leg and knee pain

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Kristina1

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Joined
Jan 26, 2017
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822
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
03/2017
Country
US
State
MA
City
Grafton
My legs hurt all the time, especially all right around my knee caps- I think the little muscles right around the knee are stiff and sore but my baclofen doesn't help it. I try to shift from bent to straight knee to pillow under knees it just hurts all the time. Massage and heat help some. anything else I can do?
 
In addition to massage and heat, I would suggest range of motion exercises and topical creams such as CBD cream, Aspercream, compounded Ibuprofen cream (you can get that from a compounding pharmacy), or prescription Voltaren gel. Bengay might also help. Sometimes acupuncture and/ or a TENS unit might help. I’m hesitant to recommend oral NSAIDS due to gastrointestinal side effects. Gabapentin or Duloxetene (Cymbalta) might also help.
 
Helping your muscles relax more fully during sleep can improve their willingness to behave themselves when you are awake. A low-voltage mattress pad below any slip sheets and overlays, covered with its own mattress pad cover for protection, can help with that. We taped the electrical cord to the hospital bed frame underneath, to avoid pinching.
 
Kristina, have you had any PT? I had a tight IT band that affected my knees and hips. Use of a roller, massage to the band, and stretching helped immensely.
 
My joints hurt, too. My leg was contracted so I went to PT and it improved a lot. My leg had just tightened. The things that help my joint pain the most are THC cream, magnesium and magnesium oil. heating pad on low at night and hot showers. I make sure I move the knees a lot so if you are unable to do ROM yourself, get someone to do it several times a day. Valium helps more than anything but that might not be an option for you. My breathing is OK and I don't plan on giving up Valium any time soon. When I play cards and will be sitting in one position for a couple of hours I take 1/4 Oxy.

I recently started taking collagen peptides. It made my nails and hair grow like crazy in just one month. I'm upping the dose to see if it'll have any effect on my joints.
 
Thanks for the question and answer. This has just started for me, and my GP calling in a prescription for Lyrica. If course, I don't see that mentioned, so now I can see what to try if that doesn't work...
 
PT and ROM exercises, definitely. These can be done in bed lying down, in a wheelchair or recliner.

Lyrica is for nerve pain, not muscle/joint pain, and has its own down sides, so depending on what kind of pain you have, not necessarily top of the list.
 
Lyrica is for nerve pain, not muscle/joint pain, and has its own down sides, so depending on what kind of pain you have, not necessarily top of the list.
Yes, Lyrica is primarily for nerve pain, but like Cymbalta (Duloxetene), it can be useful for non inflammatory chronic musculoskeletal pain. For example, both Lyrica and Cymbalta are used for fibromyalgia pain with variable results.

in some patients with chronic pain, we end up throwing the kitchen sink at them which includes all the previously mentioned modalities, NSAIDS, and antidepressants. Opioids are useful in certain circumstances but have their own issues. Unfortunately chronic pain management is imperfect and has along way to go.
 
Neurontin has also helped some people. It did help me with lower leg pain but made me sleep too much and feel depressed. I was only taking 100-200 mg per night but I've known people to take 600 mg three times a day.
 
I started the Lyrica last night, and it was a big difference this morning.
 
Neurontin (gabapentin) and Lyrica are cousins. Lyrica was launched as a response to the expiration of the Neurontin patent. So just a reminder to never take both!
 
thanks for all the replies <3
 
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