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Author Topic: Left knee pain  (Read 16193 times)

chaos10187

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Left knee pain
« on: November 19, 2007, 04:29:18 AM »
I am having a lot of pain in my left knee. Being a right hander this is my sliding foot. Its causing me to pop up at the foul line and have horrid balance (since im favoring the pain). Anyone else having some issues like this? What could help. Thanks.
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NicholasE

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2007, 12:34:31 PM »
i usually have pain in my hip, I don't know why but I can bowl with more of an up right posistion with leg not so bent and that usually helps. Have you tried a knee brace?

balibowler

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2007, 12:34:57 PM »
i have had problems like this in the past. it may be because you are sliding too much/little.

Aristotle

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2007, 12:36:40 PM »
I've had bad knees for most of my life, so I know what you're going through. The first thing that I do every night before league is pop some ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin/etc.). This was recommended to me by a sports doctor not only to handle the pain of the bad knees, but to prevent other muscle related injuries. Aside from that, I occasionally wear a knee brace (the kind with the patella cutout) to provide some additional support to the joint and to stabilize the patella. The brace also helps keep me from bending too much through my approach (as sometimes I tend to get too low at the line). Outside of that, the only other way around it is to let it rest for a while by taking some time off, or possibly see a doctor to find out if there's a more serious issue.

fritorayyy

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2007, 02:52:43 PM »
Ive found if I slow my approach down a little it puts less stress during my slide keeps me from popping up at the line. Also, remember, ALEVE IS YOUR FRIEND!

Hook

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2007, 04:49:30 PM »
quote:
I am having a lot of pain in my left knee. Being a right hander this is my sliding foot. Its causing me to pop up at the foul line and have horrid balance (since im favoring the pain). Anyone else having some issues like this? What could help. Thanks.



I had the same problem, until I bought a knee brace, like this one.
http://www.alimed.com/resources/common/images/products/full/31472_d.jpg

After I started wearing it, the pained lessened each week of bowling, and now it's nearly gone.
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Scolai

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2007, 07:14:28 PM »
You can treat the symptoms (wear a brace, pop a pill) or you can correct the cause of the pain.

I'm willing to bet your left knee at the end of your slide is ahead of your foot.  That type of knee bend will strain the ligaments in your knee and cause pain.  Unless you change something, blowing out your knee is a logical possibility.  You will have to practice keeping your knee above your ankle or slightly behind it.  It's hard to tell you how to do that without standing on the approach with you, but if you have a qualified coach in your area that you can talk to, you can ask him how to correct the problem.

In the meantime, you need to work on resting and rehabing the leg.

Be well.
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nextbowler

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2007, 03:40:28 AM »
Of course, you should never see a doctor to see what the root/cause of
the real problem might be--just listen to the other people who have had
knee or hip or back,etc., problems to diagnose your pain.  You people are
complete idiots.

Mike E

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2007, 05:34:49 AM »
I am dealing with this problem right now. The orthopedic surgeon did an MRI to rule out cartilage damage which he suspected was the problem. Good news-no cartilage problem.So what is going on? His recommendation was to take several weeks off from bowling and put an icebag on the knee several times a day to reduce the swelling.Now the ice bag is my friend. It really does help if the problem is inflammation in the knee. Good luck with it.

                                Mike E

Scolai

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2007, 07:48:42 AM »
quote:
Of course, you should never see a doctor to see what the root/cause of
the real problem might be--just listen to the other people who have had
knee or hip or back,etc., problems to diagnose your pain.  You people are
complete idiots.


Let's try to have this conversation without berating one another.

Doctors (at least the ones I've ever gone to) know jack about how one could become injured while bowling.  When I tore a bunch of muscles while bowling, the doctors looked at me like I was crazy; they could not conceive of an injury happening while bowling.  

I've found that doctors are pretty good at taking information you give them and making assessments based on that info, hence the reason for my comment.  If the knee proceeds ahead of the ankle during the slide, then knee pain will eventually result from pressure on the ligaments and tendons around the patella and the upper/lower leg.  That's why I said the slide needs to be changed to keep the knee above or behind the ankle.  (The same rule applies to lifting weights.)

Now, if chaos10187 were to go to the doctor armed with the information I just gave him, the doctor has a base from which to initiate his examination.  It gives the doc a clearer context and something to verify or disqualify as being the cause instead of just shooting in the dark at a diagnosis.
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Scolai

I will never become another piece inside the paralytic construct I hate.

230-n-up-or-bust

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2007, 08:08:44 AM »
quote:
Of course, you should never see a doctor to see what the root/cause of
the real problem might be--just listen to the other people who have had
knee or hip or back,etc., problems to diagnose your pain.  You people are
complete idiots.


Correct.  Please, completely disregard common sense, logic, and previous experience before treating a symptom.  This message brought to you by the American Medical Association.  Crushing paychecks one routine physician visit at a time.
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scotts33

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2007, 08:10:47 AM »
If you were carrying around 230...your left knee would hurt too.  
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Scott

Scott

230-n-up-or-bust

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #12 on: November 20, 2007, 08:12:22 AM »
quote:
If you were carrying around 230...your left knee would hurt too.  
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Scott


]

...and your back, your hips, your shoulders...
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The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.

Rick Wunder

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2007, 10:21:41 AM »
One more complete idiot weighing in . . .

I have had leg pain for a few years, and I have always taken an Advil before bowling.  I bowl virtually every day.  About eight weeks ago, I blew out my knee while practicing.  I didn't do anything different on that particular shot - in fact it was a great shot, but my knee decided it had had enough, and completely gave out.  I managed to catch myself with my right leg, so I didn't go down, but it was close.  If I had, I would have needed to be picked up, because there was no way I would have been able to get up by myself.

I was barely able to walk for a day or two, and forget about bowling.  On the advice of other idiots at the bowling center, I picked up a knee brace that day, similar to those mentioned by other idiots in this thread.  I took non-idiot nextbowler's advice and called my doctor.  I wanted to get in to see the doc right away, and when I couldn't, I was prepared to go the emergency room or some other immediate care facility.  My doctor's nurse advised me that I could probably get by with the R.I.C.E. treatment (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) plus lots of ibuprofen with food, until I could get in to see the doc.

By the time I did see the doc, a little over a week later, my knee was getting better, although I was still not bowling.  He advised me that there was still some fluid, so therefore some inflammation, so I should continue to not bowl.  He told me that since I was such an avid bowler, he would refer me to an orthopedic sports medecine guy.  He also prescribed Celebrex, since the ibuprofen was killing my stomach, even with food.  By the time I saw the ortho guy, my knee was in pretty good shape.  He didn't find anything specific - he suspected a possible torn meniscus (sp?), but I didn't have an MRI (I had x-rays, which were fine), so he couldn't tell for sure.  He said it would be OK for me to bowl.  I was out for four weeks.

The Celebrex has worked very well.  My legs feel better than they have in a long time.  I asked both doctors about the knee brace, and they said that I could wear it when I bowl if it made me feel better.

One more thing. . .  My internist and I talked at length, since I had a complete physical (I was overdue, so I killed two birds with one stone).  One of the things we discussed was my Etonic Stabilite Dress bowling shoes.  I had gotten them a little over a year earlier.  They never allowed me to slide as much as I had been used to, but one of my coaches suggested that I didn't need to be Marshall Holman, and a little less slide would not necessarily be a bad thing.  Anyway, my doc told me that he thought that the shoes were probably causing some stress on the knee, although he stopped short of recommending that I get different shoes that would allow more slide.  After reading a thread on the PBA message board about synthetic approaches and leg pain, I put two and two together and decided that stopping short with the Etonics was putting too much stress on my knee.  I ordered a pair of Dexter SSTV LX's, along with a number 7 heel (red) and a number 10 sole (grey).

So, I'm now wearing the knee brace when I bowl and sliding like crazy in the new shoes.  I need to call the doc to see if I should continue the Celebrex.

Sorry for the length of the post.  I hope this helps, but take it for what it is - advice from a complete idiot.
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nextbowler

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Re: Left knee pain
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2007, 05:24:43 PM »
Again, a diagnosis from a competent physician would dictate your next move.