Knee Supports

[Eve]

I've been having problems with my knees. The pain is at the front of the knee but down, not on the main front of the kneecap but a bit further down.

They do feel a bit weak and not very stable though I figure having hip issues and feet issues (rheumatoid arthritis related and bursitis) which doesn't help.

The worst pain seems to be if I have squatted down and bent my knees (getting something off a low shelf or the floor), when I go to straighten up I get a horrible shooting pain in one or both of my knees, usually with instability too.

I have been trying to reach things without bending my knees, bending from the waist or cantilever style which isn't ideal.

Does anyone know of any reasonably priced knee supports which could help? I've tried tubigrips though they tend to just roll themselves up or down and drive me mad and cheap knee supports tend to be too tight to wear comfortably through the day.

Any suggestions welcome.

Had my first methotrexate injection yesterday and shown how to DIY (so much easier than I thought!) so hopefully I'll see a big difference with that soon :)

[Carakeel]

I have had to wear knee supports over many years and find that the neoprene ones are very good. Depending on how much support you actually need, you can get ones with or without hinges. I have used both. However, since I have had both knees replaced, now rarely have to use supports. You can buy these in most sports shops and they are not that expensive, from around £16 for the lighter ones to £24 -£30 for the hinged ones. You can get them with an open patella, which might be better for you, if your pain is below the patella itself. Apart from supporting the structure of the knee, they also keep the knee warm, which eases pain and apparently aids in healing somewhat. Boots also sometimes sell these, but sports shops usually have a better range of them. Make sure you get the right size though, as this makes a lot of difference. Hope this has helped a little and you feel better soon. Best wishes!

[Eve]

Thanks Carakeel (it's Jenna, had a name change :)), I'll go have a look in some of the sports shops, the ones in Boots are sooo expensive.

Think I might have to give up my comfy leggings unless they are thin and won't show up, not sure I'd pull off the Robocop look :)