My knees are getting seriously sore, and it hurts! They're red, and I'm afraid they're going to turn into pressure sores! My tailbone is blue-grey from me mis-calculating and hitting my tailbone on my clothing/side guards.
Anyway, this post is about my poor sore knees! Does anyone know of a little cushion or cushions that can be strapped/taped there to help? I use Kinesiology tape on my right knee when I work out, so if they are tape-on ones, not a problem! Help, please! I really dont want pressure sores!
P.S. How can I prevent the tailbone bruise from turning into something worse?
Knight lay on your stomach whenever you can. As for your knees, how are they getting bruised? You could try using those knee pads that construction workers use!
Knight lay on your stomach whenever you can. As for your knees, how are they getting bruised? You could try using those knee pads that construction workers use!
It's the insides of them. When i sit, my knees are against each other, and, well, almost-full-time-wheelchair-use means they're against each other all day long, and when my groin muscles spasm, they crush each other. Knee pads wouldn't help because it's not the front of my knees being affected; it's the inside of my knees.
I rarely sleep on my stomach as it is uncomfortable with the way my hardware holds my spine. I gemerally sleep on my side, with a pillow between my knees. The red marks (they're not bruises, they're pressure marks) are from sitting in my wheelchair.
My tailbone is what is bruised (due to a miscalculation mid-transfer), and I plan to stay off of it as much as possible and have been gobbing Calmoseptine on all my sore/bruised spots.
Knight, I'm the queen of cheap... At WalMart, you can buy a closed cell sleeping pad for camping. It is 19" x 72". You can cut one or more pieces to fit your chair cushion, and create a "hole" for your tailbone. Cut the same number and build up your footplate as a temporary match, maintaining seat to footplate measurement. If you use more than one piece, put strips of double-stick carpet tape to hold them together, or stick onto footplate. You can use the straps from this to attach fitted pieces of pad to the insides of each knee, or even better, make a fitted "block" with several pieces and run strap not too tightly around both knees and block. You can buy these, but easy to make. To cut foam, use a ruler with some edge and a box cutter, Exacto knife, etc.--score first, repeat stroke until clean cut through pad, not hard to do.
Try using arnica cream on bruised tailbone--great for healing bruises. You can get it at WalMart pharmacy if you ask at counter--is OTC, but not on shelf for public.
Thats great advice Knight,from wavewolf! At first i was wondering why your knees were sore! Now it makes sense...I cant kneel on a hard floor, the pain in my knees is crazy but my skin is hypersensitive there so i figure thats why.
wavewolf, Thanks! I was eyeing some memory foam the other day too... I'll figure something out maybe next month when I have money. (end of the month=no money left)
Thats great advice Knight,from wavewolf! At first i was wondering why your knees were sore! Now it makes sense...I cant kneel on a hard floor, the pain in my knees is crazy but my skin is hypersensitive there so i figure thats why.
Yet on something cushioned, they are fine......
If you "must" kneel, the best type of knee pads I found were the gel type, which has a certain tackiness that does not slide on hard surfaces but moves sufficiently well over carpets, offers great protection for knees, and is held in place by a flexible silicon band that buttons on. The billows at the top allows you to wear them all day if you need to get up and down a lot, which I did as a wire installer for telephone, computers, and alarms. Even after I had meniscus surgery, I was able to kneel frequently without damage to my knees! I still use them to help me expand my physical therapy options, or to get on floor to clean, or to play "other dog" with my GSD! They are non-marring on floors. Here is a link with a photo: www.homedepot.com/p/Dead-On-Tools-Professional-Gel-Flexible-Knee-Pads-HDP223155/202311421
Last week, I was asked to give an estimate on a wire run for a home office (computers, phone, and CCTV). Business owner thought contractors were trying to rip him off, and that paying me a bit for estimate would give him bargaining power and help him decide how to order the job. My ideas were so radically different that he asked me if I could do the job, or oversee a worker--haven't done that in 6 years! I told the man that I would "take forever" if I tried to do it, but since I love this work, I decided to try. I warned him that I would need him to place the ladder and lay boards in the attic for me to slide or crawl on--didn't want to fall through his ceiling and make more work!!! I actually completed the job in two days by working smart, and he gave me a lovely bonus on top of good pay. I programmed everything to work together and felt happier than I have been in a long time just doing desk work besides very occasional performing as a musician. And I felt pretty good the next day, just a few sore muscles that hadn't been used in 6 years! Wore my knee pads over my braces. Managed not to break my braces on the ladder, as I had once before. I love to climb and it felt really good, even if I had to lift my leg for each step.
wavewolf, Thanks! I was eyeing some memory foam the other day too... I'll figure something out maybe next month when I have money. (end of the month=no money left)
I found that memory foam seat cushion makes my skin too hot. However, a good pre-made cushion, and one of the more reasonable ones, is this: www.astarhealth.com/asdrcocu.html Ask for the firm cushion, and it will be far more durable (advice of manufacturer). I use this in my car, when I play in orchestra, and also when I transfer to a hard seat at someone's house.
You could probably make a small cushion to put between your knees, or get one of those small travel pillows, or buy this: www.astarhealth.com/asdrthpi.html, and then put loose strap (leather belt is comfortable and easy to use) around legs or make "seat belt" for chair (strapworks.com). Yeah, I'm the queen of cheap!
Doesn't worry me wavewolf, I'm used to it now, the only problem is my left calf rubs on my chair, but I'm very aware of that so I watch it like a Hawke. They gave me a strap with Velcro on it to keep my knees togeather but I think I wore it maybe twice.
Doesn't worry me wavewolf, I'm used to it now, the only problem is my left calf rubs on my chair, but I'm very aware of that so I watch it like a Hawke. They gave me a strap with Velcro on it to keep my knees togeather but I think I wore it maybe twice.
I am so fortunate that on of the securing bands on my braces is exactly where my legs touch the chair, and so they are protected!
I dont really need to kneel but i dropped a glass on the floor and didnt want my dog to step on it. I couldnt get all the bits up so thought i would attempt kneeling but then the pain was so bad..Plus i couldnt get up then either