Anyone else swim with bad knees ( osteoarthritis)

I'll let you know how my bum knee turns out in 20 years or so...

I'm 37 and have arthritis in both knees but my right knee bothers me the most. I went through a lot of expensive physical therapy this summer that did basically nothing. :bitching: I was told by my PT that I am a "biophysical nightmare" and that I shouldn't do any flip turns. :blah: I promptly ignored that. ;) I started cycling after I finished PT and that has helped the most. I've also lost 17 pounds (with about 25 more to go) and that has also helped. In my age-group swimming days, I used to kick extensive amounts of butterfly, but I no longer do that. I tend to do really small kick sets, and when it's bothering me, I don't do kick sets or fly at all. I have noticed that now that we're back inside and doing short course, my knee is hurting more. That's one of the reasons I prefer LCM (fewer flip turns). My ortho told me that I might be looking at total knee replacement within 10 years and I'm really not interested in that. My hope is that with moderate amounts of cycling (which strengthens the knees) and weight loss, I can keep the pain in check.

slknight, since you mention biking and LCM, I am told that Biking is really good for the knees, as it builds the muscles around the knee, therefore making it stronger. Makes sense to me, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to fit anything in other than the 10 min/3.2-4 miles I do to start out my therapy sessions. Also, with pool length, they moved the bulkheads back to the middle of the pool and instead of swimming scy width-wise turning on two concrete walls, we're now swimming SCY 50m-length-wise, with 1 bulkhead and one concrete wall. I am interested in seeing how that works out with my knee, but as I've mentioned previously, last week was pretty good for the bender!

A few more general things I forgot to mention: Avoid: 1) running 2) elliptical machines 3) stairs, especially carrying heavy things up and down the stairs. I carried my 43-pound son up the stairs the other day and my knee really hurt 4) other exercise that requires a lot of bending of the knee like step aerobics, squats, etc My knee always hurts more after surfing but I still do that on occasion because it's so much fun. Good things: 1) ice 2) cycling 3) stretch the hamstrings 4) stretch the calves

Hi Katie, I am 32 and have documented arthritis in the left knee and "Carrie-suspected" arthritis in the right. Swimming is my sport of choice! At the moment, it's about the only way I can get a good cardio workout. All of slknights tips are dead on. Here's a couple more things I do: When my knees are hurting, I am cautious with my push-offs. I will tend to push off a bit more on my tiptoes to spare the knees. I also currently have a self-imposed breaststroke kick limit of about 400 yards per practice (I swim 3-4 times/week). I am a breaststroker who used to rely entirely on my kick so this kinda sucks. However, I do a lot of *** pull with dolphin kick in place of real breaststroke. I use fins with great caution. Last spring, both knees really flared badly. I had been kicking too much breaststroke, had used fins excessively one day and then swam again the next day and decided to 'attack' all my walls. The stabilizing muscles that keep my knees happy were pooped and I paid for it. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I went to PT for about 6 weeks 2x/week, limited my *** kicking to 50 yards MAX per practice, did all my PT exercises at home with religious zeal, and went to bed every night with an ice pack on each knee. I ended up having a great shave and taper meet at the end of the season... so I think you can do fine swimming with knee arthritis, you just have to be smart about it. :) Good luck! Carrie

Thanks for the responses. Sorry to hear others have bad knees to. OUCH I to have been told I will need knee replacements eventually. I am just trying to get some weight off and in shape so maybe I can push that back for years and years. How come the eliptical machine is so bad for you. I love it! I do bike as well though my knees hurt while doing but not afterwards. From what I have read weightloss is the best thing one can do. SO that is what I am trying to do:cane: Katie

Knees not a problem get two new ones. A little steel a little plastic and they move not well but better than they did.

Bad knees here too. Had surgery on the left and two on the right, the latest one back in January. I just started swimming again (after a 17 year layoff) because my orthopedist told me to loose some weight. I've got arthritis in both knees and have very little cartilage on the kneecap. Swimming is about the only thing that I can do with out the added pain. Just work though it and watch for excessive swelling.

David I have had several surgeries to. It is tough. My knees hurt more during the swim and by the end of the day they don't. So I just keep doing what I am doing. Hoping to strengthen the muscles around the knees. They never ever swell which is weird. Carrie thanks for all the info. WHAT is really weird is my knees dont hurt in breaststroke. More the pushoffs from = the wall. I had bad knees at your age as well. Now I am 41 and they are about the same. Though I had to give up my beloved downhill skiing a few years ago. It was complete and utter agony. George glad to hear your new knees work. Yeah. I gather they are doing some awesome things with replacements now. They get better and better. Katie

I don't know if I have osteoarthritis, but bad knees - damaged in a car accident - are what got me into swimming in the first place. They are slowly getting better. For a long time I couldn't ride a bike for more than an hour without pain, now I can go about 2. Things that I find helpful to avoid knee problems in swimming: - Limiting *** stroke to two short sessions a week. - Avoiding fins. They really seem to set the right knee off. - Two-beat kick instead of six, most of the time.