Urrr. Yes, could easily be arthritis. In which case, yeah, probably no easy fix. I have osteoarthritis in my knees too... not bad YET, but I've got it. And like you, I too have a family history of arthritis.
Your doc may recommend: 1) orthotics, to help with joint alignment. You might be surprised how much good support on the foot will help with healthy alignment of the knee. 2) physical therapy or exercises to strengthen certain muscles, again for joint alignment. 3) stretches, in case some of your soft tissue tension is pulling things askew. 4) a glucosamine and chondroitin combo, one of the few dietary supplements for which studies do show that it seems to do what it claims to do. In sufficient quantity, these slow down or even stop deterioration of cartilege (osteoarthritis), as shown by X-rays to measure bone spacing. I eat big ol' horse pills of these things every day.
My doc recommended physical therapy, and the physical therapist was the one to recommend stretches and orthotics. My backpacking group recommended the glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.
no subject
Urrr. Yes, could easily be arthritis. In which case, yeah, probably no easy fix. I have osteoarthritis in my knees too... not bad YET, but I've got it. And like you, I too have a family history of arthritis.
Your doc may recommend: 1) orthotics, to help with joint alignment. You might be surprised how much good support on the foot will help with healthy alignment of the knee. 2) physical therapy or exercises to strengthen certain muscles, again for joint alignment. 3) stretches, in case some of your soft tissue tension is pulling things askew. 4) a glucosamine and chondroitin combo, one of the few dietary supplements for which studies do show that it seems to do what it claims to do. In sufficient quantity, these slow down or even stop deterioration of cartilege (osteoarthritis), as shown by X-rays to measure bone spacing. I eat big ol' horse pills of these things every day.
My doc recommended physical therapy, and the physical therapist was the one to recommend stretches and orthotics. My backpacking group recommended the glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.
good luck!