Many Golfers have pain in the knee onto which they pivot. The repetitive motion of pivoting onto the forward knee causes knee pain in many golfers. It is best to catch this quickly, and do some things yourself before the pain gets bad, and you cause yourself a serious injury by playing on it while it’s enflamed! What can we do ourselves? What’s really going on?
With the transference of weight to the forward foot in the follow through, most of the body’s weight ends up on a joint that is not in a bio-mechanically sound position. The pelvis is turned facing forward, and the femur (upper leg bone) is internally rotated at the hip joint. This end position actually twists the lower part of the femur while it’s under significant load. This tightens the muscles in the lateral side (outside) of the upper and lower leg. This includes the lateral quad and the ITB band. These muscles, can, over time, become fibrous and shortened, and cause an ITB syndrome. Further, it can grind the lower femur onto the upper tibia (meniscus/tibial plateau) and start to irritate and wear out the cartilage. This irritation can turn to inflammation. The knee is an encapsulated joint. That inflammation can easily stagnate in there. The mediators of inflammation actually chemically soften the cartilage and ligaments within the joint. If you continue to play on it as it is, you are likely to cause further injury. This also leads to a faster progression of DJD (degenerative joint disease). What does your doctor say? Seeing your family doctor is a good idea- just to make sure there is nothing orthopedically wrong: no ACL, MCL or meniscus tears.
Once you know the joint tissues are in tact, there’s a lot you can do for yourself. These are things you should know so they can play through this injury! Your doctor may say, “Oh, it’s just arthritis!” Don’t take that as an excuse to accept what’s been dealt you! That’s even more reason to read on and follow my instructions!!! Nor would I suggest just popping a few advil and waiting for it to go away… So what are some solutions? Some things we can do for ourselves?! Break the inflammatory Process: Dixie
Cup icing: 2-6 times a day. Morning and evening at least. The more the better.
Leave at least 20 minutes between icings.
Go to the store, and get a box of Dixie cups. Fill about 12 with water and freeze them. When you are ready to ice, take one out, peel away the top of the cup so you can hold the cup at the bottom, and ice cube is above the torn edge.
Put the leg up, so the leg is almost straight, and a towel behind it. This gives the water a place to drain.
Set a timer for exactly 5 minutes. Put that ice cube directly on the skin. Circle the knee cap on the soft tissue around it. Focus on the area just under the knee cap, and along the joint line where swelling tends to gather. Keep moving until the timer goes off: 5 minutes. Stop.
First you will feel cold, then pain, then numbness. Don’t stop until 5 minutes are up! Traumeel: •Use this every time after you ice. •This is a homeopathic cream/gel remedy I use for inflammation and sports injuries. I know for sure they carry it at Whole Foods and Health Food Stores. Or search it up online.
Use the same amount as if it were toothpaste, and you really enjoyed the flavor of it. Rub it all over the knee, knee cap and joint. Do not wash it off.
Put more on before you go to bed! •You can keep this in your golf bag during the season. It works really well! Re-build the cartilage:
Take Glucosamine Sulfate. 1500 mg/day. •There was a book written on this stuff called “The Arthritis Cure”. Read it if you like. It says that studies show it works and has no side effects. Let’s face it, young or old, arthritis and wearing away of cartilage is the same thing.
No, you can’t get enough GAS in a normal healthy diet. Keep taking it even after feeling better. •Don’t buy Glucosamine HCL. Studies show it does NOT work.
Don’t bother with Chondroitin Sulfate. It works for some, but there are no placebo double blind studies out there showing that it works. There’s testimony and anecdotal “proof”. NOT GOOD ENOUGH for me. Strengthen the muscles around the knee: Remember that the muscles on the outside have become tight and over used. We now want to compensate for that by strengthening the muscles that oppose those!
Ride a bike 3 times a week for 20 minutes on flat ground. The seat should be high enough that the knee is straight in the down position. Keep moving your feet the entire time.
Using a stationary bike is even better. Use light tension. •Follow with icing and traumeel Once you start to feel a little better, Leg lifts:
Lay on your back with your legs straight out. Turn your injured leg toe out and raise the straight leg until your leg comes up 75% of the way (about 25 % down from pointing at the ceiling).
Do this with just the weight of the leg at first. Then put 2 soup cans in 2 tube socks, and tie the top ends together wrap them around your ankle, and use this for resistance.
Start with 2 sets of 10 reps and work up to 4 sets of 20. If you belong to a gym, then: Hamstring curls:
In the gym, use the machine that has you lay face down, and pulls your heels in to your behind.
Start with a light weight- like 20 or 30 lbs for women, 30-40 lbs for men.
Start with 2 sets of 12. Work up to 3 sets of 12.
You may increase the weight and decrease your reps once you reach 3 sets of 12. Leg extensions in the last 15 degrees of extension.
This works the medial quad. This can change the tracking problem very fast!
Start with your leg straight. Bend Go from barely bent to slightly straight and back again. Don’t force it into hyperextension!
Start with a relatively light weight (10-20 lbs), and only ever progress to a medium-light weight (30-40 lbs)!
Start with 2 sets, 1 minutes rest between. Do 10 reps.
You can work up to 6 sets, with 1 minutes rest between.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to write and ask me! Dr. Jen Milus, DC http://www.backsafegolf.com. Feel better, Drive Further!
