Ask Me Help Desk - Knee injury, helping with the pain

Hello.
I am 20 years old and when I was around 12 I had a major rock climbing accident. I lost my footing, the rocks below me gave out and I was on my way down the cliff. I snapped tendons and ligaments in my knees and have had to deal with a good amount of pain since then and I have been told by my dr that I will have pains for the rest of my life. I am not allowed to 1: run 2: jog 3: jump 4:be on my knees or put any consistent amount of pressure on them. These are doctors orders. I wear a knee brace sometimes but it cuts into the sensitive skin on the backs of my legs (the slip on braces do not fit me no matter what size they are.) I have looked all over for non velcro ones that do fit. This problem often causes me problems with my personal life. I love being the one on top with my boyfriend but my knees being bent and all the pressure and movement cause sharp stabbing pains which really upsets me because I feel like I cannot do the things I love and enjoy. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to possibly strengthen my legs so I can actually be in the crouching position for more then a minute or two. ( I cannot even sit with my legs "indian style" for more then a few minutes. My knee will also seize and lock up on me sometimes. Especially if its going to rain or be cold. Is there anything that I can try at all.. please and thanks your input would be greatly appreciated

Quote:

Originally Posted by binx44

Hello.
I am 20 years old and when i was around 12 i had a major rock climbing accident. i lost my footing, the rocks below me gave out and i was on my way down the cliff. I snapped tendons and ligaments in my knees and have had to deal with a good amount of pain since then and i have been told by my dr that i will have pains for the rest of my life. I am not allowed to 1: run 2: jog 3: jump 4:be on my knees or put any consistent amount of pressure on them. these are doctors orders. I wear a knee brace sometimes but it cuts into the sensitive skin on the backs of my legs (the slip on braces do not fit me no matter what size they are.) i have looked all over for non velcro ones that do fit. This problem often causes me problems with my personal life. i love being the one on top with my bf but my knees being bent and all the pressure and movement cause sharp stabbing pains which really upsets me because i feel like i cannot do the things i love and enjoy. i was wondering if there was anything i could do to possibly strenghten my legs so i can actually be in the crouching position for more then a minute or two. ( i cannot even sit with my legs "indian style" for more then a few minutes. my knee will also seize and lock up on me sometimes. especially if its going to rain or be cold. Is there anything that i can try at all.. please and thanks your input would be greatly appreciated

So, since your accident what exercise have you done involving the knees? What sort of physio did the doctors get you doing, and for how long?

My advice to you is to slowly, very slowly strengthen your legs through Yoga exercises. We in the West have got into the mentality of 'I want results now', when in actual fact, rehabilitation is down to gentle striving.

Your recovery will be long no doubt, but I'm confident that if you do the correct exercises (I suggest Yoga) then you will have your pain greatly alleviated eventually - just remember that the results aren't going to happen overnight. You may also feel discomfort or pain but as with any torn muscle/tendon the offending damaged part shortens as a result of the injury, and to repair & strengthen it, it must be lengthened to relieve tension on it's surrounding parts. The healing process may cause uncomfortableness but if any pain occurs you must be mindful when to rest- you must listen to your body.

I hope this helps.

I walk a lot and have for years. Walking doesn't bother me much unless I walk a long distance. But when I walk into town it takes me about 35 minutes so it isn't bad. In all honesty I didn't do Physio. *embarrased look* I just took it easy on everything I did for a longg time. I was going through a weird time in my life back then. I didn't listen to anyone or even live at home. But I do do streaches every day and have for years it seems to help. I've been intrested in yoga for a while now since you mention it. I find it really intresting but don't know how to get into it. There are no yoga classes that I can find around here that I could afford. And the university in my town is not giving classes this year either. Can you learn it at home?

Your weak knees are probably then caused by not being rehabilitated fully. It will be a long process but well worth it.

Whilst stretching may be a good idea, using Yoga principles in your stretches will make it much more safter. (It's been around for 1000's of years as it is!) And Yoga is perfectly possible to learn at home, although you will need at least one book on the subject. And there are a lot of books to choose from!

I recommend "Yoga: Path to Holistic Health" by B.K.S Iyengar, you can get this from Amazon no problem. This book is ideal as it addresses what postures to do for certain problems and how they affect you - so it will be a simple case of looking for ones that strengthen knees, etc.

The postures also have 360 degree camera shots, so you know you are doing it correctly and on top of that there are many 'props' used to help with certain postures and take stress off various parts of the body and to make it safer for the beginner.

Just remember you won't see results overnight, but I assure you will begin to feel results, and if you choose to do it, I wish you luck!

Thank you so much:) I apprechate it