Knee Problem and firefighting....NEED HELP

[Rescue9112002]

Recently i have been experiancing sharp pains in my knee when i kneel down on it. This pain finaly got the best of me so i went to the doctor and had it checked out. He told me that it was an inflamed sensory nerve and that i would just have to live with it indefinitely. Has anyone experianced this problem and what have you done for it. This could really hurt my potential career if i dont get it fixed.

Thanks

[ChiefReason]

Rescue:
I have some experience with knees. I have had 4 surgeries on the left one and 7 surgeries on the right one.
Now, let's see. Did you go to a specialist? Someone who is trained in occupational medicine or orthopedics? If not, you may not have gotten a proper diagnosis. I'm not saying your doctor isn't a good doctor; I'm saying that your pain might be from a torn meniscus or from roughness behind the patella. Have it checked by a trained specialist.
Now, if the pain is to the back of the knee, well, I'll save that until I hear from you.
CR

[Airborne]

Since where on the subject of Fire Fighters and knees, I have a question. Do any of you do anything to help protect your knees? Let's face it, our knees are just as important as our feet. If you can not crawl, then you will not be able to go interior. So what precautions do you all take. Do any of you where knee pads on your knees, do you have any pain immediately checked out by a doctor?

Also have you found over the years that you’re more comfortable crawling on your knees more so then when you first started?

[RyanEMVFD]

year or so ago I bought some kneepads from walmart. they are the wrap around with velco style and have kevlar in them. they've held up very well and so have my knees. I've had numerous knee injuries from high school football so any protection is worth it.

[Airborne]

Do you where them under your bunker pants, I'm assuming that you do but I just wanted to mkae sure, and if you do have you found any reg issues with this.

[RyanEMVFD]

yes i wear them under the bunker pants but over my regular pants or even shorts. the only problem i've noticed with them is that after awhile if i need to pull up my regular pants it's a little hard but beyond that no problems.

[AFD368]

ChiefReason is correct. Get your knee checked by a specialist.
I too have had numerous knee surgeries, resulting in a total knee replacement 2 years ago. I can still pass the interior physical (crawling, climbing, etc), the only thing I can't do is run. I jog a little when I have to, but as for running, its not recommended.

I also bought a pair of mason's knee pads to wear under my bunker gear but have only used them for training (pre-planned). Seems they are not a priority when we get an actual structure fire.

[bpevans]

For a different perspective on knee pain (as well as other parts of the body), check out Pete Egoscue's work. He has a web site at www.egoscue.com that can give you more details and he has an excellent book called "Pain Free" that you might want to check out.

Pete's work centers around keeping your body in functional alignment despite all of the things in today's lifestyle that work to keep us out of alignment (like sitting in front of a computer all day). An aligned body will not suffer from joint and muscle pain or put the body in compromising positions where physical exertion may result in injuries such as bulging discs, soreness, etc.

The exercises have worked for me and are definitely worth checking out for yourself. They offer a variety of therapy options depending on your budget. Like I mentioned above, his book "Pain Free" is a great intro and can relieve a lot of your pain.