Knee braces

trekking pole? I have knee, ankle, hip pain occasionally and just ignore it. Reduce mileage a bit.

Yep, I use poles.

Let's see if I have learned the BPL method. Knee braces support and ease knee stress. This just makes your knee weaker. Get some zero drop shoes, stop walking on difficult terrain, cut the mileage by 74%, and condition your knees ! ;)

I have some aging knees. Never had any problems until about a year ago. Sometimes my knee will hurt on the inside of the knee cap, then switch to the outside. Sometimes I ignore it and it will go away. If not, then what helps for me is to stop, sit down, and do some self-massage. Try to get all those stranded muscles/tendons above and below the knee. Just a couple of minutes of this gives me relief. I would avoid knee braces. Most probably don't work anyway, but if they do work they will be weakening you knee(s). The knee is a complicated counter balance of muscles and tendons… if the brace weakens one strand in the balance you are in trouble. Better to get it strong. Try doing the backpacker's 'step down' exercise to strengthen you knees… do them regularly. Get one of those 'stepper' exercise things that most gyms have… start with a 4" step and work you way up to 6" and maybe 8"… you just stand on top and step one foot forward and just touch the floor without putting weight on it and then pull the foot back up on top of the stepper… repeat in sets of 10 or 15… then the other foot. Work your way up to 3 or 4 sets per foot at the 4" height, then the same at 6" and then the same at 8"… you'll have strong knees by doing this. On the other hand… it could be tendonitis… which means you need to rest it… but maybe still build it up to where it can take the exercise… but build up gradually. billy

I have the book, "Sports & Exercise Injuries " by Steven Subotnick. It sounds like it could be Iliotibial band syndrome. So strengthening exercises could help but I still think a brace would help just when I am doing long down hills. It would keep the band or tendon from rubbing against the bone. I would not be able to find negative gravity shoes as I have to wear special orthotics and I can only find one brand of hiking boots that fit me well. Very narrow heels.

Perhaps our resident PT, Jennifer Mitol will weigh in. Billy

Just a few more thoughts, but remember… I am not a doc or a PT… though I am an athlete of many years who has dealt with many injuries… You mention 'special orthotics'. I went down that road a few years ago, but ultimately realized that this is more art than science. Some believe in orthotics… others claim they are useless or even harmful. So the thought that occurs to me is maybe… maybe your orthotics are part of the problem? Might try experimenting without orthotics or with different ones. I Googled Iliotibial band syndrome and there is a lot to read about your ailment: http://www.medicinenet.com/iliotibial_band_syndrome/article.htm They talk about inflamation, rest, massage, excercise to strengthen, stretching etc… all things I mentioned. They also talk about things that could throw your muscles/tendons out of balance around the knee… like always running or hiking same direction on a angled surface… I would think orthotics that are not right could create the same imbalance. Anyway… you can see doctors and PTs by the hundreds but in the end it will come down to you experimenting to find out what works. billy

You might also get and x-ray of your knee to make sure it's not caused by some cartilage floating around in there and occasionally getting into a place that causes pain. billy

“The first day was quite a bit of down hill hiking. The outside of my left knee, by the knee cap started to hurt.” Not a PT. Wild Ass Guess … Iliotibial Band Syndrome – Often as a result of weak hip muscles opposite the affected knee. Exacerbated by long downhills, and long strides. (Been there, done that.) Take a look at This. Add a lot of stretching of the glute, psoas, and hams. “Stretching” the ITB is hard to do, but if yours is like a guitar string get a foam roller and suffer a bit. It will make a difference and eliminate one possible complicating factor. And, for now, try to shorten your stride. Walk “typically”, and then just hold back a bit. It reduces the amount of “drop” in the opposing hip thereby reducing the stress on the ITB If you are disciplined with the exercises (2 -3 times a day) and stride length, and it is weak butt muscles, you will notice improvement within a week. +1 on “Forget the Brace” Edit to Add: an Extensive Article

Now that everyone has said "don't use a brace"…in my case, it helped. I had a fair amount of pain in one knee, and figured out after a while that it was happening when I landed wrong. Wearing a Cho-Pat strap around that knee didn't so much brace anything as remind me to pay attention. After six months, I had better habits, and I stopped wearing it. Or, after six months, things healed by themselves and had nothing to do with the knee brace. Take your pick.

Like others have mentioned it could be IT Band Syndrome. It seems to be a fairly common reason for knee pain among runners and hikers. I've had this issue. This is just from reading, experience, and doctors. These were my take aways. I'm not a PT, Dr., or expert though. -imagine your knees turning in. "Knock kneed" so to speak. This is increased if you have flat feet because your feet will tend to pronate inward causing your knees to turn inward too. Your hip muscles will work to keep your knee straight or stabilize it. -As your hike or runs continues, the hip muscles (my tech term) become fatigued and your IT band try to help out more to stabilize your knee. This is when your knees probably begin to hurt. -our IT band helps to stabilize our knee. Runs along the outside of our leg from hip down to knee. (Well, actually it's inside our leg but you get my point hopefully.) Common treatments: -orthotics. By supporting the arch these can prevent your feet from pronating. As mentioned before, there are different thoughts on their effectiveness. -exercises to help strengthen your hip muscles. There are lots of sites that show you some. Check out runner websites too. -anti inflammatories -stretching the IT band with a foam roller What I do: -orthotics. I have custom ones but the green super feet seemed just as effective for me. I have very flat feet. -exercises. I do these about 2-3 x's per week all year long. I don't want to but force myself because I don't want to be in pain while hiking. -Advil when hiking – trekking poles. Help my hips muscles last longer. Personal results: I went from feeling mild pain after about 10 miles to very painful after 15 miles to no pain at all to occasionally feeling mild pain after 15 miles. I still want try rolling out my IT band with a foam roller. Sectionhiker.com has some info too.

A week ago, I decided to start running again and shortly injured my knee, then went on a 13 mile hike the next day, with a mile descent on an abandoned trail covered in loose rocks and downed trees and very little tread, which quickly made my knee far worse to the point I could barely walk on the hike out. The day after that, I was heading out for a weekend of trailwork that I really didn't want to miss, so I decided to try a knee brace and made it through the weekend with minimal pain compared to when it was off. So they certainly have their place with some types of knee pain/injuries.

I’ve had recurring problems with my IT band, to the point where I almost thought I would have to stop my JMT hike partway through. Here’s what’s helped: 1. Long term, building up the right muscles. Look up IT band exercises, there are a few stretches and targeted leg lifts that I found helped quite a bit. 2. KT Tape.. I put this on (in the recommended knee configuration) for any multi-day hike. As long as I clean my leg and apply it carefully, one application will stay on for about 4-5 days. This is my first line of defense. 3. A knee brace when I start to feel pain coming on. It’s sweaty and annoying, so I don’t wear it all the time, but I do carry it and wear it as needed. The one linked is the one I use and it’s worked quite well. I used to have a plain neoprene sleeve, but it was sweatier and a pain to take off and on (I had to take my shoes off). This one is (slightly) breathable, adjustable with velcro, and inexpensive. I’ve been very happy with it. Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, just a guy with crappy genetics when it comes to joints.

A good physical therapist. Prolotherapy. Hellerwork. A good Hellerwork therapist can help re-pattern how your body moves making everything more efficient, etc. Joseph Heller was an engineer that applied an engineering approach to body mechanics. Having said that I am not sure how much the different approaches I have taken have contributed to my healing since it has been a somewhat long term project. But these seemed to be the most important, listed in no particular order. I tried a lot of knee braces and found no obvious benefit except to compress swelling. I have not used one for a long time. I also use various natural anti inflamatories as a preventive therapy. Awareness has also been an important tool. Noticing when there are indications of stress or pain in my knee, not tensing up around it, paying attention to how it feels to move it in different ways, etc. Often when my knee or other body part starts hurting I relax my attitude towards it, relax my body, keep moving, and give the pain or stress a chance to go away. It often does. Everyone is different so these things may not benefit you but have been successful for me.

"The day after that, I was heading out for a weekend of trailwork that I really didn't want to miss, so I decided to try a knee brace and made it through the weekend with minimal pain compared to when it was off. So they certainly have their place with some types of knee pain/injuries." But how do you know the knee brace helped? It might be your knee would have been good that day even without the brace…. knees can be bad one day and good the next even when doing nothing different… at least that's my experience. Billy

The reason I wear orthotics is because I have scoliosis and flat feet. I am sure my scoliosis is part of the problem. The orthotics have helped with a lot of my back issues, so not giving them up. I have spent thousands of dollars going to rehab and do the exercises at home. It's most likely my gait is off so puts pressure on my left leg.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I did see someone wearing KT tape last year on the JMT. That and the brace Mitchell suggested might be something I will try. Also, I will try and slow down on the down hills. I tend to hike very fast.

From the irunfar interview with Andrew Hamilton – “When you just jog all the time, you develop all these little injuries. Your hamstrings get tight. Your hip flexors are sore. Your knees are aching. With Insanity, you’re jumping around a lot. You’re doing plyometrics workouts. You’re always doing high intensity. When I’m jogging, I’m a slow jogger, like 10-minute miles. Insanity is full intensity. You’re working the hip flexors and all the tendons and all the joints. They all get strengthened. That works wonders for me. It used to be when I’d try to hike fast, my hip flexors would get really sore. Now I don’t have hip-flexor issues.”

You really need to see a doctor and not rely on any of the advice you get over the internet, no matter how good the intentions are with which it is offered.

I agree with seeing a specialist about your knee. But, you may want to try one of those "cho-pat" knee bands. Basically a tube you wrap around the bottom of your knee. Helped me a lot when I ran cross country and in soccer games. Recommended to me by a physician for similar knee problems.

My wife's knee will sometimes start hurting. Sometimes it is due to over stressing it, sometimes she has no idea what caused it. She wears one of these: http://www.acebrand.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/AceBrand/Home/Products/Product-Catalog/~/ACE-Brand-Knitted-Knee-Brace-with-Side-Stabilizers?N=4304+3294529207+3294605837&rt=rud and it typically hurts much less. After a few days her knee feels fine and she stops using it. Not a scientific test, but it certainly works for her. She brings it if we go hiking, but only uses it if her knee starts to hurt.

Bauerfeind (sp.?) makes an excellent knee sleeve. I tried several some years ago and I liked this brand a lot. But I ended up with a small brace–I forget the brand–that was just slightly larger than my knee, and had three adjustable straps and some padding over the knee. It provided support for the outside of my knee (or turn it around for the inside) and was not obtrusive–just a small footprint so to speak. If you google knee braces some on line shops with a huge assortment will come up. That's where I found the best options. Local drug store braces weren't worth much (ace, etc.).

"But how do you know the knee brace helped? It might be your knee would have been good that day even without the brace…. knees can be bad one day and good the next even when doing nothing different… at least that's my experience." Because the pain was there until putting the brace on, then it was significantly reduced with it on, but returned when removing it.

Just what you need.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqbGuK05LVU