Who can give tips for knee problems?

Question:
I've got this mysterious knee problem in both knees. I can't figure this out. It's a deep dull chronic knee pain in both knees. One is worse than the other. I'm almost 40 and have never had a problem...until I started riding a CRF450. I'm not insisting this is related but I am jumping much further on the 450 and flat grounding most jumps (which happens to be quite a bit of fun). Riding is not painful. It *really* hurts at night and is starting to affect sleep. Can anyone suggest specific exercises? I've already tried a weight bench with no success. I really do not think squats with shoulder weights is the way to handle this problem. Has anyone had and fixed this problem?

Answer:
Go have the cartilage in your knees checked. I didn't and had some deterioration. Ended up with a tear that required surgery to fix. A very small deterioration in the cartilage will feel just like you described. Don't let it get worse without checking it. Not wanting to scare you, just trying to prevent what happens to many of us. It’s a four stroke DUH, oh wait you said both legs...hmm how about all that walking around in the middle of the night? That might be the cause of the knee problem BTW I wonder How Rowdy is doing on his Transformation into stodgy old Dad? as for the knees, give them a rest...the running is not good for them try swimming or low impact exercise like (kick boxing) or NordicTrack there is some stuff you can eat to help lube the joints but YMMV. I went to my family doctor, who called me something along the lines of stupid. He sent me to an Orthopedic Surgeon to have a look at it. A few drugs and exercises didn't help, so off to the old MRI shop for photos. Ended up getting half the cartilage cut away. It's now the better of the two knees.I gotta weigh in a little on this one...I'm well into being a geezer with no knee problems (yet)...I developed some knee pains when I bought a second bike and realized it was just the switch from one bike to the other...talked myself into relaxing a bit and quit riding with my toes pointed in an un-natural direction...and the pain went away. Also, what is the peg to seat height difference between the two machines? Pegs are made for some bikes to raise or lower your feet a bit, or you can change seat height, so the pit is a better fit. Ergonomics son, ergonomics. Does Glucosamine really work? How long does it take to notice? I'm approaching the big 40 this year and am having the same joint type problems. Well, the problem is obvious - you didn’t ride a CR450 until you were almost 40! Sheesh. You are a runner, right? Hmmm. Surely you didn't expect to be able to run regularly and still have your knees last past 40, did you? You're REALLY gonna love the next 10 years. You likely have inflammation in your knees. I was sidelined yesterday with the same thing (I still think my 7 y/o snuck into my room with a bat and kneecapped me in my sleep, but nobody believes me). Take 3-4 Advil every 4-6 hours for a week and don't so anything to aggravate them. If they still hurt after the week, see an orthopedic. I just ordered a new pair of shoes. Maybe my shoes are too old. I'm also going to start doing some exercises I found on runnersworld.com. One foot forward, bend to 90 degrees, and hold...assuming it doesn't hurt. I'm going to try and pay attention to my posture on the bike. Maybe I'm doing something different on the new bike. I really think this bike has *something* to do with it. I'm also going to ice my knees. There are marathon runners older than dirt. If you have arthritis, everything you take or do is only a band aid. You never get rid of it, once you have it, you’re in a downward spiral. Been there for over 5 yrs now. You’ve been abusing your knees for a long time and it's starting to take it's toll, now that you're flying farther, on a heavier bike. If I were you, I would try Glucosamine tablets, many I know claim that they work wonders for the knees. I cannot take Glucosamine because I take medication for high blood pressure, but I would love to be able to try it, my knees are shot!! What happens if you take it while on high blood pressure meds? Just curious because I have been on meds for hypertension for a long time and been using glucosamine without any negative effects. I'm 25 and have bad knees from being the catcher on the high school baseball team. Its not the CRF causing your problem. Like others have said, take glucosamine. It really does help. Also consider changing from a treadmill to an elliptical trainer. They are much easier on the joints. You will have to stay on it a little longer to get the same feel out of your workout. Cutting body weight has also helped my problems. Using ice on the knees helps but heat can help too. I like to use ice if I can do it within a couple hours of workout but if it’s longer than that I heat them. Are the tracks you ride hard pack by any chance? I always notice that my body feels more abused after riding hard pack. I'll second the suggestion to check the ergonomics of the bike. That the pain comes after the ride is admittedly a puzzle, but I've had knee troubles (while riding) on my narrower bike. It feels like the peg spacing puts a twist in my knee. This is all sit-down street riding, so it may not apply if you spend most of your time standing. It works, but it obviously isn't a miracle cure if there is a lot of physical damage. It's not an overnight fix either. Give it a couple of months at least. I was having problems with my elbows when doing pull-ups and occasional knee pain when hiking in rough terrain, and it helped quite a bit. I've got 16 years on you, and trust me, it doesn't get any better. One thing you figure out is your joints and tendons go south before your muscles so damaging yourself is a lot easier. Just after I turned 50 my left knee got so bad it swelled up as big as a soccer ball. I went in to see the first doctor and she stuck a huge syringe the size of a Coke can with a needle the size of a Bic pen into my knee and sucked out all the fluid. Then she injected it with cortizone and I almost passed out. She said there was not much else they could do but send me to a physical therapist for six weeks. After that it still hurt so I went to another specialist who told me I had arthritis in both knees and prescribed Vioxx (same as Celebrex). Since then I have had zero problems and went out and even bought a new dirt bike. I'll have to take a pill for the rest of my life but at least I can still ride. My knees have felt pretty good in the last year or so. I even managed to make it through 2 seasons of softball last year without any problems. Then, I got wrangled into doing this GP thing and started hitting the tracks in preparation. Guess what? My knees started hurting. They don't hurt while riding TST. I'm guessing it's the jumps. Or, more specifically, the landings. Oh, and I just turned 41. According to Dead Doctors Don't Lie, one may rebuild/regrow cartilage in the joints by ingesting animal cartilage. Specifically, Dr Joseph Wallach speaks of joint replacement candidates no longer needing the surgery after a study where they ingested two spoons of ground chicken cartilage (mixed with orange juice?) per day, after less than three months. He suggests Knox gelatin (ground cow's hooves) as an easy source. Good point. My knees always feel a little worse after riding the GSXR. I have no idea how normal-sized people can fold themselves up enough to ride one. One of the reasons I quit the YSR thing was that my knees started hurting for a week after races. I had never had any knee issues prior to that. After quitting, I'd never had any knee pain on a bike 'til WUDI a couple of weeks back. My knees were a little achy for a couple of days. I attribute it to it being the first time I'd ridden on 3 consecutive days and a whole lot of extra standing/sitting/standing as I tried to teach myself to sit more. Sitting in the truck for 19 hours immediately after riding on the 3rd day probably didn't help either. Hopefully it's not something that will continue. It's this shoulder thing that's got me worried. It's been a couple of months or so now and it's not getting any better. Probably time to go see the doctor. Strange you should say this...I always eat any cartilage on the bones of chicken or steak, and always gnaw a little into the marrow. There's not much left after I eat chicken wings! Maybe my body is telling me I need the stuff (I've always been prone to joint pain). Or, maybe I'm just a little odd... Somehow the combination negates the effectiveness of the BP medications and also raises Cholesterol levels. I would check with your doctor, to get the straight scoop. Wanna' come ride the White Rock Enduro with Jerry and me next weekend? How about with Opie, Reggie, & Me in LA (South of here) the next week? It snowed on those poor guys from MN yesterday. We could ride the event in their honor. Both races have primo trail. Except there are no mountains and not many rocks in the tight woods of Central LA. On a side note; This afternoon I spoke with the fellow in charge of the Great Piney Woods Enduro (April 18 @ Fort Polk, Cravens, LA). He said that there was a whole lot of brand new trail, still covered in pine straw and leaves. Really tight, VIRGIN TRAIL. Gets me sorta excited. I'm starting to crawfish a bit on my strategy to ride on the last row. I'll know for sure after March 28th.