Re: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee pain associated with chondromalacia ...

[Guest guest]

That's an amazing story . Thank you for sharing. I will definitely

look into this and lead your blog

Joanne

From: chondromalacia treatment

[mailto:chondromalacia treatment ] On Behalf Of rb409699

Sent: October 3, 2010 4:24 PM

chondromalacia treatment

Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee

pain associated with chondromalacia ...

I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I

was dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook

understanding of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes

over time -- and I came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was

being told by my physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any

sense.

I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice

for someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I

climbed out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with

my legs extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while

brushing my teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My

knees feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way.

I feel incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to

pay forward the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience

because I learned so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog

going where I'm hoping to start a dialogue.

Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

www.savingmyknees.com

[Guest guest]

, I'm really glad you posted this, thank you.

 

I'm curious -- what's the difference between joint-strengthening and muscle /

quad strengthening movement?

 

Kimi

From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee pain

associated with chondromalacia ...

chondromalacia treatment

Date: Sunday, 3 October, 2010, 22:23

 

I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I was

dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook understanding

of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes over time -- and I

came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was being told by my

physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any sense.

I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice for

someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I climbed

out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with my legs

extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while brushing my

teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My knees

feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way. I feel

incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to pay forward

the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience because I learned

so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog going where I'm hoping

to start a dialogue.

Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

www.savingmyknees.com

[Guest guest]

Yes, I also improved my knees through exercise. I am in my 50's and developed

knee cap pain from years of beach volleyball. It was painful to jump or step up

on a stair. I read a blog posted by a PT named Doug Kelsey from Sportscenter

Austin. He believes in joint strengthening. I got my ideas from his blog. It is

a slow process, however. It took a few months before I noticed any progress.

 

I strarted my program in September, 2009. At first I rode a stationary bike and

did one-legged squats on a Cybex squat machine or Total Gym using high reps and

a very light resistance. I was not able to add much resistance for the first few

months. By January, 1010, I had doubled the resistance on the squat machine and

I noticed that my knee was starting to feel much better. I could now do stepups

on a 10-inch platform with no pain. I have continued on this regimin. At this

time, I religiously do my step ups along with other exercises such as balancing

exercises and some short distance running. I am able to play beach volleyball or

tennis again. I can do stepups on a 14-inch platform while holding dumbells.

 

My knee is not 100-percent at this time, but it has improved to a point where I

am almost fully active. I often feel soreness from deep inside the knee joint. I

will continue to do the exercises. I use a foam roller to loosen the quad

muscles and IT band. I also use a suction cup to pull the knee cap outward.

These exercises were prescribed by my PT.

[Guest guest]

A suction cup? Please tell us more! I can't imagine getting substantial

suction against skin.

Don

On Oct 5, 2010, at 2:19 PM, Lawrence Terbell wrote:

>

> Yes, I also improved my knees through exercise. I am in my 50's and developed

knee cap pain from years of beach volleyball. It was painful to jump or step up

on a stair. I read a blog posted by a PT named Doug Kelsey from Sportscenter

Austin. He believes in joint strengthening. I got my ideas from his blog. It is

a slow process, however. It took a few months before I noticed any progress.

>

> I strarted my program in September, 2009. At first I rode a stationary bike

and did one-legged squats on a Cybex squat machine or Total Gym using high reps

and a very light resistance. I was not able to add much resistance for the first

few months. By January, 1010, I had doubled the resistance on the squat machine

and I noticed that my knee was starting to feel much better. I could now do

stepups on a 10-inch platform with no pain. I have continued on this regimin. At

this time, I religiously do my step ups along with other exercises such as

balancing exercises and some short distance running. I am able to play beach

volleyball or tennis again. I can do stepups on a 14-inch platform while holding

dumbells.

>

> My knee is not 100-percent at this time, but it has improved to a point where

I am almost fully active. I often feel soreness from deep inside the knee joint.

I will continue to do the exercises. I use a foam roller to loosen the quad

muscles and IT band. I also use a suction cup to pull the knee cap outward.

These exercises were prescribed by my PT.

[Guest guest]

The suction cup is a very small blue plunger. I think they sell them at Bed Bath

and Beyond. My PT gave it to me. He told me pulling the knee cap outward

stimulates the joint fluid. The plunger is just the right size for a kneecap

and I really do get pretty good suction with it.

 

Larry

>

> Yes, I also improved my knees through exercise. I am in my 50's and developed

knee cap pain from years of beach volleyball. It was painful to jump or step up

on a stair. I read a blog posted by a PT named Doug Kelsey from Sportscenter

Austin. He believes in joint strengthening. I got my ideas from his blog. It is

a slow process, however. It took a few months before I noticed any progress.

>

> I strarted my program in September, 2009. At first I rode a stationary bike

and did one-legged squats on a Cybex squat machine or Total Gym using high reps

and a very light resistance. I was not able to add much resistance for the first

few months. By January, 1010, I had doubled the resistance on the squat machine

and I noticed that my knee was starting to feel much better. I could now do

stepups on a 10-inch platform with no pain. I have continued on this regimin. At

this time, I religiously do my step ups along with other exercises such as

balancing exercises and some short distance running. I am able to play beach

volleyball or tennis again. I can do stepups on a 14-inch platform while holding

dumbells.

>

> My knee is not 100-percent at this time, but it has improved to a point where

I am almost fully active. I often feel soreness from deep inside the knee joint.

I will continue to do the exercises. I use a foam roller to loosen the quad

muscles and IT band. I also use a suction cup to pull the knee cap outward.

These exercises were prescribed by my PT.

[Guest guest]

Glad to hear from you.

Here's where traditional physical therapy for chondromalacia badly fails, I

think:

The prescription to get better is to strengthen the muscle (quads). Muscles get

stronger through low-repetition, high-load exercises. If you have weak knees,

these are also the kinds of exercises that will overtax the joint. So you're

always going one step forward in your recovery, then one step back, and

wondering, in frustration, why you're not getting better.

The smarter approach, I found (and this is what Doug Kelsey believes at Sports

Center, as the next poster notes -- Doug is great; you should read his essays)

is to try to fix what hurts. And what hurts is the joint. So instead of making

the muscles stronger, you try to make the knee stronger first (you can tend to

the muscles later).

Joint strengthening is the opposite of muscle strengthening, if you will. You

want low loads and high repetitions. Activities that may be good for this: very

easy cycling (you can even cycle backwards if you want the resistance close to

zero), gentle walking (no hills and a natural rhythm but not too fast). It takes

months, even years, but it's the right way to go, I'm convinced. Because it

works.

I basically flunked out of traditional (quad-oriented) physical therapy. It

wasn't helping. My physical therapist suggested that maybe my problem was bad

enough to merit surgery. And that was when I started thinking: Was it really my

problem? Or was it his approach?

Just think of it this way: Traditional physical therapy is all about muscles

when your problem is your knees. Why not focus your energy on fixing the actual

problem? This is Common Sense 101.

>

>

> From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

> Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee pain

associated with chondromalacia ...

> chondromalacia treatment

> Date: Sunday, 3 October, 2010, 22:23

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

>

> I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I was

dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

>

> Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook

understanding of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes over

time -- and I came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was being

told by my physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any sense.

>

> I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice for

someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I climbed

out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with my legs

extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while brushing my

teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

>

> Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My knees

feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way. I feel

incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to pay forward

the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience because I learned

so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog going where I'm hoping

to start a dialogue.

>

> Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

>

>

> www.savingmyknees.com

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

 

I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense now that you said

it! Read a bit of Doug Kelsey from the link on your blog. I like what he has

to say. Thanks again.

 

Kimi

From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

Subject: Re: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee

pain associated with chondromalacia ...

chondromalacia treatment

Date: Thursday, 7 October, 2010, 2:32

 

Glad to hear from you.

Here's where traditional physical therapy for chondromalacia badly fails, I

think:

The prescription to get better is to strengthen the muscle (quads). Muscles get

stronger through low-repetition, high-load exercises. If you have weak knees,

these are also the kinds of exercises that will overtax the joint. So you're

always going one step forward in your recovery, then one step back, and

wondering, in frustration, why you're not getting better.

The smarter approach, I found (and this is what Doug Kelsey believes at Sports

Center, as the next poster notes -- Doug is great; you should read his essays)

is to try to fix what hurts. And what hurts is the joint. So instead of making

the muscles stronger, you try to make the knee stronger first (you can tend to

the muscles later).

Joint strengthening is the opposite of muscle strengthening, if you will. You

want low loads and high repetitions. Activities that may be good for this: very

easy cycling (you can even cycle backwards if you want the resistance close to

zero), gentle walking (no hills and a natural rhythm but not too fast). It takes

months, even years, but it's the right way to go, I'm convinced. Because it

works.

I basically flunked out of traditional (quad-oriented) physical therapy. It

wasn't helping. My physical therapist suggested that maybe my problem was bad

enough to merit surgery. And that was when I started thinking: Was it really my

problem? Or was it his approach?

Just think of it this way: Traditional physical therapy is all about muscles

when your problem is your knees. Why not focus your energy on fixing the actual

problem? This is Common Sense 101.

>

>

> From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

> Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee pain

associated with chondromalacia ...

> chondromalacia treatment

> Date: Sunday, 3 October, 2010, 22:23

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

>

> I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I was

dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

>

> Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook

understanding of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes over

time -- and I came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was being

told by my physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any sense.

>

> I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice for

someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I climbed

out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with my legs

extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while brushing my

teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

>

> Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My knees

feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way. I feel

incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to pay forward

the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience because I learned

so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog going where I'm hoping

to start a dialogue.

>

> Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

>

>

> www.savingmyknees.com

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

Doug Kelsey has many of his articles archived on his blog at the Sports Center

website.

He also has a new book called The Runner's Knee Bible. It will be available

soon.

I thought you all be interested. You can check out a couple of the chapters on

the website.

 

regards,

Larry

From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

Subject: Re: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee

pain associated with chondromalacia ...

chondromalacia treatment

Date: Thursday, 7 October, 2010, 2:32

 

Glad to hear from you.

Here's where traditional physical therapy for chondromalacia badly fails, I

think:

The prescription to get better is to strengthen the muscle (quads). Muscles get

stronger through low-repetition, high-load exercises. If you have weak knees,

these are also the kinds of exercises that will overtax the joint. So you're

always going one step forward in your recovery, then one step back, and

wondering, in frustration, why you're not getting better.

The smarter approach, I found (and this is what Doug Kelsey believes at Sports

Center, as the next poster notes -- Doug is great; you should read his essays)

is to try to fix what hurts. And what hurts is the joint. So instead of making

the muscles stronger, you try to make the knee stronger first (you can tend to

the muscles later).

Joint strengthening is the opposite of muscle strengthening, if you will. You

want low loads and high repetitions. Activities that may be good for this: very

easy cycling (you can even cycle backwards if you want the resistance close to

zero), gentle walking (no hills and a natural rhythm but not too fast). It takes

months, even years, but it's the right way to go, I'm convinced. Because it

works.

I basically flunked out of traditional (quad-oriented) physical therapy. It

wasn't helping. My physical therapist suggested that maybe my problem was bad

enough to merit surgery. And that was when I started thinking: Was it really my

problem? Or was it his approach?

Just think of it this way: Traditional physical therapy is all about muscles

when your problem is your knees. Why not focus your energy on fixing the actual

problem? This is Common Sense 101.

>

>

> From: rb409699 <rb409699@...>

> Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee pain

associated with chondromalacia ...

> chondromalacia treatment

> Date: Sunday, 3 October, 2010, 22:23

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

>

> I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I was

dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

>

> Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook

understanding of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes over

time -- and I came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was being

told by my physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any sense.

>

> I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice for

someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I climbed

out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with my legs

extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while brushing my

teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

>

> Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My knees

feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way. I feel

incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to pay forward

the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience because I learned

so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog going where I'm hoping

to start a dialogue.

>

> Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

>

>

> www.savingmyknees.com

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, by all means, check out what Doug Kelsey has to say. He was an early source

of inspiration, in a big way. He gave me the faith that I could get better.

That's no small thing when you can't stand in one place long enough to brush

your teeth, without your joints burning (I had to hop back and forth). I dreaded

the elevator ride at work for the same reason (standing in one spot caused my

knees to flare up.)

It was a long journey back, but I learned so much, it's almost like I have a

knee maintenance journal at my disposal now. And I went about all this in a

fairly scientific manner (my wife says that I'm too analytical, which may be so

), to prove that what I was learning actually meant something outside of my

own experience. I'm convinced that it does, which is why I wanted to go online

and share a message of hope. I'm 100% back now. It feels great.

www.savingmyknees.com

> >

> >

> > From: rb409699 <rb409699@>

> > Subject: Don't lose hope! I beat chronic knee

pain associated with chondromalacia ...

> > chondromalacia treatment

> > Date: Sunday, 3 October, 2010, 22:23

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> > I joined this group because I want to spread a good message about overcoming

knee pain.

> >

> > I'm a longtime journalist, late 40s, who developed chronic knee pain from

cycling too hard up mountains. For a year I bounced like a pinball between

doctors and physical therapists. I followed their advice to the letter -- I was

dedicated and determined -- but I wasn't getting better.

> >

> > Then I really started to look into knee cartilage -- the textbook

understanding of how it works, the clinical studies showing how it changes over

time -- and I came to the depressing conclusion that much of what I was being

told by my physio and doctors was either bad advice or didn't make any sense.

> >

> > I designed my own program, centered around joint-friendly motion and

joint-strengthening (NOT quad strengthening, which I think is awful advice for

someone with weak joints). It took the better part of two years, but I climbed

out of the deep hole I was in. Three years ago, I was sitting with my legs

extended and propped up on boxes. I had to hop back and forth while brushing my

teeth to prevent my knees from burning.

> >

> > Yesterday I rode 61 miles, hard (at speeds up to 30 mph), on my bike, with a

group. No one in that group I bet suspected I'd ever had knee problems. My knees

feel normal again. It's like getting a second shot at life, in a way. I feel

incredibly fortunate. But I also feel very strongly that I need to pay forward

the hope that sustained me. I wrote a book about my experience because I learned

so much about bad knees during my recovery. I have a blog going where I'm hoping

to start a dialogue.

> >

> > Bad knees can heal. My doctors said mine never would. But they did.

> >

> >

> > www.savingmyknees.com

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >