I guess that headline could be taken two ways. Drinking water is always good for a water-based organism. But the water I'm referring to here is the kind that you move through: in a swimming pool, lake or ocean.
I'm thinking about water therapy because my wife (who has a bad knee and has put on some weight) just joined a gym. I get my workout on a bike trainer in the basement; she will now go to the pool.
This was her first day. As she was preparing to leave, I shared my usual warning, "Be careful not to overdo it," while feeling quite certain that she would. She got back and said she felt some discomfort in her knee. I'm pretty sure she did overdo it, but I've got my fingers crossed that she didn't go way overboard.
Tomorrow will tell.
Still, I think returning to the water (she likes to swim) will be a good thing for her, and her knee. I tried to get her to ride a spare exercise bike in the basement. She never took much pleasure from that, and I think it was a bit irritating for her knee joint, even though I told her to keep the tension low.
She's definitely more excited about swimming.
I think water activities are great for bad knees, though you still have to be careful. Originally, I thought water would play a much bigger role in my recovery than it did. Probably it didn't because (1) I'm not really a water guy; I never learned how to swim and tend to stand around shivering in the pool (2) The water activities that I could do without aggravating my knees weren't that interesting to me.
In the end, I went the walking route, and as I say in the book, many weeks later I climbed out of the knee pain hole.
But anyone with access to a pool who has knee pain, and who enjoys water, should definitely try a program of water exercises. Linda Huey has some in the book she co-authored, Heal Your Knees, which is available on Amazon.
The buoyancy of water is like having a magic immersion machine that unloads your joints in space. If you're in the water up to your chest, no matter which way you turn, bend, step, jump, you're getting the benefits.
If you prefer to swim, consider wearing floats on your ankles (those same floats that are designed to be worn on the arms), until you're sure that the kicking motion doesn't worsen your knee pain. I used them myself with some success.
Make a splash! Good luck!
Water! Hurray!
ReplyDeleteNo surprise I'm a big fan of water therapy since I credit it as the main activity that rehabilitated my long-time knee issue (diagnosed as chrondromalacia and also PPFS).
I was also delighted to see you referenced a book by Linda Huey.
She is the author of the book that I used to help guide myself to knee health "The Complete Waterpower Workout Book: Programs for Fitness, Injury Prevention, and Healing." When following the movements in the book, I only focused on the "injury" and "healing" sections, for sure! Also, I'll emphasize that my knee was so bad that swimming using legs was not possible. Also, no jumping in water -- not even any fast movements. Just slow gentle movements. And I eventually built up more ability. And... do NOT over-do-it. In fact... focus on trying to UNDER-do-it and then will probably achieve the right amount. Lol.
As a note, when I started trying out water therapy, I wore a neoprene knee brace. That seemed helpful. Over time, I was able to let it go.
Hello Knee Community
ReplyDeleteDoug Kelsey is a knee physical therapist often talked about on this blog. He has worked with Laurie Kertz Kelly to create an online course with videos and handouts and such. I attended the informational webinar about it today Jan 19, 2022 and it looks quite good.
Something I really appreciated in the webinar is the emphasis on making the knee joint healthy before trying to strengthen the muscles around the knee. I wish everyone on this blog had seen that part of the webinar! Laurie explained it so well I feel that healing the knee joint first was such an important part of my own healing journey as I was following the high-rep / low load concept in Richard's book. Laurie also talked about the delayed pain onset which is another important concept I had got from Richard's book. .
Here is text from the website;
A "joint first" approach: Conventional exercise routines for people with knee pain focus on strengthening the thigh muscles - quadriceps. And while this is a good thing to do, it doesn't address the underlying problem - a weak joint surface. Better Knees for Life shows you how to strengthen your knee from the inside-out AND how to strengthen not just your thigh muscles but your hips, trunk, and legs too. Knowing what to do and how to do it is key. We walk you through the WHY, WHAT and HOW of each exercise using video tutorials and you can also perform the routines following along with Laurie Kertz Kelly.
Here is the webpage to learn more.
https://kelsey-group.teachable.com/
The last day to sign up for this cohort is Jan 21, 2022. In the webinar they said they do not know when the next cohort will be yet.
2 years ago I had a car accident and my knee slammed into the dashboard of my vehicle. I am much better than I was but this has been such a long journey for me. To be honest it has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through. Dealt with a lot of difficult things in my life but I was always able to walk and burn off the stress and energy. Losing my walking has been devastating to me. I visit the site because it encourages me to see that other people have recovered and I have been on here quite a bit and commented here and there. Still I'm in this Valley where I want to be so much better than I am and some days are so discouraging. Thank you for sharing your stories and please continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteI just purchased the book "Heal Your Knees" by Linda Huey and Robert Klapper and I really appreciated the Huey-Klapper Knee point assessment. You start with 100 points and then you subtract points depending on age, if you have a history of knee issues, if you're overweight or not, if you get knee pain after exercise, etc. So you get a number and that's the number of points you allow yourself for the entire week. Then it goes on with a list of activities and their different points depending how "abusive" they are to your knees. I have to say I really appreciated this little book and I wish I had read it a long time ago...
ReplyDeleteI've been dealing with knee issues for a few years now (since June 2017) and I wished I had a system like this to guide me through my worse days. It's very straight forward! I was able to figure it out on my own through Richard's book, reading this blog, and seeing Dr. Dye, but it took many years...
I now feel almost healed except that I deal with flareups still (recently I was feeling really great, walking an average of 8,000 steps per day, and I got too cocky, not enough rest, etc).
I think I may use the "Knee Pain" system of waiting 72 hours after a knee taxing day...but I still find it hard! Good luck to everyone out there dealing with knee issues, it's not for the faint of heart!