My Granny's knee joints hurtz like mad......aren't there any solutions to it?

Question

My granny is in her eighties and her joints are getting weaker each day, especially her two kneecaps, which are really hurting. It really pains my heart to see her condition deteriorate, she used to be able to limp her way around, but now she can hardly walk......knee guards and health supplements for the ligament doesn't seem to work, or maybe this is juz something that the elderly have to bear with as they age......anyone out there with any experience care to share their solutions, or even offer me some things my granny can do, I would like to thank you beforehand because I really do not know what more I as a grandson can do to ease her pain......

Answer 1

I'd maybe think about drinking lots of spring water; nothing with fluoride in it.

Answer 2

unfortunately, there is very little that can be done other than a joint implant. this is not easy surgery for the elderly. the recovery time is long and can be painful. the trouble is that her knees are tired of supporting its body, well not just tired but no loger as able due to regular wear and tear on the human body. there are ointments and methods for helping with the pain, as well as some fruits such as black cherries. your grandma will enjoy the attention as well as having someone to visit, which is uplifting, and that is extremely important to people with chronic. sure it is no cure, but it should ease the mind and body.

Answer 3

I've got knee pain myself, mostly arthritis. I take Aleve and Tylenol Arthritis. She should be able to take them together as they are different enough from each other, but check with her doctor.
She might also take Osteo Bi-Flex twice a day, with food. No guarantee there, however, if she is taking supplements now it is a good one to try.
If she has trouble sleeping with the pain, Tylenol PM might help.
Good luck with this, and wish her well for me.

Answer 4

Persistence! Chronic diseases need regular medical management, not the simple episodic care that young, healthy adults get by with.
And there's the old saw about the lady celebrating her hundredth birthday, who announces to the world that she goes to bed with three men every night.....(gasp from crowd)......"Arthur Itis, Ben Gay, and Jack Daniels!"

Answer 5

thereis something call glucocine..not sure exact spelling..check up in pharmacy.. ..to repair joints in knees..
best bring her see specialist doc on her knees

Answer 6

glucosamine/chondroitin

Answer 7

I really think the best thing to do is for your Granny to see a doctor. If payment is an issue, please look into Medicare or Medicaid....perhaps your community has an Area Office on Aging, or similar social agency you could look into.
Call United Way, or stop by a public library for contact information.
Again, accurate diagnoses cannot be made over the internet.
It takes a physical examination, and tests by qualified health care providers to get at the cause of a medical problem, and provide the right treatment.

That being said, here's some information I got from the Internet,
that may be useful in discussions with a health care provider.

This excerpt came from a web page of the Mayo Clinic.
"Knee pain - causes"
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/knee-pain/DS00555/DSECTION=3

"Causes of knee injuries...
provide your body with flexibility, support and a wide range of motion.

"You have four types of joints: fixed, pivot, ball-and-socket and hinge. Your knees are hinge joints, which, as the name suggests, work much like the hinge of a door, allowing the joint to move backward and forward. Your knees are the largest and heaviest hinge joints in your body. They're also the most complex. In addition to bending and straightening, they twist and rotate. This makes them especially vulnerable to damage, which is why they sustain more injuries on average than other joints.

A closer look at your knees
Your knee joint is essentially four bones held together by ligaments. Your thighbone (femur) makes up the top part of the joint, and two lower leg bones, the tibia and the fibula, comprise the lower part. The fourth bone, the patella, slides in a groove on the end of the femur.

Ligaments are large bands of tissue that connect bones to one another. In the knee joint, four main ligaments link the femur to the tibia and help stabilize your knee as it moves through its arc of motion. These include the collateral ligaments along the inner (medial) and outer (lateral) sides of your knee and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), which cross each other as they stretch diagonally from the bottom of your thighbone to the top of your shinbone.

Other structures in your knee include:

Tendons. These fibrous bands of tissue connect muscles to bones. Your knee has two important tendons, which make it possible for you to straighten or extend your leg: the quadriceps tendon, which connects the long quadriceps muscle on the front of your thigh to the patella, and the patellar tendon, which connects the patella to the tibia.

Meniscus. This C-shaped cartilage, which curves around the inside and outside of your knee, cushions your knee joint.

Bursae. A number of these fluid-filled sacs surround your knee. They help cushion your knee joint so that ligaments and tendons slide across it smoothly.

Normally, all of these structures work together smoothly. But injury and disease can disrupt this balance, resulting in pain, muscle weakness and decreased function.

Knee injuries: The hows and whys
Many knee injuries are due to overuse, problems with alignment, sports or physical activities, and failure to warm up and stretch before exercise. But they can also result from trauma, such as a car accident, a fall or a direct blow to your knee.

Common knee injuries and their causes include:

Ligament injuries. You're most likely to tear your collateral ligaments in sports that require quick stops and turns, such as soccer, basketball and skiing, or in contact sports when repeated blows to the inside or outside of your knee can cause the opposing ligament to stretch or tear. Collateral ligaments can also be damaged by repeated stress, which causes them to lose their elasticity, much like an overstretched rubber band.

Most ACL injuries are sports-related. They frequently occur during activities such as football, basketball, soccer and skiing, when you slow down suddenly or cut or pivot with your foot firmly planted — movements that twist or overextend your knee. ACL tears rarely result from contact with other players, but they can develop when you land awkwardly from a jump or fall. PCL tears, on the other hand, aren't usually associated with sports. Because the PCL is a strong ligament located deep inside your knee, tears most often result from traumatic injuries, such as those you might receive in a car accident. And because a violent impact is needed to damage the PCL, you're almost certain to injure other ligaments at the same time.

Tendon injuries. Inflammation of the quadriceps tendon (tendinitis) can occur in people who run, bicycle or ski. It can also result from inflammatory diseases that occur throughout your body, most notably rheumatoid arthritis. Middle-age weekend warriors are more likely to rupture their quadriceps tendon than seasoned athletes are. And patellar tendon ruptures frequently occur in active younger people who have a history of tendinitis or who have had steroid injections in their knees.
Meniscus injuries. A meniscus tear can result from aggressive pivoting or sudden turns — any activity that twists or rotates your knee. Occasionally, you can tear your meniscus while lifting something heavy. Older adults sometimes tear their meniscus during repetitive movements, such as kneeling or squatting, but more often it tears because it has degenerated over time.

Bursitis. [Bursae are the fluid filled sacs around the knee which cushion the knee]Sometimes called housemaid's knee or carpet layer's knee, prepatellar bursitis often occurs after an activity that requires you to kneel for long periods — scrubbing floors, gardening, or installing tile or carpet, for example. It can also result from an infection or as one of the signs of arthritis or gout.

Dislocated kneecap. Kneecap (patellar) dislocations can occur in contact sports and in activities that require you to change direction while running, such as tennis, racquetball and volleyball. If your knees tend to turn inward or your kneecaps are higher than normal, you may be more prone to this injury. "

Treatment, again, will depend on the diagnosis.
A good list of many of the options the health care provider will consider is at:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/knee-pain/DS00555/DSECTION=8

My late mother in law had a number of health problems...
and we were fortunate enough the Medicaid paid all her bills,
she was in near poverty, although living at an excellent retirement
home. Anyways, I kept on stressing to her to tell the doctor exactly what was bothering her, because the doctor needed this information on top of the examination in order to diagnose and treat her properly....
[sorry for the digression here].

Please, please get your granny on the road to a correct diagnosis so that the right treatment can be applied!
You sound like a wonderful grandson, she is fortunate to have
you around.
Wishing you both the best,
Janikce