Arthritis knees - is anything other than RICE helpful?

Hi Sara,

I am sorry to hear that you are hurting and that the approach you used before is not working right now. Somehow, in your question to this forum you have already implied an answer because you seem to be worried that there is something else that has not been there before.

If you were my client, I would recommend you see a doctor. Self-treatment initially is fine but if the problems persist and the previously successul approach is not working then you need to have a physician or at least a physical therapist look at your knee.

I hope you'll soon be on you feet again and be doing anything you want to do.

I am reading "Pain Free" right now by Pete Egoscue. Check out egoscue.com. I would suggest you see an Egoscue therapist. All I've done is read the book, but they seem to have the best chance of helping of any that I've seen.

I would also suggest you start barefoot running or running in Vibrums. Check out "The Running Professor" on youtube

Its time to take a look at your workout program and really reassess why you are doing what you are doing if it hurts. I just did a short blog post on this last week.


http://blog.ideafit.com/blogs/shawn-fears/when-exercise-programs-become-...

Hi there Sara!

Another holistic approach you can add to the responses you've already received regarding your knees is:

Cherries -- drinking cherry juice and eating tart cherries is a great natural anti-inflammatory that will help you alleviate some pain so that you can do some of the training exercises outlined by the others who've answered your question.

Be well, Susan

Animal protein causes inflammation. If you remove (or reduce) animal protein from the diet, you remove much of the irritation in the joint. Be sure to replace those foods with nutrient-dense foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, beans, fruits, and nuts and seeds. Joints need nourishment, too. Studies have shown that older farmers in poor countries who follow a mostly plant diet (little or no animal food) have a fraction of the arthritis that Americans do. What's the probable cause? Diet.

Hello Sara,

It is great to see that you are doing your best to manage your arthritis with exercise as exercise has been proven to decrease the discomfort that comes along with this condition.

As a clinical exercise physiologist I come into contact with many who have arthritis and I find that many are unaware that there are scientific guidelines that one can utilize as far as self-management of arthritis is concerned.

I noticed in your comments, that after a "run" you get flareups. You indicate that after your flareups you have a rest and normally you are back to "kickboxing" and "plyo."

Sara, the "kickboxing" and "plyo" might be the very reason it is taking you a longer time to recover.

When I am working with individual with diagnosed arthritis, I actively avoid the following types of activities as the activities generally exacerbate the condition:

1. Stair climbing
2. Contact sports
3. Activities requiring prolonged one-legged stance (like kickboxing)
4. Rapid stop and go activities (plyometrics)

I encourage the following:

1. Low impact activities and functional exercises for strengthening when possible
2. Muscular conditioning. This is very important especially if you want to make your workouts more intense.
3. Stretch, stretch, stretch. This is important to increase the flexibility around your joints. (Just be very careful not to overstretch).
4. If you continue to have pain or swelling, you must, must, must reduce the load your joints that are affected wi. You do this by not working through pain, you can exercise in water, you can use a stationary bicycle or a rowing machine. Make it as low impact as possible.
5. What about your shoes. Do they need to be changed? You might want to consider a good pair of shoes that absorb shock.

Sara, I hope these suggestions are of help to you. I wish you a speedy recovery and if you have further questions, feel free to respond to this post.

All the best!

My experience with arthritic knees tells me most likely you are continuing to stress the joints with kickboxing and plyo. If it were me, I would backoff on kickboxing and plyo, until I feel I have regained stability in my knees. RICE is smart. I would not do anything out of the ordinary as this may also stress your knee joint. I recently ran a five mile hilly course (my usual is 4 miles flat), and my knees are speaking to me. They are saying listen to me and give me a break. I heard the call.
Danielle