All,
I am 6'6" and weigh 225. I have been tearing my cartilage around my knee when I get off an even stance. It happens about once a year. It has happened twice in the final round of a four round tourney and it has also happened once on the 11th hole of a first round. It has only happened on one tee shot I blame on rain and mud. Does anybody else have this problem with tearing their cartilage? Is there anything you can do to prevent it. I have worn a brace and had the same thing happen.
Thanks
Brad

I have problems with my knees too. I dont have much to add right now, but when I get home from the USDGC, I am heading straight to the orthopedic surgeon.

I plan on picking his brain about some questions and one of them is also yours. What can we do to help prevent it?

more later...

Same here, I tore cartilage in my right, lead leg on a tee shot.
I carry too much weight and think that was a factor. I'm getting
surgery in Nov.
I'm also a GM and wonder if game related injuries are a reason
that we don't see many GM's,SGM's + represented in many
tournaments.
-Big John

I experienced the same problem with my knee. Several other players pointed out that my plant foot and lower leg never rotated with my body. Thus my knee was loading up with a lot of pressure and stuff was tearing. My doctor recommended making sure my foot and lower leg rotated with my upper leg and body and this should reduce the pressure on the knee. It took a month to change my drive and get back the distance and accuracy. But I am not in pain and haven't torn anything since.

Richard

Have you had the knee repaired yet? If not, you're only exasperating the problem.

I had total reconstruction of my left knee in '90...I'm left handed so that was my backhand plant leg. I had to learn to throw forehand which switches the plant leg to the right (for lefties). but the reciprocal hold true for righties...

After recovery from my knee surgery (my 4th on the R knee) in Feb., I developed a "spin-out" follow through, where my whole body continues spinning after the rip, up to a complete 360 after a distance crush. Definitely has reduced pressure/wear&tear on the poor fella (though I'm still a weak-sauce gimp).

I have had three cartilage repairs. After the third the doctor said that there wasn't enough left to do it again, and that the only sensible course was to strenghthen the muscles around the knee. You need to work in the weight room, both on the quads and the hamstrings, doing leg presses, quad lifts and leg curls. Lunges are also good, and anything that improves balance. Someone your size should be able to work up to 15 reps of presses (250 lbs), quad lifts (160 lbs) and curls (90 lbs). Hopefully that will stabilize the knee.

What kind of tread is on your shoes? I use minimal tread tennis shoes as much as possible to reduce potential knee strain and only have some tread on courses where I need to climb and/or if it's wet. Learn to "stand and deliver" to develop it for as long of throws as possible.

A person's gait can result in uneven shoe-wear which can/may translate into a straining of joints (think ankle/knee/hip/pelvis/back/neck), especially when the ultra worn shoes are continually worn or played in.

Consult with your expert of choice - and consider custom-built semi-flexible orthotics made using a weight~bearing type of casting system for feet.
These can make a world of difference (for some folks) by helping their body to re-balance itself - literally from the ground up.


Our sport requires a lot of different types forces on our feet - and it's quite different left from right/right from left. Because of this newer shoes are probably a better choice than those super comfy 1+ year old shoes/boots/sandals...that are wearing/worn unevenly due to throwing plastic.

I completely agree with the shoes.

Another piece of advice my doctor gave me was to always carry my bag over both shoulders, so the weight of the bag is centered down the spine and equal pressure is placed on both legs. Also that the bag should hit the lumbar area of the back and not hang down below your hips. Basically he said anything that throws the spine out of column can have serious effects which can effect more then just the spine.

Richard

Sometimes when I drive I can feel my knee "twist" and I instantly can't put any weight on that leg for a few seconds right afterwards. I've been noticing this happening a lot more frequently over the past month. Problem is I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, rather it's just poor footing, if I'm compensating too much for the ankle that I sprained about the same time this started becoming more common, or if it's that it's getting colder out.

Oh, I'm 6'5" 250 which doesn't help anything.

I have had three cartilage repairs. After the third the doctor said that there wasn't enough left to do it again, and that the only sensible course was to strenghthen the muscles around the knee. You need to work in the weight room, both on the quads and the hamstrings, doing leg presses, quad lifts and leg curls. Lunges are also good, and anything that improves balance. Someone your size should be able to work up to 15 reps of presses (250 lbs), quad lifts (160 lbs) and curls (90 lbs). Hopefully that will stabilize the knee.

I agree. A couple of years ago I was having some pain and discomfort in my knees after playing basketball. When I talked to my doctor about it he said to get into the weight room and start lifting weights. I thought he was nuts. Why would I want to put more stress on my knees by lifting weights? :confused: He told me to trust him. Since I'm not a doctor and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express I did as he said and low and behold it worked. The weight lifting didn't bother my knees like I thought it would and the muscles in my legs and knees became stronger. The pain went away. Everytime I start to feel the pain come back after a workout I know I need to get my butt back in the weight room.

I have had three cartilage repairs. After the third the doctor said that there wasn't enough left to do it again, and that the only sensible course was to strenghthen the muscles around the knee. You need to work in the weight room, both on the quads and the hamstrings, doing leg presses, quad lifts and leg curls. Lunges are also good, and anything that improves balance. Someone your size should be able to work up to 15 reps of presses (250 lbs), quad lifts (160 lbs) and curls (90 lbs). Hopefully that will stabilize the knee.



I also have bad knees but have never had a tear. I do exactly what Peter does and I utilize a strength coach who knows what I am trying to accomplish.

I have had three cartilage repairs. After the third the doctor said that there wasn't enough left to do it again, and that the only sensible course was to strenghthen the muscles around the knee. You need to work in the weight room, both on the quads and the hamstrings, doing leg presses, quad lifts and leg curls. Lunges are also good, and anything that improves balance. Someone your size should be able to work up to 15 reps of presses (250 lbs), quad lifts (160 lbs) and curls (90 lbs). Hopefully that will stabilize the knee.



I also have bad knees but have never had a tear. I do exactly what Peter does and I utilize a strength coach who knows what I am trying to accomplish.



I started taking yoga and I now do a half hour of stretching before I play my first round. Adding flexibility and extra strength has really helped my knee, not to mention my entire body. The other thing the doctor said, "Drink tons of water during your rounds"

Richard

I agree 100% with some of the advice here... and I'm going to elaborate on one point: Weight Training.

Basically, it was stated that weight training was key if you desire fewer issues with your knees, but it wasn't stated why... So I'll get that out there because you may know what you need to do now, but not necessarily how to do it.

What weight training does for your knees is it strengthens the muscles around your knees. When you do leg presses, curls, etc. you aren't actually strengthening your knees. You're working the muscles around your knees to better support them. Get together with somebody that has had classes on the subject, or is a specialist and find a good workout.

If you don't have access here's a decent plan:

3 days a week...
Monday - Leg Press, Leg Curl
Wednesday - Leg Curl, Leg Extension
Friday - Let Extension, Leg Press

Now for reps, it is best to utilize a five week circuit.
Week 1 - 10, 8, 6 - increasing weight with each set.
Week 2 - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 - increasing weight with each set.
Week 3 - 3, 3, 3 - increasing weight with each set.
Week 4 - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - increasing weight with each set.
Week 5 - 10, 10, 10 - light weights, and extra stretching
[repeat circuit]

This will build strength and endurence in your legs. If you want to you can also use week five to do a max in each exercise for a little ego-boost fun... watch your max jump with every five week period.

Mind you, this isn't necessarily the best workout for everybody, and it may not work the best for YOU... if you want that, again, find a personal trainer and have him/her develop for you a workout that is PERSONALIZED for who you are and what your legs need.

Additionally, if you are having knee issues I urge you to avoid running at all costs. Rollerblade, Bike, Swim. But don't do much running, it is a knee killer. I ran into college and I've had nothing but knee trouble as a result of my experience. Stick with other exercises that will reduce the strain on your knees.

-Chris.
currently not at an Ultimate tournament in Illinois because of a torn tendon in his knee

These guys have given you some great advice. I suffer from two knees that cause me great discomfort from time to time. I have had four surgeries on each. My cartiledge trouble stems from the fact that I have no ACL in either knee. Someday I may get that rectified, but til then a full and complete follow through is imperative. Shoes that don't grip too well and that will allow me to freely rotate without transferring the tork to the knee are a must. And the last thing is what Pete Shive said, you must strengthen those muscles around the knee to support it and create stability. See an orthopaedic doctor. If you only need to be scoped it is a fairly easy procedure from which to recover. Good luck.

I am on the road back from a "non-surgical" ligament strain with problems with attaching cartilage.
One thing I'll add to what is being said is start taking glucosamine-chondroitin supplementation. It is the only thing that has been shown to help rebuild cartilage. You can find this stuff anywhere.

I have been playing for about 27 years and I am also having kneee problems, though mine was caused by having a guy go through my knee in indoor soccer. My wrost problem is having the knee get "loose" after playing a round and having the knee feel like it is coming out of socket on a rotation. I pretty much wear a knee brace all the time now. I have found that since I started wearing the knee brace I am throwing further. I think that I have been holding back on my drives for fear of tweaking my knee. I am also on an anit-inflammatory 24-7, but that is due to arthrytis.