Treat Your Own Knees: Simple Exercises to Build Strength, Flexibility, Responsiveness and Endurance Paperback – November 11, 2003

My "net" is that if you experience chronic or intermittent knee pain and you have no reason to believe that there is something seriously wrong with your knee(s), like an infection or torn ACL, buy this book, read it, and then perform the simple exercises on the schedule prescribed by author Jim Johnson. I have been doing four basic exercises for almost six (6) weeks now and the pain in my problem (right) knee has almost disappeared. If you follow author Johnson's prescriptions for knee exercises, I hope they will benefit you also.That said, I would also reiterate the author's closing comment: If you don't feel any improvement in your knee pain after doing these exercises for three (3) months, these exercises are not the solution to your knee problem.Since hiking up and then back down part of Barr Trail (the trail to the summit of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs) in 1995, I have experienced periodic pain in my right knee. I attribute the cause of my pain to hiking downhill for about seven miles that day. That was 14 years ago. In the intervening years since that hike, the pain in my right knee has become almost chronic, lasting for several days to several weeks, and is often aggravated after riding my bicycle, hiking or doing other exercise or work that requires extensive knee movement.I had X-rays taken of my right knee in 1999 and the leg examined by an orthopedic specialist. The X-rays did not show any obvious problem(s) and the specialst could not find anything wrong after physically examining my knee. Perhaps an MRI would have revealed something, but I chose not to spend the money for that test then. Fortunately for me, the pain has never been debilitating and it can usually be alleviated by taking ibuprofen. A heating pad also helped.Specifically, the pain I experience is almost always on the right side of my right knee and in the back side of my knee. This spring (April, 2009), I helped plant a number of trees in my neighborhood. After that work, I experienced pain in my right quadricep in addition to the "normal" knee pain I had been experiencing for a number of years.I am now 67 years of age and retired and I would like to stay active by hiking, bicycle riding, ice skating, motorcycling, etc., so I became increasingly concerned that my right knee might ultimately limit my ability to do these kinds of activities. To address my problem, I searched the Internet and found, along with a lot of other interesting information about the causes and sources of knee pain, Jim Johnson's book.The book is short, well-organized, clear in its descriptions and examples - and inexpensive. The author gets immediately to the four (4) attributes our knees must have to function properly, without pain or damage to the knee, and how to help regain or improve the four (4) key attributes. I read the chapters addressing the four attributes required one at a time and started doing a recommended exercise as soon as I completed reading a chapter.The exercises, as described by the author, are:1. Simple2. Quick to do3. Require no special equipment (see two tips of possible benefit below)4. For me, effective.Tip 1. The exercise I chose to strengthen my quadriceps is done every other day. The leg is straightened and the knee is pressed down for five (5) seconds against a pillow folded under the knee or against the floor. The exercise is repeated 30 times. I found it hard to count the 5 seconds ("1000", "1001, ..., "1005") for each repetition and also remember how many repetitions I had completed. To solve my problem, I put 30 nickels (any coin size will do) in a dish next to me. Each time I completed a repetition of the exercise, I tossed a nickel out of the dish until the dish was empty.2. Because each of exercises is timed, I located a handheld stopwatch I bought a couple of years ago at WalMart for about $12.00. I use the stopwatch to time all of the exercises. If you purchase a stopwatch, I recommend one with large numerals and that you can operate easily with one hand. I think the use of a stopwatch lends consistency to the timing of each exercise and also relieves you of having to estimate the 5 seconds or 30 seconds required for each exercise.For the record:1. Age: 67 years2. Weight: 155 (+/- 3-4 pounds)3. Height: 5 feet, 8 inchesI believe I am in reasonably good physical condition. I try to exercise by lifting weights, bicycle riding, hiking, ice skating, etc. on a (more or less) regular basis.

Answering the criticsFirst, let me say that I was having almost constant low-grade pain in my left knee for about five years. Occasionally, I would gently twist my knee by accidentally dragging the ball of my foot on the ground which would result in two or three days of acute knee pain. Getting in and out of the car was a real chore. And sometimes my knee simply felt loose like it might come disassembled. I could feel stuff moving around in there.I bought this book, read it, did exactly what it said, and in about a month I was 95-98% pain free and my knee no longer felt "loose". For more, see my comments under Brian Hurler's 3-Star review. I feel I am qualified to review this book by answering the critics.The complaint is made that the book doesn't discuss specific treatments for specific knee disorders. Johnson spends a lot of words explaining why that's usually not necessary. If you can restore function by strengthening the knee support system, then the specific cause of the pain and disability is irrelevant. Johnson also tells you when you should see a doctor to seek specific diagnosis and treatment.Yes, all of Johnson's recommendations could have been put on one sheet of paper but then the reader might not be motivated to try the suggested regimen because he/she would not understand why those particular exercises were recommended and why they might be effective.One commenter complained that there was nothing about strengthening knees to prepare for playing tennis. The book is for people who have painful knees that need treatment. Nowhere is the book billed as an all-purpose comprehensive preparation for strenuous athletics although I believe the exercises in this book would be a good place to start - They build strength, flexibility, stamina, and proprioception. Then you can find more strenuous exercises that work the same muscles. Get the Men's Health Big Book of Exercise for some ideas.The complaint is made that there are only 4 exercises and those could have been obtained from a good chiropractor or a good PT. One of the things I like about Johnson's books is that he only gives you the minimum of exercises that will do the job. You don't waste your time doing redundant exercises and you don't waste your time doing exercises that haven't been proven to help the problem. It's very efficient. What is the cost of a chiropractor or a PT? And how do you know you have a GOOD one? How do you know if the exercises they give you will be as efficient and effective as these proven ones?One commenter recommends that you hire a personal trainer to train "all your muscles back to good form while using proper positioning to reduce further injury." In my experience, the exercises in this book are explained thoroughly enough that proper form can be executed; the exercises are effective at building the necessary strength and flexibility to reduce or eliminate knee pain; and they are certainly gentle enough that they aren't going to cause further injury.Effective, as advertised, for the problem and efficient of your time - I don't understand the complaints. Personally, I don't want to spend my life exercising or at the gym or at the chiropractor's - I just want to have a pain-free knee.