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Re: [RC] Knee Pain - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Bruce Weary bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== On the knee pain issue: There is really no simple answer to the question "What should I do for my knee pain?" There are, of course, many different causes for and types of knee pain. Those of you who are old war horses with known pathologies like a torn meniscus, thinning cartilage, instability from torn ligaments or just good old osteoarthritis, have probably seen a health care professional and had one or more components of your pain/problem treated. Keep in mind that knee pain can be multicausal, and you may only be able to affect some components of your problem by yourself. It's really important to have a thorough and distinct diagnosis of your knee problem, and then your effective treatment options will be more clear. For those of you with osteoarthritis only, glucosamine HCL should be taken daily, at 1500 to 2000 mg. If you have a fish allergy, be careful, as it is often derived from shellfish. There are vegetarian forms. MSM is methylsufonylmethane, and is chemically similar to DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide. It works in horses and people. It seems the sulfur in it helps with cartilage health. Chondroitin sulfate is a good product, but some authors say it is converted in the body to glucosamine anyway, and since glucosamine is cheaper, you can get by with only one of them. If your knees ache only when you ride, and you have no other pain otherwise, exercises to strengthen the quadriceps and hamstrings (like lunges) can do wonders to improve if not alleveiate this type of pain. If you have internal derangement of the knee (torn cartilage, torn ligaments or other instability) you may need surgical correction and proper rehab before you can reasonbly return to a hobby as strenuous as endurance riding. Exercising on an unstable knee accelerates degeneration and invites further injury. One last note on the use of NSAIDS. They are usually quite toxic to the liver and kidneys, and are a temporary bandaid, at best. There is a price to be paid for using them. It's very clear in the scientific literature that NSAIDS actually IMPAIR healing. It's true they provide a temporary chemical supression of inflammation, but that isn't always good. The inflammation process is part of the healing process, and, as such, is necessary (as long as it isn't exaggerated) for tissues to renew themselves. NSAIDS impair this process. Now, if all of you reading this will kindly send me a check for $50 each for the medical advice just given, we'll call it even. ;) Bruce Weary DC =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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