn your meniscus. These are the padding (as it were) under your knees. They can cause discomfort and pain when torn and if a bit of it sticking somewhere.
Just for interest, if you have a shallow groove or if the patella is fairly flat, and as you have mentioned you have a form of hyper-mobility syndrome, then TKD is THE sport that will tend to give you problems. When you stand on one leg to kick, and if you forcibly extend the knee you are standing on, then you place loads in multiple directions that push the knee cap to dislocate/sublux. I was at a recent conference where surgeons were reconstructing the groove of people with this condition to prevent the susceptibility to dislocate. I think that they have a fairly good success rate with the procedure but it is probably fairly pricey. It is also interesting to see how things have come and gone over the last 25+ years with procedures falling in and out of favour depending on how successful they have been. I am off on a similar type of conference in a couple of weeks so I will keep my eyes open to see what the newest thing is for managing your condition. Just a reminder, I still think you should get reviewed by a consultant but your additional information was helpful in clarifying what exactly you are dealing with. Best of luck and keep us posted!! LFD
It sounds like you need to work on strengthening the knee flexors and extensors as well as some work to improve lateral stability in the knee. A good physiotherapist should be able to determine exactly what you can handle in order to do that. Make sure you don't ignore lateral stabilizers, or you'll be setting yourself up for more serious problems later.
That was my point. Just because TKD doesn't aggravate it quickly, doesn't mean that TKD could be completely the wrong art for you. TKD is hard on the knees, and if your knees aren't that great / strong / robust, TKD is just not meant for you, regardless of whether you love it or not. A friend of mine ruined his knees through hard karate practice. He had something wrong with his knees (as in , mechanically not as good as it should have been). He only discovered this when they were scanned because of all the pain he was in. Had he checked this in time and switched to a different art, he could have practiced still. Instead, his knees are destroyed, his cartilege gone, and any hope of practicing any MA has long gone. Not saying you should quit, but have your knees checked to see if they are ok for TKD.
Even I had a surgery last year but suddenly after six months of surgery I was feeling pain. I went to doctor and they suggested me to use a pair of [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Beating-Patellar-Tendonitis-Treatment-Pain-free/dp/1491049731]jumper's knee[/ame] while walking. They also asked me to avoid lifting of weight. Applying ice to the knee not only reduces inflammation but also relieves pain. Ice should be used in 15 to 20 minute intervals, as any longer periods may cause damage to nerve endings and affect circulation.
