Hi, Have been struggling recently with my knees, especially after lots of hiking. I am tyrying to find anyhting that I can wear whilst sailing that can provide support to my knees to help reduce the severe aching I suffer after a days racing  Does anybody have any advice. Thanks

i normally wear a basic support when doing offshore stuff and used to wear a musto (i think, was a long time ago) neoprene pair for sailing the contender.

ive had to cancel sailing for the rest of this year due to knee and foot ligament injuries!  but when i get back into it i'll be having a closer look at the spinlock knee pads.  not just padding but proper support apparently.  cheapest here

http://www.force4.co.uk/6229/Spinlock--Knee-Pads.html - http://www.force4.co.uk/6229/Spinlock--Knee-Pads.html

although you can buy them direct from spinlock.

alterantives are proper knee supports, there are different types for different problems, be it the inside of your leg, outside, somewhere inbetween, muscular, ligaments, etc etc.  best consult with a gp or sports physio.

best of luck

I looked at most of the knee pads on general sale and the Spinlock ones looked ideal, but thought I would see if anybody else had any other suggestions. 

I had to take three months out last year because of my knees and want to avoid the same this year..  

Dropped Spinlock a line yesterday, as I sail normally sail an OK as well as an Enterprise with my kids and was not sure they would have the flexibility, but they have suggested  they are fine for dinghy sailing.

When I had knee issues a few years ago I wore a neoprene knee support with an exposed patella, that did the trick along with some other general care such as cod liver oil and hitting the gym.

Now I find my knees are fine even after a hard day sailing. I decent pair of hikers might help you as they help reduce fatigue in the upper leg muscles meaning you dont tend to put all the strain through the knee joint.

Just my 2p...from a Laser sailor, probably one of the most physical boats to hike out there (others may disagree).

What boat do you sail? I know from personal knee trouble that there are at least 2 (the ones i have suffered from) very distinct types of knee problems but most others and both of the ones i have suffered from are just a case of building the muscles in your knees. 

My first knee trouble was in oppies when i was about 13... this was caused by the hiking style of the oppy which is a fairly bent leg style, with a fairly narrow gunwhale under your knee joint, rather than on the back of your leg.  This leads to a very powerful seperation force in your knee as well as cutting blood supply to the muscles in your legs.  This eventually becomes very painful.  The muscles in your knee are not really designed to deal with the knee seperating like this, they are much more suited to being compressed such as when you are running or walking etc. So for sailing these muscles need to be extra strong.

My next load of knee trouble came in lasers. This was caused by a bad hiking style but not due to the loss of circulation. The best advice i have found for this is from rooster sailing who have a guide for hiking style, which i will try and find after writing this.

I occasionally wore a knee support that i bought in tesco, I also was in the RYA squads so was given a top sports physio who gave me specific exercises to do to build the muscles in my knees, these were still forming because i was so young so the exercises may not be suitable for a fully developed body.

I still suffer from bad knees from time to time, and a little while without sailing has really changed my knees for the worse because the muscles are shrinking fast.  The 100 will be a real test of my knees in august when it comes!

EDIT- Here is the rooster guide http://www.roostersailing.com/articles/Hiking_Style.html - http://www.roostersailing.com/articles/Hiking_Style.html

My GP sails a laser at our club so he knew exactly what the problem was, he also suggested I took up trapezing

My knee exercises included stuff like sitting on a chair and holding your legs out in front of you without support. it is important to sit bolt upright when doing this or it is pointless. When i was in oppies i could do this for ages but just trying now I am really stuggling to straighten them at all  Most of my knee problems turned out to be caused by flexibility, I had one exercise which was like the one above but you sat on a dining room chair, with another one you had your feet on, and slowly straighten your legs together with a straight back.  I guess that helps build up the flexibility for the leg lift to work at building muscles.

The final exercise was also flexibility based.  it was a simple stretch where you lie flat on your front on the floor. then get someone to support your knee against the floor with one hand and bend your lower leg with gentle pressure and hold it for 10 seconds at a point where you are comfortable but can feel it pulling. 

It was amazing how unflexible i was back then but now i am pretty good. I think I got these exercises because I was also suffering from "growing pains" (yes they do exist) where your bones grow faster than your muscles which can be incredibly painful and magnifies the pain of the knee being seperated by the oppie hiking style.

The key thing here is good technique and this is boat specific so speak to a coach for your class of boat.

I also took the P out of people who wore hikers for years (until I splashed out on some decent ones),now I realise just how key they are.

The bottom line is that if you cannot hold the correct hiking position for the boat you sail you need to strengthen the muscles. If you go to a gym and their PTs are any good they can work out what will work by you demonstrating the position.

I did this and it made a huge difference, the flip side is that you perform better because you are not getting as tired. That is providing you go to a gym.

I do recall that Jon Emmett (who floats around here on occasion) and others recommend pilates/yoga. As I do some yoga positions in my program i can vouch for how effective this could be.

Shame, they look good, it'll be a while before im back into the swing of things anyway so ive got plenty of time to shop around for the ideal support.  The best ones always discintergrate after a bit of abuse on the boat.

My GP gave good advice, although not a sailor himself, had an understanding (unsuprisingly) of what a body is capable of, and i was refered to a specialist for further treatment. After all its a medical problem and so best to see a doctor alongside others.

These type of "supports" are essentially comfort blankets; they provide very little support.

Some may provide a little support for the patella; they DO provide extra warmth and make YOU feel like you have more support for the knee; I sometimes use them to add WARMTH to my knees as they are a bit tired out; but if you get to the point where they are hurting after exercise it is time to consult an expert.

Agreed, but wearing one can just get you through an important series.

My physio always told me that pain in my knee was a sign to stop. Pain in a muscle is usually not so bad because that is natural if you are building muscle.  Any form of sharp pain caused by poor support from your muscles is a sign to stop doing what you are doing.  A support can prevent this. Also keeping your body warm is never a bad thing when suffering from this sort of pain and a support will help this.

I would say that a support should still be worn while sailing for a few months but gym work outside of that without a support should be focused on the important muscle groups in your legs. Thats what I did and it worked for me. 

Obviously hiking style is the most important thing to consider. When I had knee trouble I tightened my toe straps and made sure i used the most efficient hiking style i could. My best lesson came from my old optimist squad coach who was the first person to teach me to hike with your legs in the lulls and your body in the gusts.  Basically meaning you should be aiming to lean back as far as possible all the time but keep your legs as far into the boat as possible while still keeping fully powered up. This seriously reduces the amount of time your leg muscles are doing all the work and allows you to sail for hours and hours without nearly as much pain. So bums in and heads back is the technique to master in marginal hiking conditions. Keeping a good straight back posture is important. (unlike the ones demonstrated by me in a few recent editions of the magazine in my laser!)

Hi,

Gentle cycling on an exercise bike with a low saddle and light resistance is what I would recommend. That's what I do.  I started drawing  my old age pension many moons ago, Also swimming is good. My knees are still pretty painfree but I find my shoulders and neck are getting a bit stiff.

Good luck with your training programme.

djdhi