Knee pain/stretching

Hey guys, first post ect.

I'm a blue belt and I enjoy playing rubber guard. The last couple of weeks I've been having knee discomfort in both my knees. At first I thought it might be general wear and tear from kneeling and rolling on the mats but I'm finding it weird that it happened in both my knees at the same time. It's not like something ripped or popped but it just feels like a discomfort and almost like the front of my knees are swollen at the front of the knee and sore at the back of the knee.

Pretty much I'm trying to find some good stretches for my knees to start working through this and fix it and was wondering if anyone had any advice?

Cheers

Lotus. Butterfly. Try putting yourself in a heel hook. Stretches like that. But remember, pull your toes toward your knees when you work rubber guard. And try always having your knee closer to your face then your foot. That should be better for the knees. Have fun!

Maybe you should slow down on the rubber guard. I had similar problems and i stopped doing rubber guard. I focused on strengthening my legs and doing rehab type exercises. I'm not sure "stretches for you knees" is the answer. If you wanna play rubber guard, i would suggest focusing on becoming flexible in your hips and hamstrings.

You wouldn't twist your knee in order to put your foot behind your head, but rather make your hips and hamstring flexible to complete the task. This will help put little to no stress on the ligaments and tendons in your knee.

Hips and hamstring should be your main focus, and overall flexibility. You shouldn't be torquing ligaments and tendons for flexibility. Hope that helps!

Besides a healthy diet (w/e that means), you could also add gelatin and cooked spinach/kale. Gelatin is not only a great source of protein but it can help with joint/tendon health. I would recommend "Great Lakes Gelatin", and its protein should be consumed with a carbohydrate source. Spinach and Kale have a high micro nutrient content, and when cooked become more easily digestible and bio available. I would recommend consuming spinach or kale with a cup of coffee, as coffee inhibits the nonheme iron absorption that spinach/kale would admit.

Gelatin with orange juice. Cooked spinach with a cup of coffee, :).

Oh, and some people use glucosamine chondroitin with success, but i have no experience and cant personally recommend.

You need to make sure to flex your toes while playing rg or LD. Example if in LD you are flexing the toes towards your head. This helps protect the knees by working all the muscles surrounding them.

First post. Tremendous tips so far. I wrecked my knee from years of skateboarding, and have gotten almost full recovery via collagen supplements, fish oil, high doses of vitamin C, and yoga moves. Also before you pass out for the night, lay back on the floor and butt to the wall, in butterfly stretch or whatever.

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Originally Posted by Rodney Salinas

Maybe you should slow down on the rubber guard.

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Yeah I had my instructor say the same thing which I took on board still I rolled which a muscly mma dude who was trying to smash me. Caught him in a arm bar from chill dog and turns out his bicep curls won't going to save him. Wasn't good for my knee but I got the tap. :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodney Salinas

I would recommend "Great Lakes Gelatin", and its protein should be consumed with a carbohydrate source.

Gelatin with orange juice. Cooked spinach with a cup of coffee, :).
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So you're mixing in the gelatine in with your orange juice?

"Great lakes gelatin" has a couple different kinds. I know they have atleast 2, 1 which you have to add to hot water and then chill "like jello". The other kind you can add to cold liquids, which becomes very convenient.

Yeah i mix the cold soluble "great lakes gelatin" in my orange juice, stir thoroughly, and drink like normal orange juice.

Here is a link to the cold soluble gelatin at the bottom for a reference (i didn't price check, so this link might not be the best deal).


http://www.iherb.com/Great-Lakes-Gel...w&gclsrc=aw.ds

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evan B

Yeah I had my instructor say the same thing which I took on board still I rolled which a muscly mma dude who was trying to smash me. Caught him in a arm bar from chill dog and turns out his bicep curls won't going to save him. Wasn't good for my knee but I got the tap. :cool:

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Oh and btw, I'm a huge fan of rubber guard, i just recommend to stop doing it until you rehab your knee back to health, and become flexible in your hips and hamstrings so when you play rubber guard in the future you wont put stress on your knee.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodney Salinas

Oh and btw, I'm a huge fan of rubber guard, i just recommend to stop doing it until you rehab your knee back to health, and become flexible in your hips and hamstrings so when you play rubber guard in the future you wont put stress on your knee.

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Yeah I'm going to take it easy at class for a while and get my knees better and get flexibility/mobility back. Probably just do light tech and no sparring. I've also got a injured hip on my right side I got from doing takedowns so need to fix that up also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodney Salinas

"Great lakes gelatin" has a couple different kinds. I know they have atleast 2, 1 which you have to add to hot water and then chill "like jello". The other kind you can add to cold liquids, which becomes very convenient.

Yeah i mix the cold soluble "great lakes gelatin" in my orange juice, stir thoroughly, and drink like normal orange juice.

Here is a link to the cold soluble gelatin at the bottom for a reference (i didn't price check, so this link might not be the best deal).


http://www.iherb.com/Great-Lakes-Gel...w&gclsrc=aw.ds

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Cool! will check some of the local chemist on the chance they have this in. If not I found a few online shops in Australia I can buy it.

I can't really say how rubber guard could be affecting your knees as I haven't been rolling for very long, but I can tell you that when my knees swell and hurt it's usually because my quads and hamstrings are too tight. Tight muscles can increase the strain on tendons in the knee. Uneven musculature can also cause strain with stronger muscles pulling leading to a strain. Ice and stretching has always been good to me. Knee strengthening exercises would probably also help to stabilize and prevent injury.