A pain in the KNEE in St. Charles IL!

The good news is, most of us can probably treat and prevent our own knee pain in St. Charles IL. The bad news is, it is the hardest thing that most of us will ever do.

While roofing in high school, I stepped through a roof up to my knee. Wood fragments were injected into my knee joint. The result was a joint infection. Like all of us, when we were young, it healed. Flash forward two decades - I did it again. This time my knee infection landed me in the hospital with a 104 fever. I was there for a week with follow up intravenous antibiotics for a month.

The result, I have a bone on bone knee. It doesn't hurt if I take care of it. It doesn't need to be replaced yet. The after-market parts are only better than the original when you have severely limited your activity due to pain.

Knee Pain Patients in St. Charles IL

At our office, we see a lot of patients with knee pain. I know how to 'fix' them pretty well from learning on myself. Here's the short list on staying out of knee pain over the age of 40:

• Wear good shoes. Replace them frequently. Use over the counter or prescription orthotics. There are two kinds of prescription orthotics. Ask us which one will work best for you.
• Wear knee pads or use a kneeling pad when working on your knees.
• Most of us can still jump and run. Mediate the amount of these activities in relation to your age and condition.
• Keep your quadriceps muscle strong and coordinated. We have the perfect advice and exercise for that.
• Take some vitamins. Glucosamine Sulfate and Chondroitin Hydrochloride have both been shown to help older knees. They should be in the same pill. Yes, we stock that.
• Wear a knee sleeve. The research says the pull up neoprene type of brace helps hold the loosening joint together. Only wear this when active.
• Get it treated. From my tribulations, we have the best knee treatment and rehab available to get you out of pain fast.
• OUCH, the hardest and last recommendation. Keep your weight down. If you're like me, that is always work in progress. We all know it is part of the problem, and we were right as shown in a recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Knee pain is best managed and prevent by keeping our weight down (Body Mass Index).*

So, for all of us aging athletes, active parents, home improvers and busy people in general, keep your knees fit. Call me with questions and schedule an appointment when it starts to hurt. We can probably help.

Stay Healthy my Friends,

Dr. Glesener