Tips for keeping joints healthy for lifetime Karate practice

[rhilllakefield]

Hi folks,

Any of you run into knee or joint issues after years of Karate, or other martial arts training?

I have essentially what is Patella Femoral Syndrome or runners knee. I know its caused by a muscle embalance which I exersize for.

Otherwise I just have joints that pop and crack, not a ton of pain really, other than my knee after a few days of hard training.

Other than glucosamine and warmups, do any of you have tips for healthy joints? I'm 33, so still relatively young. I'm aiming to traing as long as possible, but man, its not like it was when I was 18.

Thanks,

Ryan

[bushido_man96]

My knees have a bit of scrunching noise in them, too. I'm the same age as you, too. Since I started lifting, it seems to have helped them out.

If you notice more and more knee pain, you might want to adjust how hard you kick, and take some of the snap out of the end of the kick; make it more flowing and fluid. Take the wear and tear off that knee. Some minor adjustments like that might help out.

[tallgeese]

Been there, done that. The best thing to do is to look at training smarter the higher your numbers get. I wrote a post on another thread that I went into detail about modifying training as you get older. It's probably applicable here as well:

http://www.karateforums.com/martial-arts-for-over-50-years-old-a-c-a-seniors-vt39812-10.html

Despite the title of the thread, I am nowhere near 50 just yet .

[rhilllakefield]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll take a good long read of that link. I think you're right, just a bit of modification is needed here and there. I'm to the point where, Karate really works for me on a lot of levels, and starting over in another martial art doesnt really interest me as much as training basically lifelong.

I've found since I wrote this post, a move from traditional training outside of the club, to more bag work, conditioning etc... has helped my knee especially, recover from all the twists and pressure of Kata and Kihon.

Like you, I also added squats to my weight routine, and it seems to be helping my supporting muscles.

Thanks again guys. Happy Holidays.

Ryan

[Sainthood]

really useful link. Thanks guys.

[Kuma]

I have a couple dozen parachute jumps under my belt from my days in the US military, and for a time my knees were bothering me. After working squats and various strengthening exercises as well as lots of joint mobility sessions they rarely bug me at all. It's only when it's really cold or I'm not warmed up properly when they remind me of my younger days.

[bushido_man96]

Squats have helped my knees to feel better than they use to. There's a lot of misconception out there about squats and the knees.

[Kevin Wilson]

Squats have helped my knees to feel better than they use to. There's a lot of misconception out there about squats and the knees.

I think its cause most people do them with a press up in between. I cant member the fancy name for the exercise but its suppose to be diabolical on your back !!!

[deckerdude]

Does your glucosamine work well for you rd2022? I use high strength cod liver oil tablets, and a basic one a day vitamin supplement.

I was wondering if there is anything else on the market that i could use, especially with regards keeping the joints supple and 'oiled up'!

[Ueshirokarate]

Squats have helped my knees to feel better than they use to. There's a lot of misconception out there about squats and the knees.

Can't agree more!!!!!!! Traditional squats are just excellent for you. Machines like the leg-press, hack squat machine, leg-curls, etc all put more stress on the knee joint than a good old fashioned barbell squat.

By the way, I have heard stories about some schools and the sheer number of kicks one does in a class, I think it is crazy. I suppose if you are doing Tae Kwon Do you need to do a lot of kicking. However, I believe some instructors just think more is better, which it is not. There is a law of diminishing returns to any exercise technique.