what supplements can you take to keep you knees supple

jewlls

Hi,
what supplements can you take to keep knees supple and not stiffen up.

thank you

floss2

I take Asda's Omega fish oil with Glucosamine - seems to work on mine and I notice if I forget to take them for a few days. Currently on 3 for £10 too

Bronnie

I started taking this one a couple of months ago, . I keep meaning to research cheaper options but haven't got round to it yet, the Seven Seas one is always on some sort of offer somewhere. Don't know whether it works or not but I had a massive inflammatory response and injury to both knees so was desperate to try anything.

It can get confusing as you can get considerable variation in the strength of the fish oil and glucosamine tabs, so make sure you know what you're buying.

Make sure you have a good diet too though and enough good fats in your diet.

Tbh the best thing to keep them supple is gentle non-weight bearing exercise. When I manage 5 x 30 minutes sessions on the exercise bike ( boring....read your book!), I can feel a massive improvement in suppleness over the following week.

jenniewb

I have knee issues and was told last year that I have the beginnings of osteoarthritis.

I now don't run and have to tone down all impact borne exercise as they all make the pain worse. I take ibuprofen from time to time but to be honest don't notice a bid difference but that could be because I've gotten used to it and also because I take a stronger ibuprofen type pill for period pains and was warned that it may mean weaker forms of the stuff may not work.

I've been suggested that building up the muscles around the area of the joint is the best thing. So squats, lunges, walking uphill...etc but at the same time using little or no impact as the impact will jarr the joints and cause pain.

I don't know why I am difference but for me cycling is not an option. I've only got to cycle/spin for 15 minutes and I'm going to feel it, I can take the pain because the condition I have isn't very bad but I know its something that will get worse with age and have no wish to make it worse. If it hurts, it hurts for a reason and if its the joint thats hurting this for me is a warning I should stop so maybe being aware of which areas hurt and dealing with that accordingly.

I am hypermobile which means for me I have a to watch how I exercise as my joints can take over the exercise and I end up not training any muscles at all so if you have the same issue, make sure when your exercising you watch what you do and if you can, get someone to advise.

Oh and I also take omega 3+ oils by EyeQ or Seven Seas or Boots.

Bronnie

That's interesting what you say about cycling, Jennie, I use the type of bike, where you are leaning back a bit and get a full leg extension.

Everyone recommended swimming and water-based exercise to me, but I find it really made things uncomfortable for me afterwards. Breast stroke legs exacerbated the problem particularly, I can manage straight leg kicks with a float better and I tried doing aqua jog, very gently at my own pace and that wasn't good either. I think because although it's no impact, there is still quite a bit of resistance from the water and that's too much at the moment.

I agree about acknowledging how your body responds, on the other hand, my physio taught me that there are times to push through a little discomfort, because actually that will get you through the stiffness. Professional advice is valuable, although I have found I as given a lot of conflicting advice about exercise from various doctors I saw, very much a case of shoving an exercise sheet in your hand, which led to me doing too much of the wrong sort of exercise too soon. There is loads of good stuff online to read up.

A few private sessions with a good physio has been invaluable over the past 3 months and she has corrected and advised on a lot of stuff and encouraged and I feel I have made good progress as a result. And hey! Lucky me! My NHS physio appointment is finally through on Monday after what would have been 3 months of struggling alone had I not been fortunate enough to be able to pay.

Mrs_Arcanum

Omega 3 and a separate Glucosamine. Didn't find the chondroitin made any difference so stopped that. I do take a very high dose of Glucosamine though as this is then enough to keep any pain and stiffness at bay. The other thing that helps is arch supports in my shoes.

One of DD's friends has hyper-mobility and is an avid horse rider. This is allowed as exercise where playing cricket is out of the question. Her brother who also has this is a very keen footballer and cricketer but as he is so young & energetic and as keeping fit is vital he is OK to do this.

Apparently swimming is supposed to be great exercise for the knees as the water supports the joints. Personally don't, as I dislike the chlorine.

I used to cycle but until my ankle is pain free I have stopped as it causes a huge problem to my worse knee as there is an imbalance of workload. Walking I still do though.

prowla

Glucosamine & Chondroitin, also fish oil.
Get on a bike but do not fully straighten your leg.
You can take Ibuprofen before exercise (but I am not a doctor, caveats & warnings, etc.!).

jenniewb

Bronnie wrote: »

That's interesting what you say about cycling, Jennie, I use the type of bike, where you are leaning back a bit and get a full leg extension.

Everyone recommended swimming and water-based exercise to me, but I find it really made things uncomfortable for me afterwards. Breast stroke legs exacerbated the problem particularly, I can manage straight leg kicks with a float better and I tried doing aqua jog, very gently at my own pace and that wasn't good either. I think because although it's no impact, there is still quite a bit of resistance from the water and that's too much at the moment.

I agree about acknowledging how your body responds, on the other hand, my physio taught me that there are times to push through a little discomfort, because actually that will get you through the stiffness. Professional advice is valuable, although I have found I as given a lot of conflicting advice about exercise from various doctors I saw, very much a case of shoving an exercise sheet in your hand, which led to me doing too much of the wrong sort of exercise too soon. There is loads of good stuff online to read up.

A few private sessions with a good physio has been invaluable over the past 3 months and she has corrected and advised on a lot of stuff and encouraged and I feel I have made good progress as a result. And hey! Lucky me! My NHS physio appointment is finally through on Monday after what would have been 3 months of struggling alone had I not been fortunate enough to be able to pay.

Totally agree with private physios! I hate to say it because the NHS does so much and is so fantastic in other areas but when it comes to physios, I've had very poor advice and even advice which if I had followed would have been harmful at best. Private physios have been very helpful and I've learnt a lot and even been inspired to read and find out more myself.

I've found swimming hurts my lower back so sadly can't do this. I've been told I have Hyper Mobility Syndrome which is irritated by bending my back backwards in any way so curving my back when swimming hurts a great deal and also the sideways turning/bending my knees hurts too because of the knee thing. Thats before you get onto my hair....(dyed, chorine ruins this, dries it out and leaves a nasty smell and I can't wear glasses in the water or listen to decent music!) But I have been advised to do this so others may find this useful but its not for everyone.

The bike thing- I have tried the upright bikes but I just don't get on with them. They don't hurt as much as the spin bikes or the gym bikes but I guess its a personal preference. I'm so used to going to the gym to move as fast as I can in order to raise my heart rate and become so out of breath and I just don't get the same feeling on an upright bike. I think I also like the sensation of space around me, eg running you can swing your arms around you and not bump into anything, same with the spin bikes and even to an extent with the cross trainers but with the upright bikes I just feel a bit cramped with the back behind me. Its fine when warming up but not for a full exercise session. Though not everyone goes to the gym to go crazy (only some!) so the upright bike could well be perfect for others.

jewlls

have been looking at the the seven seas be active range so i think ill give these ago, unless someone comes up with cheaper alternative.

chickalittle

Not a cheaper option I'm afraid but Hyalauronic Acid supplement has seen all my stiffness disappear. I started taking it originally after a wrist fracture to help with the joint healing but realised after a few months that my stiff feet and knees had disappeared. It definitely worked for me.... It's not the cheapest supplement though - but if you know anyone in the states or going to the states you can order from amazon.com and get them to post/bring it back. It's almost a third of the price over there compared to here. It's the one supplement I take religiously.

jenniewb

chickalittle wrote: »

Not a cheaper option I'm afraid but Hyalauronic Acid supplement has seen all my stiffness disappear. I started taking it originally after a wrist fracture to help with the joint healing but realised after a few months that my stiff feet and knees had disappeared. It definitely worked for me.... It's not the cheapest supplement though - but if you know anyone in the states or going to the states you can order from amazon.com and get them to post/bring it back. It's almost a third of the price over there compared to here. It's the one supplement I take religiously.

Oooh- just off topic but wondering if you noticed any difference in your skin if youv'e been taken Hyalauronic Acid for a few weeks.
It was supposed to be the next-big-thing in skin care about 5 years ago, designed to even out the tone and deal with some signs of aging and then...nothing. No updates no evidence no mention, nothing, as if it never even happened. I was never sure if it was a fad or if it did amazing things but just stopped being mentioned. Did you see any difference?