knee pain- fluid on knee

Question
Hi,

I've had knee pain on and off for a number of years.  It usually gets worse when I work out a lot.  But I love to exercise.  I recently began walking - with a little bit of running - 2x a week, along with a Zumba class (high impact aerobics) 2x a week.  My knee is complaining.  Actually both knees hurt and have fluid, but the left one is worse(my left ankle was broken about 13 years ago and has 2 titanium screws in it...it obviously hurts often..but not sure if it's aggravating my knee because of bearing weight differently).  Anyway, both knees hurt and have fluid, but the left one is substantially worse.  I ice it daily, but all the extra working out is taking its toll.  Is there anything else I can do at home to relieve pain?

thank you,
Christy

Answer
Christy

Sure, you might be able to do a few things:

Supplements: Glucosamine Chondroitin is a popular supplement that helps with joint pain, and very much with knees, where it's most prominent.

Fluid: It sounds like your knees have problems with tightness between the knee cap an the knee - which usually causes fluid build-up. Ice is good to help relieve this pain, but doesn't cure it.  If you tightened up tendons, which happens a lot, when you were jumping the ice will try to make something that is already tight tighter, causing you more pain, once the feeling returns to that area, rather than help out. Ice will also keep tight muscles and/or tendons tight longer if you ice them making your recovery time longer rather than shorter. Freeing up tendons are more difficult to do than the muscles and you would need one trained in them to help you with them.

Acupuncture: I have found acupuncture to help tremendously with some injuries, specifically tied to any muscular related injuries. The knee is like a muscle, where if you have worn away cartilage supporting your knee joint, injuries like this are bound to happen. While it certainly won't give you a new knee, acupuncture helps with tension and long term relief of that joint, something I'd investigate a bit if you had time.

Muscle Therapy - I'd look to also someone who specializes in muscle therapy and back issues. You'd be surprised how much the back plays such a pivotal point in your lower body functionality. If just a few nerves are out of place or pinched, something you may not think, it can cause major damage down your entire lower body, from knees, to your feet. I'd look to someone who focuses in chiro with a muscle therapy focus, or something doctors call 'zone healing'.

See what this does, I think it might help you along the way, and if you have good health insurance, most likely all of this will be near covered under it.

Best of luck!