Ok, my husband, like many right now is uninsured. He is having bad knee problems, and he is a chef, so he has to be on his feet all day. When he had insurance, he had xrays done, nothing showed up, he was put on naproxin. That is almost gone and we are not sure what to do... .anyone have suggestions, he is young, only 30 and is in a lot of pain!
Thanks
M.
I would seriously consider getting another look at the shoes he wears- no soles= more pain. I went one day to Wal-mart with flats and couldn;t even walk out the building- my knees both locked and I almost died!!!!!!!!!! they told me it's the type of flooring- So if he stands on a very hard floor then yeah get higher soles- he'll thank me later!!!!
make sure he is wearing good shoes. that took care of a lot of the pain in my moms knees. turns out that if your having pain in your feet you stand/walk differently and that puts pressure on your knees. good luck
I just had surgery in April for a meniscal tear... previous to that I had to quit my job at a nursing home because I couldn't stand the pain, it was like my knee was being crunched!
My doctor had given me a prescription for this until I was able to have the surgery, which worked great. Its called Nabumatone and I believe its an anti inflamatory. Naproxin is the same as Aleve, and you can purchase generic Aleve called Naproxin Sodium but it can be very hard on the stomach. As another person said, an Xray will not give too much information on the condition of his knee, but an MRI would be in order. I completely understand not having health insurance, my boyfriend just purchased insurance a month ago after going without it for ever. Feel free to visit my website at http://www.mybenefitsplus.com/thastings to learn about affordable health discount plans, which might help you guys out in the event that he needs to have some work done on that knee! Good luck to you!
I highly recommend he look into taking Glucosamine and Chondriton. It helped me tremendously!
Not sure if this will help but it certainly won't hurt, not to mention that it isn't expensive even if it isn't a long-term solution.
As a chef, is he required to wear a certain pair/brand/type of shoe? Make sure he is wearing GOOD shoes with proper arch and heel support (New Balance and Asics are two great choices). He could also look into using inserts (SuperFeet or Spenco) that can help with proper foot alignment. Often if there is little to no arch support or heel support, then the total body alignment can be thrown out of whack, resulting in more pressure or awkwardly placed pressure on the ankles, knees, hips, and lower back.
The inserts are typically no more than $30. It might be worth a shot to try a pair in the work shoes.
Soft tissue damage or a meniscal tear wouldn't show up on an x-ray, but can be debilitating and painful; or sometimes something as simple as a muscle imbalance in the thigh can cause the patellar (knee cap) to track incorrectly, resulting in pain. Is he experiencing "catching" or "locking" of the knee joint, or more of a constant, throbbing ache? Did something trigger the onset of pain?
Perhaps one visit to a PT- who can do a thorough evaluation, followed by setting up a comprehensive home program- might help. I am not sure where you are located, but you can check the APTA website, www.APTA.org to locate a therapist near you. An evaluation might cost $100-$150, or maybe less if you explain that you are self-pay and only need 1 visit. But, they can help determine if this is something serious that needs a follow-up with a doc, or something that can be managed by the patient.
In Illinois at this time, a patient can go to a PT to be evaluated without a prescription from a doc, but on-going treatment sessions do require a prescription from a doctor.
In the meantime, he can try heat/ice/heat/ice after work while he rests it; gently stretch the muscles of the hip, low back, thigh and calf; wear supportive footwear; avoid twisting motions; massage the area (or have you do it); and try to avoid over-doing anything like running, biking, hiking, etc.
Naproxen is just Aleve, you can buy it over the counter, brand name or generic if it was working. Hope he gets some relief soon.
This worked for me.
I have had meniscal tears in both knees and never wanted to go the surgical route. I had pain for years until I came upon a technique called EFT~see emofree.com. I highly recommend EFT practitioner Tom Masbaum. He even offers a moneyback guarantee. One session with him & my pain was down to 80% and I was able to work out again. Then I went to Craig Singer who does Rolfing, a kind of deep massage & stretching. I am now 100% pain free!
