Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Salute to STG Knee Supports

I am 56 years old and finished a Whitney day hike last week. I had done this twice before in my early 40s but had suffered "gumby legs" on the way back both times. In fact each previous time we had come down the last 2 or so miles in the dark and I was tripping often because I couldn't control my legs very well. This time, as a preventative measure, I bought some STG knee supports from Walmart (about $10) and wore them. I measured my knee, and based on that, I was in the midrange of the "medium" size range so I bought that size even though they looked small. They are basically an elastic "sock" which covers about 6 inches above and below the knee -- there are no hard/stiff parts. When I put them on the first time they seemed so tight I thought they were cutting off circulation to my lower legs; but I tried them on a few hikes and they felt great. So I wore them on the Whitney trail and they seemed to help a great deal -- no gumby legs at the end and almost no soreness the next day.

So this got me to wondering -- is there such a thing (or should there be such a thing) as a whole "lower body support" that covers hips, legs, and feet. Barring that, do spandex bike pants support hips for hiking? Has anyone ever tried them?

Here's a picture my son took -- I thought it was pretty neat (I think it's consolation lake around 7 a.m.)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.js...roqgpd&Ux=1



Dave R

Dave,
I'm 53 and have never tried knee straps although I probably should. I've had three knee surgeries for torn minisci and I have very little cartilage left. I was once a distance runner, but after the last surgery about 5 years ago, the doctor told me I was running on bald tires and needed to give it up. Not too long after that the knees made me give it up. Over the years my range has shortened. I'm generally in good shape but can't go as far as I used to. A day hike to Whitney would be out of the question. It just wouldn't be fun. Two years ago when I did Whitney we packed up to Trail Camp where we stayed a night, summited, and stayed another night. That first day up to Trail Camp with a pack just about done me in. I really don't want to hike anymore farther than 5 or 6 miles. I'm wondering if anyone has used those Cho Pat straps. Do straps help with endurance for knees?
Mike

I'm glad this subject came up. I was actually thinking about starting a thread about knee health because my knees are really starting to act up on me and I wanted to see what everyone else did for knee health.

I saw an ortho doc a few weeks ago and did not like what he had to say. I'm 30 years old and he said I would be lucky to reach 55 before I needed full knee replacements. I've never torn anything but I do have 20 plus years of soccer,football,skiing, backpacking and cyling on my knees.

Recently I've been experiencing severe tightness and pain localized to just my knee joint and ligaments after a summit hike. No pain or discomfort with the muscles in either my quads or my calves, it's just centered in the entire knee (frontal, posterior, lateral, medial) and no where else.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of localized knee ligament/bone pain? What did you do for it?

I tried on a Cho-Pat but I was in between sizes and couldn't get a good store fit so I passed. I did buy a tibia strap and it seems to alleviate discomfort when I'm stationary but walking in it is not comfortable.
At this point I'm willing to try any sort of brace or sleeve.

So how does everyone else handle their own knee issues?

Three years ago my friend asked me if I wanted to hike Whitney with him. I told him I couldn't because I suffered from so much knee pain while hiking down a short three mile trail. Well, last weekend I summited Mt. Whitney! By the end of the hike my knees were killing me, but I made it. How? First, two years ago I discovered glucosamine. After taking two pills a day for two months I noticed a HUGH difference. I could hike the three miles with no pain. Last year we attempted Whitney and were stopped my weather. This year was my second attempt and I wanted to make it. So after my chiropractor fixed my back, he told me he could fix my knees. So earlier this year I made an appoitment and he examined my knees and said I had no damage, I just suffered from "tall, skinny person's disease". So he started me on physical therapy. My basic problem was a muscle imbalance. Even though I was hiking, biking and doing leg workouts at the gym, it wasn't the right exersise for my problem. The doctor has me doing special leg exercises to strengthen the correct muscles. I wish I had started earlier, because it seems to work. Given more time, and less weight in my backpack, I could have reduced my knee pain hiking down the main trail last Monday. My knee pain started about 12 years ago, and now that I just turned 40, I feel I'm in the best hiking shape of my life. Hope this helps anyone with knee pain.

One more thing. I also wore knee braces. These attach with velcro and have an opening for the petella. I'm not sure how much good they did, but they couldn't have hurt.

Sierra,
Whenever I had centralized knee pain, I was told it was a problem with my miniscus. It may be "torn", which could just be a chip or a crack or whatever. And I'm not a doctor, so it could be something else entirely. Rely on your doctors and it's always a good idea to get a second opinion if they want to recommend surgery. I would try everything else, including physical therapy first. The first thing I did when I was running (up to 10 to 12 miles) that gave me immediate relief was to try Superfeet insoles. I was amazed at the difference. Even so, eventually my knees got worse and I had to have surgery anyway, but now I use Superfeet in all my shoes. I also echo another poster that I believe Glucosamine and Chonroitin works well for me. Recent studies have questioned its effectiveness, but I have been on and off it and I can definitely tell the difference. If it's the placebo effect, then so be it, as long as I get relief I'll take it. I also use MSM to complement the Glucosamine. Good luck with your knees.
Mike F.

Squats, lunges, leg extensions and leg curls. The stronger your quads and hamstring are the more shock absorption the muscles provide your knee, especially with down hiking. When your muscles fatigue they can no logger give the joint proper stabilization. All other remedies and braces are designed to make up for instability or deal with the inflammation resulting from over stress to the joint. One warning, there is a right way and a wrong way to do these exercises and most people I see in the gym do them the wrong way. It's worth the money to get a good trainer at least for a short while to make sure your mechanics are good with any lift you do.

That being said, I do still wear a knee brace on one knee due to a prior trauma and will take some anti-inflammatory meds and ice my knees after a hike.

i wear the below-the-kneecap straps that are designed to keep pressure on the patella tendon and to minimize movement of the patella while undergoing the strain of rock hiking. i think they are similar to the cho-pat and they sell under the brand name mueller. sport chalet sells a mcdavid version.

honestly i don't know exactly how much they help because i've not hiked without them but at 52 i view them as preventive maintenance. the knees always feel good with the support and there's never been any inflammation afterwards. i used them going up whitney 3 years ago, on all my baldy trips, and on a recent hike last week up half-dome. my wife has a "tricky-knee" and she used the mcdavids and experienced no ill effects or discomfort after half-dome.

i'm sure you can find some resarch on the net, or at least some advertising research, on the benefits of these support straps. i'm certain they are not designed for serious knee issues, and/or "gumby legs." maybe viagra can help with the latter, but that's a prior thread......

Thanks for all the responses so far, they've been encouraging.
I actually spoke with my regular doctor today about my knee x-rays and the appt. I had with the ortho doc. My doctor said that the radiologist who reviewed the xrays of my knees stated that everything looked normal with my knees-no spurs, calcifications, or meniscus issues. Also the area where the tib/fib meet up looked a-ok too. She did say, however, that no scan is 100% in discovering problems, not even an MRI. Regardless, everything that the x-rays showed contradicted everything that the ortho doc told me. Makes me wonder if he even looked at my x-rays or if he looked at the wrong x-rays. Either way, I have an appt with the head of the ortho dept at the end of August to get a second opinion. This appt. will happen about 4 days after I get back from a 5 day back pack, so that will work out well.


Thanks again for the responses. I don't feel so frusterated now, now that I know there are options out there for my knees.

I started using the patella strap about six months ago and my knee does not hurt at all. I suffered from "jumper's knee" I guess from running on hard surfaces for many years. I got to the point that I could barely climb stairs without pain. I had no problems doing Whitney last week while wearing the straps. Even down hill did not hurt! I also wear a strap on my other knee as a precaution.

Some good thoughts here.

I work so hard at keeping my legs strong. One of the best things I've found is a three part regimen while hiking and immediately afterwards. I should state that I have patella tendonitis and I do this regimen to keep it a from flaring up. The first thing I do is warm up the knee with Kool N Fit - a spray that keeps my knees warm all day. I then wear knee straps on each knee that go right below my knee cap and they seem to absorb the pounding shock and then lastly when I get home I always ice my knees. I remembering hearing stories how Emmitt Smith used to ice his whole body and and that's why he had such a long career. I don't go to that extent, but I do ice my knees religiously. Check out a couple really good site for info www.betterbraces.com and www.kneeguru.com. The first one is where I bought my knee braces and kool n fit spray....love that stuff and it works great on my neck too. Hope this helps.