I've been athletic all my life and now, in my late 40s, I'm regularly having pain in my knees. So, I'm a woman in great shape who hobbles around like my grandmother because my knees hurt. Any ideas?

I'm in my late 30s and have had bad knees for years. I too am athletic, lots of hiking, biking. I think my motorcross days did me in. I do lots and lots of Bikram yoga and it has helped quite a bit. I'm sure any yoga would do, but Bikram incorporates quite a bit of heat which helps your joints. I am going to take up swimming and see if that helps as well.

I just deal with the pain while still doing the activities I love. I don't run though, as much as I would like too. It's sure a bummer!!

Thanks, Gainup. :) I'll look into Bikram yoga.

I am 39 and I have a bad knee. I blame it on my track and field days back in college and high school. I hurt my right knee when I was 15 and ever since it aches on and off. So, running is out of the question for me. I even limit my walking and tennis playing. I am mostly biking and swimming/water walking these days. Do you have access to a swimming pool?

Hello Annee,

Just so you know what you're getting yourself into with Bikram yoga. It is basically doing yoga in a sauna for 60 minutes. I went to classes with a friend a few years ago that I thought benefited the results of a shoulder injury but I couldn't imagine continuing Bikram yoga for a long time afterwards. The heat is a factor to be prepared for, and that's saying something when it comes from someone who has spent the last 30+ years in New York City during the summers. Other forms of yoga such as Hatha might also be worth studying, too.

I had and continue to have great results with Bikram yoga as well as many other people. Not everyone is cut out to do bikram, but it's always worth a try. The classes are 90 minutes, you may not have done an actual Bikram class.

Hi, just letting you know that you are not alone. I've been having a lot of problems with my knee (knees) in the last year. I was told I had a torn miniscus, (I think I spelled that wrong) I was booked to see a surgeon, but cancelled the appointment because the pain went away for a few months. Now, the pain comes on, sometimes very strong, and can leave after a few days or weeks, like nothing happened. Right now, I'm okay...so don't know what to think of it. Hope your knee problem clears up too.

Hey,

I just went to my Dr. on Monday (new Dr) and the Xrays showd that I have very little cartilidge in both my knees. He said I may also have a torn meniscus, so I'll have an MRI and see whats up. I have pain almost all the time, even in bed, so something is up.

I've been athletic all my life and now, in my late 40s, I'm regularly having pain in my knees. So, I'm a woman in great shape who hobbles around like my grandmother because my knees hurt. Any ideas?

Hi Annee,
I apologize for only seeing this post now, but I simply have to respond since it does not appear there have been many adequate responses. Yes, there are several ideas you might want to look into.

First of all, we might want to agree to establish a common ground of terms. I only say that, with tongue-in-cheek, to let you down easy by telling you that you have arthritis.

" Ahhh! Arthritis?! No, not possible! That's what my Grandmother has, but I am only in my 40's!!"

Now, with that out of the way, we can let you know the good news; you do have options to help your condition. There are two distinct schools of thought here; you can either choose to treat the symptoms, or you can choose to help reverse the underlying cause.

The traditional medical community, until the last 5-10 years, has been tunnel visioned to only work with treatments to manage the symptoms. Heck that is STILL the policy of the Arthritis Foundation, in spite of all the evidence to support the research that many underlying causes can be reversed. But that is your choice to decide what to believe.

The other perspective is to go after the cause of the condition, understanding that if you can reverse or minimize the cause, you will also reduce the symptoms.

And of course, there is actually a third option that combines both schools of thought. Nothing wrong with that. I personally subscribe to the notion that I first target the underlying causes and I leave the symptoms to take care of themselves. But in my mom's case, I prefer to combine the techniques and try to stop the symptoms in their tracks while I help to ease the causes.

So this brings us to specifically what you can do. But the answer is much larger than you may be prepared to hear. The bottom line is that you need to look at some alternative therapies. Primarily, look at forms of nutrition that feed the joints. I know there is a lot of controversy about that topic. And there is a lot of junk out there as well. Just be wise in your selection process when researching your nutritional choices. But I assure you, help does exist. "Feed" the joint. Think about supplying nutrients for the health of the synovial fluid and cartilage.

I will leave you for now with a quick explanation of why I feel so strong about your future on this issue. I also have severely deteriorated knees. This prognosis was accelerated with numorous breaks in my youth. Constant pain began in my late teens. For decades, I ignored it. Later, out of necessity for treating many other joint and bone issues, I had the opportunity to learn about the specifics of various forms of arthritis - in my case, osteoarthritis. For at least 10 years, I was not able to run downhill, which was a practice that I loved, but one that I strongly discourage in others even if they have healthy knees. Now, at the age of 50, I am able to run downhill again.

The point is, you can get better.
Best regards,
B.