MDing and Bad Knees!

[MetalDetectorDude]

MD'ing and Bad Knees!

Man I love metal detecting, but my knees are starting to hurt as I get older (though I'm only 40). Of course, being 300 pounds doesn't help, either!

Anyone else have knee issues? Anything you do that helps while MD'ing?

 

[roaddust66]

I started working out about 5 years ago. I set my goal to lose ONE pound per week. I went from where I felt like a school bus to a lean mean sports car. Man ,I could move Fast ! Then i got busy , quit working out , and I stopped smoking.Then the weight started coming back. Now its back and my knees are killing me. I just cant fall down on the ground and craw around like I used to. So here I go again , starting to work out twice per week , watching what I eat and drink. Cokes and Soda are incredibly bad for you. And now SET My goal of losing one pound per week. it works.I know. get busy !

 

[woody_g]

Man I love metal detecting, but my knees are starting to hurt as I get older (though I'm only 40). Of course, being 300 pounds doesn't help, either!

Anyone else have knee issues? Anything you do that helps while MD'ing?

had knee surgery and acl earlier this year in the same boat you are 6' 300 pounds gained 20 while recouping from surgery.i work on my feet 8-12 hours a day found a brace at walmart that helps quite a bit but the big thing detecting I hunt for relics with long handled shovel like a predator brand.heck if I got down on my knees can't get up without something to push up with these are great for digging prying rocks you name it well worth the money.like I said I hunt relics in areas where no one gets upset over using long handled shovel like at a park. good luck hh

 

[sask hunter]

Iam 45 now and had a total knee replacement when I was 32 and now it is worn out
And no dr around where I live wants to even look at it!! Of course i on heavy pain meds wich are a double edge sword sort of speak ! I understand your pain

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Normsel]

Sandman sorry to hear about your medical issues. I too had medication conflicts and it can be pretty darn serious. I was on a lot of medication after a stroke and seizures and the medication was so high I almost had another stroke. Lucky for me I am med free now. Even after cancer I am doing pretty well. Twice in 5 years I almost died, 1st with the stroke and then the cancer that disabled me for 2 years.

At 69 I am not as spry as i once was but still able to detect almost on a daily basis. I spend as much time looking for new places and i do detecting.

I heard showering with ones detectors is great therapy...lol

 

[gerryk]

Sandman, 72? Not bad, I hope I make it that far. I am hoping with retirement right around the corner, i can be more active, exercise some more and hope the reduced stress will help me. I know stress raises bold pressure and has also caused me to stress eat some. All I need is to lose a few pounds and then i will begin to feel better. Once that happens the uphill battle seems more like a hill not a mountain.

 

[scotty544]

I have had three knee surgeries on the same knee and I to am 40 yrs old. Started meloxicam about two months ago. IT WORKS! now my knee feels much better and so does my back and neck. You cant take it indefintley though, you have to rotate on and off of it. It will cause kidney damage if you are on it too long

 

[IBdiggin]

Start walking every day. I walk even on days I go detecting. After you are able to get up to a mile in 20 minutes, surrounding joint muscle will help reinforce the joints and you wont believe your stamina. I went from 345# at age 63 to 280 at 65 and still going. Lose your weight slowly and make it a lifestyle not a diet. Walking also programs your mind to be on a healthier goal. Raise your heart rate for at least 20 minutes every day. ----HH

 

[BC1969]

Hey I feel you on that I am close to your age and recently over the least few months my knees went from feeling fine to severe near constant pain and I have no idea why, I am a big guy like yourself, I used to be 575lbs but I lost most of that over a 20 month period and am now 280lbs, which is really close to my ideal weight since I am 6'10" tall on a huge frame, maybe losing so much weight over such a short period caused arthritis to set in I don't know.
I ate nothing but boiled cabbage for them 20 months due to sickness, which I had found out was my gallbladder and they removed it, fine now.
I see you are also in michigan, that alone can kill the knees with the crazy weather changes we have lol.
What helps me the most was I went and bought the best kneepads I could find and modified them further, took a memory foam pillow and cut pieces from it and glued to the inside of the pads, its like kneeling on a cloud now.

Mike

 

[gerryk]

Hey I feel you on that I am close to your age and recently over the least few months my knees went from feeling fine to severe near constant pain and I have no idea why, I am a big guy like yourself, I used to be 575lbs but I lost most of that over a 20 month period and am now 280lbs, which is really close to my ideal weight since I am 6'10" tall on a huge frame, maybe losing so much weight over such a short period caused arthritis to set in I don't know. I ate nothing but boiled cabbage for them 20 months due to sickness, which I had found out was my gallbladder and they removed it, fine now. I see you are also in michigan, that alone can kill the knees with the crazy weather changes we have lol. What helps me the most was I went and bought the best kneepads I could find and modified them further, took a memory foam pillow and cut pieces from it and glued to the inside of the pads, its like kneeling on a cloud now. Mike

I got gel knee pads at the local Home Depot and also found them at harbor freight on sale for ten bucks. When i kneel down it actually feels good and I dont look forward to standing back up.

 

[gerryk]

Start walking every day. I walk even on days I go detecting. After you are able to get up to a mile in 20 minutes, surrounding joint muscle will help reinforce the joints and you wont believe your stamina. I went from 345# at age 63 to 280 at 65 and still going. Lose your weight slowly and make it a lifestyle not a diet. Walking also programs your mind to be on a healthier goal. Raise your heart rate for at least 20 minutes every day. ----HH

Weight and exercise such as walking are a huge part of being fit and losing weight. I had weighed almost 250 which wasnt bad for me, 6' big build. In fact most people thought i was about 200. I got a gator aid squirt bottle kept that filled with i we after all day, started walking and did at least four miles a day and when i started feeling better and lost some weight added in the bicycle. Eventually i added in some weight training. Eventually an injury and stress did me in and i gained it back. I did use a pedometer and made sure I had at least ten thousand steps a day minimum, but i usually had about 20k steps a day which is a little over ten miles for me.

 

[Normsel]

gerryk believe me once you don't have to work much of your stress will be gone. When one can go metal detecting anytime you want it becomes more addicting. I would guess on an average 3-4 hour hunt I get up and down now less than 75 - 100 times. I get these numbers not counting trash from my daily coin log. I don't pass on pennies even if I am tired of digging them. I average 20 to 30 pennies on most hunts.

You should get plenty of exercise detecting when you retire. after i retired 90% of my stress left.

 

[gerryk]

Norm, i am hoping a lot of the stress going away once i retire. I have 14 months left until that date but trying my best. Today i am going back tot he gym and taking my son with. Now that youth football is over he can bulk up and not worry about weight, so he begins weight training today and i will be with him working out lightly and walking.

 

[DixieLandMan]

I have bad knees too but I just try to take it slow and easy. I don't like using the knee pads though.

 

[Ronzie]

Best advice is what I did. I was always big into playing sports. Hockey, karate and mountain biking were my biggest. Then I started doing long haul trucking and physically started falling about. After several years of that I weighed 260lbs. I was breathing heavy going up a flight of stairs.
As soon as I quit long haul I went out and bought a Bowflex and a high end elliptical and within 8 months I went down to 190lbs and turned into a fitness addict.
I also got back into sports and an now a 2nd Dan in Tsuruoka karate, race mountain bikes competitively and do crossfit workouts.
It's now 8 years later and I'm 48 and still keeping my body fat under 10%. I feel amazing and never want to go back to my old self.
One step at a time as it's a long term commitment and you have to want to change. Surround yourself with positive helpful people and some type of martial art does wonders not only to your body, but to your mind.

 

[Prestigitation Digger]

Lose weight with exercise and proper eating first. You may damage yourself. Or get a family member to dig for you but that kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[Hookedondetecting]

I have bad knees too but I just try to take it slow and easy. I don't like using the knee pads though.

I carry one of the foam rubber seat cushions that they sell hunters. Light to carry and water proof. Drop it on ground and kneel on that. I also got an $8 dollar miniature half shovel from Wal-Mart. I can dig with that or use it as a booster to help me get up.

 

[snokid]

I have a utv and had an accident back in august both my knees hit the dash. I'm also overweight. my knees can't support me right now for any length of time.
I still go out everyday. What I do is toss my propointer on the spot where I'm going to dig, then I get down on the ground but I sit on my butt. to get up I roll on my hands and the one knee that doesn't hurt as bad as the other to get up.
I will be darned but I have never let an excuse keep me from doing what I like.

 

[fishguy]

my knee gives me trouble due to an old injury, and what I came up with is I had taken and old maple baseball bat cut a few inches of the end put a neodynium magnet on it and use it to help me get up and down while digging plus having an magnet can always be handy in a trashy site.

 

[gerryk]

Nice idea. A walking stick is always a good idea especially when alone.

 

[smokeythecat]

I also have problems with a lot of meds. so can't do the nsaids. I did manage to do 4 hours of dry land detecting yesterday and three today. Can still walk. Sometimes I think it helps to get out and dig. I can take Tylenol only these days and the doctor gave me something to tune down the nerve reaction because I can't take either the nsaids, steroids, aspirin or glucosamine compounds. I can have Coca Cola, though!