Healthy Knees in Midlife and Beyond

This post is in no way intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new healthcare regimen.  Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking help because of something you read on this website.

Last summer I had an "injury" to my knee.  I put quotes around "injury" because, well... let me just explain. I was sitting on the ottoman throwing a toy for the dogs to fetch.  As the game finished I stood up and turned to walk into to the next room.  That’s when I felt a POP and a sudden pain in my knee. I couldn't put any weight on my knee without excruciating pain for about 30 minutes.  Then I felt a smaller POP and the worst of the pain eased up.  A trip to Urgent Care, Xrays, a visit to the Sports Medicine doctor, a MRI, and a consultation with an Orthopedist later - I was having surgery to remove "loose bodies" (loose bits of cartilage and bone) from the knee. 

All was well until a couple of weeks ago.  I say down to have a cup of tea and read.  I put my feet up on the ottoman, and as I straightened my legs there was suddenly an intense pain in that same knee.  I couldn't straightened it all the way due to the pain, and walking was also painful.   It was almost exactly the same as last summer but without the POP sensation. I was back to the Orthopedist for more Xrays. I have some osteoarthritis in the knee, and there l ossifications located at the fibular head. No surgery recommended right now, but at some in my future I'll be needing a knee replacement. 

I was feeling very alone in my experiences with knee problems, until I read an article from AARP that said joint pain can be a common symptom in menopause. Other common causes of knee pain iinclude typical wear-and-tear, osteoarthritis, and injuries. 

My Orthopedist explained it to me that some people have bones and cartilage like oak, and some like pine.  If you have oak floors in a home, they can take a lot of walking on and will hold up for the lifetime of the house. If the floors are pine, after many years they will start to show signs of wear.  Apparently, mine are like pine. 

Fortunately, there are things we can do to protect our knees and keep them healthy for as long as possible.

• Stick with low-impact exercise to minimize stress on your knees. Examples include: walking, swimming, biking, and elliptical training. Avoid or limit high impact exercise or those with a lot of contact or sudden pivots.
• Do exercises that strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps.  These muscles support the knee joints.
• Stretching regularly to improve flexibility, and as a warm-up before exercise to prevent injury.
• Maintain a healthy weight to reduce pressure on the knees.
• Wear shoes with good support and cushioning. 

Taking care of our knees can keep us active through midlife and well into the senior years.  And isn't that something we all hope for?