Managing Knee Pain
A Ramble on Why It Hurts & What to Do About It
It’s been a long journey dealing with knee pain, hasn’t it? Let me walk you through the lessons I’ve learned (through lived experience) that might help you manage it and keep doing the things you love to do.
Why Does Knee Pain Happen?
Knee pain is one of those things that creeps up on you. You might not remember a specific moment it started, but one day you realize it’s there, nagging, persistent and annoying. It could be due to a number of reasons— injuries, overuse, underuse, or just the rest and rust of daily life (my take on ‘wear and tear’ which is a shit narrative that creates fear of movement).
Injuries: Think sprains, strains, ligament or cartilage issues. The glory of days past can also creep up on you, sometimes what you didn’t feel 20 years ago, will catch up with you when you think your pro-career is over. The body keeps a toll.
Overuse: Variety is the spice of life. Yes, the goal of training is to get better at one thing, but in doing that, you can lose access to some other skills and ranges that are needed for healthy joint function. So the knee can get cranky.
Underuse: The body is an inherently lazy thing. If it seems it unnecessary to remember how to do something, then it will forget. Yes, including how to switch your quads/hamstrings/glutes/adductors/calfs on in order to control the knee. It’s weird like that.
Aging: The gift of life. Use it or lose it. (Not sure I consented to this deal but here we are)
Strategies for Managing Knee Pain
Use it or lose it pt.2: Find something enjoyable that you can learn and do for a long period of time. Always wanted to learn to lift weights? Now is your chance. Want to run 5k? Great, gotta walk first. Invest in a coach, and the right equipment, then get to work. (PSA-We offer coaching for PowerLifting in Melbourne and Online. Click this hyperlink and fill the details at the bottom to chat!)
Recover: If you are training every day, sometimes twice a day, and if I ask you “so how much are you eating” or “whats you’re sleep like” and you say “I dunno” then you don’t deserve do train every day. On the flip side, if you are also doing no movement, then in order to recover, you need to circle back to point 1.
Cut the shit: In what you eat and do. Eat mostly whole food diet, drink enough water, some (1-2) coffees, little to no alcohol, ditch the darts and really try to limit your *ahem* recreational substances.
The above will get you through maybe 80% of your niggles. Because that’s the reality. If you’re mostly healthy and not actively ignoring your body, then about 80% of injuries are self limiting. If not
Consult a Professional: When knee pain doesn’t go away, it’s time to see a healthcare professional. We’ll provide tailored advice and get you back on your feet, literally.
My Journey with Knee Pain
After dealing with knee pain for what felt like forever, I found that making a few adjustments towards the root cause is what fixed me (for me it’s my dicky hip). After years of being told to do less, I finally said “fuck it, I’ll do it myself” - so I enrolled and graduated from Osteopathy, to sort my own stuff out, but to also help others learn how to sort themselves out too.
If you want to learn how to sort yourself out, learn the why behind your pain and how to get through this, and the next episode of pain, then Click this link and lets chat.
Until next time,
Coach Dyl
