Knee pain and hockey

[CHIP39 0]

As we age anything you guys are doing for knee pain?  Of all the adult league sports hockey has been the easiest but man the knees are feeling like 10 years older every week.  I've been using a brace and taking advil which is what my ortho told me to do but I feel like there has to be something better.

Edited March 22 by CHIP39
Wrong Forum

[BenBreeg 493]

I still work out.  Advil will help with pain but doesn’t prevent the 

I do backwards and forwards sled dragging, single leg movements like step ups, rear elevated split squats, curtsy squats, some other single leg squat variations.  Lots of side planks, banded side walks as well.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Brace and ibuprofen is what I do as well.

A doctor buddy that I played with for a while basically told me that there's nothing that's going to 'bring back' my knee.  His advice was to do a brace / ibuprofen and when it became something I couldn't deal with anymore that I should come see him for a replacement.

In my case, this is coming from an old meniscus tear though, so maybe your situation is different.

Mark

[mojo122 535]

On 3/22/2024 at 12:57 PM, CHIP39 said:

As we age anything you guys are doing for knee pain?  Of all the adult league sports hockey has been the easiest but man the knees are feeling like 10 years older every week.  I've been using a brace and taking advil which is what my ortho told me to do but I feel like there has to be something better.

Depends on what the cause of the pain is.  If just aging and arthritis, icing and contrast therapy (ice and heat) help with pain and inflammation along with naproxen or ibuprofen.  Other factors are age and what your end game is.

7 hours ago, marka said:

Howdy,

Brace and ibuprofen is what I do as well.

A doctor buddy that I played with for a while basically told me that there's nothing that's going to 'bring back' my knee.  His advice was to do a brace / ibuprofen and when it became something I couldn't deal with anymore that I should come see him for a replacement.

In my case, this is coming from an old meniscus tear though, so maybe your situation is different.

Mark

Same situation here.  First knee injury last summer resulting in significant root tears of the meniscus both medially and laterally.  MRI also showed a significant bone bruise and arthritis.  Cortisone injection helped within the first few months and got me back on the ice.  Now scheduled for a series of gel injections, but have been told I'm looking at needing a total knee replacement in the not so distant future.

[krisdrum 233]

I do a "medium" brace on my left knee (one of the ones with the springs on either side of the brace that support and create the "hinge").  I dislocated that knee a few years back and probably now have some scar tissue and arthritis there.  Fits ok under my shin guard.  A bit bulkier than I'd like, but seems to work a bit better than a standard neoprene only sleeve brace.  I was getting pain and instability without the brace, but since starting to use the brace have been much better. 

[Doctor Hook 0]

I rock these for knee compression when I play hockey as well as baseball and have had good results:

Knee brace compression sleeves

Not sure how much of a gimmick the copper infusion is, but hey if it works it works. 

 

[YesLanges 127]

That copper shit is a complete gimmick, which is why they had to change their whole ad campaign from claiming that copper had some kind of therapeutic effect to promoting the copper as something that supposedly extends their usable lives and reduces odor, after they were sued by the FTC for false advertising and had to pay a settlement for it. 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/151201tommiecoppercmpt.pdf

Braces with semi-rigid or rigid hinged supports running down the sides can provide a little protection against injuries to the lateral and medial ligaments, but it's almost impossible to externally support either of the internal cruciate ligaments, because you can't counter rotational forces on knees with external bracing, except (maybe) by using those very expensive, super-heavy-duty custom-made "Lenox Hill"-style braces, first introduced about 50 years ago. Even those hinged rigid lateral/medial supports that can provide some protection for the MCL and LCL against lateral forces have significant tradeoffs, which is why they scrapped them in the NFL after initially providing them to almost all linemen for a few seasons in the late 80s or early 90s. They found out that they changed the anatomical forces on knees in ways that actually increased ACL tears, as a result. There's no such thing as any brace that can do anything for arthritic pain, except through mechanism #2 below:

Simple compression sleeves (which I also wear on the ice and while training legs) do provide some relief (even for arthritic knees, like mine), by virtue of (1) temporarily raising the local tissue temperature and increasing blood flow, and (2) proprioception, in ways that reduce pain perception, indirectly, simply by stimulating distracting sensation in other nearby nerves. If you use them that way, it's best to put them on a little while before you get dressed, so your knees are nice and warm by then. I usually slide mine on before I make the drive to the rink.

Edited April 20 by YesLanges

[stick9 892]

11 hours ago, YesLanges said:

That copper shit is a complete gimmick, which is why they had to change their whole ad campaign from claiming that copper had some kind of therapeutic effect to promoting the copper as something that supposedly extends their usable lives and reduces odor, after they were sued by the FTC for false advertising and had to pay a settlement for it. 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/151201tommiecoppercmpt.pdf

Braces with semi-rigid or rigid hinged supports running down the sides can provide a little protection against injuries to the lateral and medial ligaments, but it's almost impossible to externally support either of the internal cruciate ligaments, because you can't counter rotational forces on knees with external bracing, except (maybe) by using those very expensive, super-heavy-duty custom-made "Lenox Hill"-style braces, first introduced about 50 years ago. Even those hinged rigid lateral/medial supports that can provide some protection for the MCL and LCL against lateral forces have significant tradeoffs, which is why they scrapped them in the NFL after initially providing them to almost all linemen for a few seasons in the late 80s or early 90s. They found out that they changed the anatomical forces on knees in ways that actually increased ACL tears, as a result. There's no such thing as any brace that can do anything for arthritic pain, except through mechanism #2 below:

Simple compression sleeves (which I also wear on the ice and while training legs) do provide some relief (even for arthritic knees, like mine), by virtue of (1) temporarily raising the local tissue temperature and increasing blood flow, and (2) proprioception, in ways that reduce pain perception, indirectly, simply by stimulating distracting sensation in other nearby nerves. If you use them that way, it's best to put them on a little while before you get dressed, so your knees are nice and warm by then. I usually slide mine on before I make the drive to the rink.

^ This! Great advice. 

I'm kinda in the same boat. I have minor knee pain from age and past injuries, total ACL tear and reconstruction and several MCL and LCL sprains. I wore a Donjoy hard brace for about a year after my ACL surgery. My surgeon was pretty adamant about me not wearing forever so I listened. 

Now some 15 years later I don't wear anything on that knee. I routinely stretch and work out to keep my mobility intact. Ill take an Advil or an Ibuprofen about an hour before I skate. If my knee is banged up a little, which happens, I have a compression sleeve I can wear for extra support. Since there is nothing structurally wrong with my knee. I try to limit the use of braces or sleeves. I have found a few sleeves that interest me but I don't want to become reliant on them. This is the one I am most interested in. 

https://www.bauerfeind.com/b2c/Products/Knee-Braces/GenuTrain®-Knee-Brace/p/YPBF_BAK_GENUTR

[YesLanges 127]

3 hours ago, stick9 said:

This is the one I am most interested in. 

https://www.bauerfeind.com/b2c/Products/Knee-Braces/GenuTrain®-Knee-Brace/p/YPBF_BAK_GENUTR

That's a ton of money for a sleeve. Unless you specifically have issues known to be caused by loose tracking of your patella, you really don't need anything with that center donut to stabilize the patella. Otherwise, you really don't want anything that could alter or impinge on your normal patella tracking at all, because that can cause problems by itself. I just use McDavid 510s, which you can find on eBay or Amazon for as low as $20 or $30/pair.

 

Edited April 20 by YesLanges

[puckpilot 312]

I got a bit of a bum right knee. For me, the best thing I did for it was lose 25lbs. Still working on trimming down another 5-10 lbs. Not carrying around that extra weight has improved everything on and off the ice. Next thing I did was I started running. I know this may not be an option for some, but for me, when I first started, it let me know that despite skating 3-4 times a week, my knees weren't as strong as I thought they were. After about month or two of running, the little twinges I used to get if I bent my knee a little too deep or in a funny way, they went away. I also started to notice I was more stable on and off the ice. 

The way I'm reading things is that as I get older--I'm 51 now--I'm starting to loose muscle. The running slows that down and for now has reversed it. I actually feel better now than I did when I was 40. 

And lastly, I try to always warm up before I get on the ice for a game. I do 3 sets of 10 half squats in the dressing room to get my legs warmed up. After that, I feel infinitely better when I step on the ice. Legs don't feel stiff, and it definitely feels like I can get lower into my stance right from the get go. 

On a side note, I try to stretch every day now. I work my way through my whole body as the week goes a long. I find it helps lessen or eliminate with all the little nagging aches and pains I used to get in my back, shoulders, neck, and I'm sure it has helped the knees, too. 

[CHIP39 0]

On 4/29/2024 at 3:48 AM, puckpilot said:

I got a bit of a bum right knee. For me, the best thing I did for it was lose 25lbs. Still working on trimming down another 5-10 lbs. Not carrying around that extra weight has improved everything on and off the ice. Next thing I did was I started running. I know this may not be an option for some, but for me, when I first started, it let me know that despite skating 3-4 times a week, my knees weren't as strong as I thought they were. After about month or two of running, the little twinges I used to get if I bent my knee a little too deep or in a funny way, they went away. I also started to notice I was more stable on and off the ice. 

The way I'm reading things is that as I get older--I'm 51 now--I'm starting to loose muscle. The running slows that down and for now has reversed it. I actually feel better now than I did when I was 40. 

And lastly, I try to always warm up before I get on the ice for a game. I do 3 sets of 10 half squats in the dressing room to get my legs warmed up. After that, I feel infinitely better when I step on the ice. Legs don't feel stiff, and it definitely feels like I can get lower into my stance right from the get go. 

On a side note, I try to stretch every day now. I work my way through my whole body as the week goes a long. I find it helps lessen or eliminate with all the little nagging aches and pains I used to get in my back, shoulders, neck, and I'm sure it has helped the knees, too. 

 

This is probably the right answer.  I don't want to admit it though.  I have been at least 225lbs since I was 15 and it would be hard to look myself in the mirror. 

 

The neoprene weightlifting sleeves actually worked pretty well.  I have been skating just fine and my knee hurts doing just about anything else.  Hockey is awesome for joint pain compared to other rec sports. (Basketball/football/soccer)

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

How I deal with pain as I get older:

-always stretch.  dynamic stretch before activity, and static stretch after activity

-keep in shape, especially muscle work.  as we get older our muscle tissue wears down causing more stress on joints/ligaments.  Proper sleep is also very important.

-if I have a specific painful area, but I know I can play on it without making it worse, I take some liquid capsaicin and apply to the area and then wear a brace or tape over.  The burn distracts your nervous system from the other localized pain for a few hours.  I find Icy Hot, BenGay, etc doesn't work nearly as well.

-Ibuprofen is your friend, but don't take too much as it can screw up your digestive system too.