Can you name this pain in 3 notes?

busted · Post by **busted** » 27 Nov 2005 14:31

Ok, I've tried googling using my most creative searching incantations and all I get is shin splints (and a lot of stuff I *KNOW* I don't have e.g. osteoarthritis, amputation, gouter, etc.

).

Location:
I have pain just below the knee, directly in front, neither to the inside nor the outside. Just below the knee means about an inch below the start of the tibia, on the shin, right under the nob that one can feel if one rubs there hands across the area. The pain is quite localized, and when pressing the area with my fingers, it doesn't feel like there is muscle underneath, perhaps tendons or ligaments.

Occurance:
The pain is usually sharp and associated with jumping. When bad, I can feel it after footbag, say walking up stairs. When it's very bad, I can feel it walking.

So the two obvious guesses are:
1. Shin splints - Shin splints seems to be a common term for many things, but I've read EVERYTHING there is to read and it doesn't quite seem right because most resouces talk about pain that is either medial or lateral (on either side of the shin) but not in the middle. Additionally, the shin splint pain is usually described as lower on the shin (but I have read some resources saying that the pain is also found "just below the knee").

2. Patellar Tendinitis (Jumper's knee) - I don't think so because my pain seems too low on the tibia, where as the tendonitis is associated with lower part of the knee to the highest part of the tendon. However, the nickname "Jumper's knee" describes the occurance of the pain exactly, if not the location.

Is this shin splints? Is this patellar tendinitis? Is it something else? Any ideas at all?

Thanks,
-David

PS I can usally manage this pain, so it's not life or death, but it remains a large (unwanted) part of my footbag life. Additionally, I went to see a doctor about it about 9 months ago and she wasn't so worried about it. It was the typical response of "Come back in three weeks, if it's still hurting then we'll see what's really going down." It didn't hurt three weeks later. But OH THE PAIN OF ALL THOSE THREE WEEKS NOT SHREDDING! Incidentally, she recommended calf stretches, which typically help.

ptaku · Post by **ptaku** » 27 Nov 2005 15:09

I had this 1,5 year ago... About 3 times. Each time I'd had to take time off, and it was 3-4 weeks each time.

Yeah... It's something with tendon. I don't know if it's actually called Jumper's knee (because it's term to call many injuries in knee area), but it has something to do with the bottom patellar tendon.

What I did was:
- taking time off
- doing exercises to build up all muscles around knee. Especially calves and quads
- stretching
- taking glucosamine

hackeysnacker · Post by **hackeysnacker** » 27 Nov 2005 16:30

try taking glucosamine chondroitin, msm, flaxseed oil, and fishliver oil, and calcium / magnesium / zinc supplements. also get a LOT of protien, take ur multivitamins, and take time off until it goes away. Shin splints are in/on the shin, usually on the middle inside of ur lower leg. I donno what ur pain is caused from in particular but it's most likely related to weak / worn / strained knee tendons, and if not [meaning it's probly muscular] it'll only take a couple days to recover. Do you stretch before and after playing? feel better.

footjoe · Post by **footjoe** » 27 Nov 2005 17:22

i had pattellars tendonits and took a month off and that fixed it , ice your knee and stuff

hackeysnacker · Post by **hackeysnacker** » 27 Nov 2005 18:24

joe what caused tendonitis in ur knee? overuse or were u doing something incorrectly or wut? this could be helpful information to all i think.

Blackend · Post by **Blackend** » 27 Nov 2005 20:55

Be sure to rotate the knee flexor (?) while stretching. It eases the tension built up in that area and makes movement much easier. At least I think so. When doing calesthinics, we did that before hand with our stretches and my knees felt pretty good.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 27 Nov 2005 22:16

Man, first thing you gotta do is STOP DOING ANYTHING THAT PROVOKES PAIN. This sounds a lot like what I had almost a year ago, which is a deneration of the patella tendonitis, and still gives me a *bit* of issues as of now.

Steps that will really help you out:

- For the love of God, tone down your game so that your not in pain. Go Tiltless if need be.
- Stretching. Stretch your quads, hamstrings and calves. Trust me on this.
- Glucosamine and Chondroitin. They help to repair damaged tendons and ligaments.
- More stretching.
- Eat proteins

I can't stress this enough - stop what you're doing that's causing pain. Stretch the hell out of your legs, everytime after you kick and every night before you go to bed (15 seconds a stretch, for like, 5 minutes). Take the supplements to help the patella tendon repair. And finally, protein helps in the restoration of body tissues. It also makes you hungry.

busted · Post by **busted** » 27 Nov 2005 23:26

Hello All,

Thanks for the response!

I'm currently managing the pain successfully, so I'm not out of the game right now.

What I can't control: I am 6'4'' and 200lbs (193cm, 91kgs) and flatfooted. Thus, I am always at risk for knee injury.

Perhaps my height puts my lower patellar tendon at some kind of unusual risk.

Here's what I do.
* I never play with pain, except for minute amounts.
* I always stretch out before and after kicking pretty darn well, including a large diet of calf stretching.
* I have just started taking glucosamin/chondritin.
* I have been taking multivitamens for years now.

Additionally, I have just ordered the GUNITS so that I can get more support while kicking.

What I don't do.
* Specific exercises to build up muscles around the knees. I saw in the SHIN SPLINTS thread there were toe taps. I'm willing to try them but I don't know how useful they'd be. Any other exercises for building up knee strength (or a reference to a thread where this is covered?)

Finally, a question for Pawel Ptaszynski (btw, thanks for the useful info). -
When you had this pain, did you get it all at once (instant injury) or was it a gradual buildup, as in a repetitive stress injury? Sometimes, I get this pain all at once and then I must stop kicking right there. Sometimes, I get the pain over a few sessions, and it feels like linear relationship between pain and overuse.

Thanks again all!
-David

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 28 Nov 2005 01:16

Actually, by doing a lot of clippers it helps to build the muscles around your knees. I noticed this after I had been playing for a few months

Sorry for stealing your parade, Pawel

ShredOnLawn · Post by **ShredOnLawn** » 17 Dec 2005 09:17

Sounds like you have Meniscus troubles.

IN # NOTES=OWY

I recommend massaging gently with your fingertips while sitting in a chair.

Sauna's are very helpful, especially is you put MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin lotion right on your knee before the Sauna.

I don't think I could have healed my knee without a Sauna.

Walk underwater all kinds of different walks.
Use the Elliptical walking machines at the gym for like 10-20 minutes walks. It's PERFECT for fixing knee troubles of any type.

Knee injuries CAN take 1-2 years to fully heal so don't give up.

I worked hard on mine and it only took 8 months.