Knee Injuries and or Surgery

Ever since my early twenties I have had issues with my knees to put it bluntly, wanting to pop out of joint. Hard to explain if you have never experienced it, but you would get a sharp pain along with the feel of someting moving with a somewhat snapping sensation that often would require extending your leg forcefully and you would feel things return to normal. Like my lower back issues, something I learned to live with, work smarter not harder, and inspite of both issues I was able to run and work my ass off no problem.

With both issues, dynamite to me is slippery footing, as the sudden movement caused by slipping or falling on ice or slippery conditions causes an instinctive uncontrolable reactive movement and thats when things go bad in hurry. As for working, the biggest thing I need to avoid is lifting and twisting at the same time, neither knees nor back can handle it. Perfect example, you will never see me "throw" a square bale because of this. Thats just one example, how I shovel grain, pull grain augers by hand and so on are many more adjustments I have to make. I also never like to kneel down on the ground unless I have too, like to always try to kneel on something, keeps the bend to a minimum and also keeps knees dry as wet and cold equals arthritis...

I completely blew my left knee apart when I would have been about 22, was loading round bales on my b train and and back then I had mobility I don't have no more, I used to park the 4020 close by the hook side if I had a strap that didn't make it all the way over, pull myself up on the forks so I could reach it and pull it down. So I go to do this that one nite and as I pull myself up I swung my left leg back to clear the one fork tooth and ultimately I did so hard enough my leg bent enough that the muscle mass on the backside of my knee worked as fulcrum and literally my knee come apart. Tore the cartilage which folded over and now there I sit and no way at all things are gonna go back in place. I was messed up bad and for the first time it kind of sunk in that even as a youngster we aint  indestructible lol. Even though I could hardly get around, the load of hay had to go and I did get it tied down the next morning using my right foot on the clutch even delivered it. Then went to the Dr. Was several months before I could get in, but had arthroscopic surgery in mid summer, turns out was some bone growth on part of knee joint which had been working as a knife cutting thru the cartilage, which was why things finally blew right apart the way they did. Now that knee has always given some issues since, I try to look after it more so than the other.

Starting this fall, been feeling some unwanted "movement" in my right knee, mostly like it was being twisted apart. So I been taking time and effort not to be lifting or carrying heavy items and such. Slipped on the tractor step a bit ago and pulled something in it, that hurt for a few days but then things back to normal. Then here the other day, was pulling spikes out of rail road ties which were laying the ground, was using a rail road bar to do so, and was just standing there rocking the bar back and forth with the foot under the spike and all was good until the last one. Not even working hard, just flopping the bar back and forth like a reverse hammer under the head of the spike and whammo, what I can best explain as a  charley horse come on instantly and if I hadn't been able to grab hold the Gator I would have went down as I could no longer put weight on my right leg or completely straighten out the knee. Best I can come up with, is my foot must have slipped on the ice and my leg twisted and boom there she went, which seems stupid as I wasn't even moving my legs lol. Of course now I got couple hundred head of cattle to feed...have I mentioned before I'm a tough SOB before lol

With all the kung flu crap going on and past experience with how the Drs deal with such, I really didn't have the time to screw around to have it looked at or anything done. They'd have just told me to go home and sit on my ass, unfortunately thats not an option for me. So yesterday morning I was able to get a really good knee brace from a friend of my brothers and damm that really helped. Just having that brace on enabled me to lose the cane I had to use to walk. I had tried using a crutch but I'm too big and heavy and no I'm not fat lol, that crutch wasn't gonna work, too hard on my arm and shoulder and the fricken thing was bending to boot. The brace I borrowed is actually a post op one which is designed for post surgery or severe injury and gives a lot of support. Which brings me to the jest of all this, anyone else regularly or intermittenly using some form of knee braces or supports? I been thinking about it for a while now of having one on each all the time just to help hold things together. What happened the other day has really showed I gotta do something. The brace I am wearing right now while it works great, its a bit cumbersome I guess you could call it, but it certainly does the job it is intended too. But I would like to find something a bit lighter duty to maybe become part of ones daily dress. 

So now you know my story, and how I deal with things, anyone else been in similar situation and have some experience?
As I say, getting old sucks lol.
This is the brace I am currently using....


www.breg.com/products/knee-bracing/post-op/t-scope-premier-post-op-knee-brace/