Taking care of old knees

[sonsplayhockey 0]

Last year I started playing in an adult Hockey League. Being on the ice with kids was not very stressfull for the knees but playing more Adult Hockey and pickup has made my knees sore as I walk around during the week. Any 40+ gents out there have suggestions? Advil and Glucosamine does not seem to do the trick entirely. Should I Ice after playing?

[biff44 0]

Ice is good. Get two big bags of chipped ice, put one behind the knee, and one on top, and watch some TV for around 10 minutes. Don't do more than 10 minutes, or you will screw up the blood flow to the muscles, which is needed for recovery.

Also, you can do a lot of exercises to help out the knees, like squats, balance on one foot, one legged body weight squats, set up a cable pull in front of you knee-high when standing and pull the cable by taking your leg bent at the knee and straightening it out. And for cripes sakes, stay away from the leg extension machine!

[sonsplayhockey 0]

I usually take a hot bath/jacuzzi to aid in muscle recovery which really helps the next couple days. Ice before or after the hot bath?

David

[biff44 0]

I would guess ice first to keep the swelling down, and then later on hit the tub to losen things up. If the knees are inflamed, and you heat them up first, it sounds like you are only making things worse.

Any other opinions?

[Crazy Otto 0]

Ice after the game, heat later - perhaps the next day.

I'm in the same age category as you, and I play 2-3 times a week. Are you doing any running, biking or other exercise to strengthen your knees? I find that doing some moderate lifting (leg press, squats, etc.) helps -- try to do low to moderate weights with a high number of reps. I've kinda had to cut back on doing plyos because my ankles and knees take too much of a pounding.

Good luck and if you're still having a lot of pain, see a doc.