Let's say you couldn't stress your knee

[HyzerUniBomber]

^^^^ Congrats on dropping the weight! Bummer on the knees, but it sounds like you're still having fun... and to steal a quote from Alex Lowe, "The best climber in the world is the one having the most fun."

Keep after it young man!

 

[daleh2013]

Part of the fun is the learning and the improvement that comes with it. Just have to stay hungry.... I'll be playing as much as possible this year and after the knee rebuild/replacement will do what it takes to rehab so I can stay in the game.

 

[IVER]

Psssss....The record for a roller is over 2500'......pssssss......that is almost a 1/2 mile, bucko!
I am 70 and plan to work on my rollers (from a wheel chair when it comes to that). Us old guys are wise because we were once young and foolish.

 

[IVER]

By the way, every 1 lb. of body weight puts 6 lbs. of stress on the knees. Can you say, "Slimfast"?

 

[daleh2013]

Well, I've gone from 280 down to 248 since January so that's like 192 lbs of force reduction so far and want to drop about 20 more. Power lifting days are long gone. But, damage has been done and will be getting all of it repaired and/or replaced in the coming months.

 

[daleh2013]

If anyone that followed this thread and is interested here's a quickie update. As of today 40 lbs. lost since January. that has really changed my throw. Knee thing is still on...left meniscus repair in September, right total replacement in November. Trying to do some drills to retrain myself and keep throwing til September. Doing three drills....Sidewinder's One Leg Drill, HUB's Water Bottle Drill and Bradley Walker's Closed Shoulder Snap Drill. I'm actually playing this way and have quit doing any sort of runup at least for this season. I will reincorporate it when I'm all healed; probably 2017. Then, I will work on a double pivot using both left and right legs to get the turn and lessen the torque. So, I'd like to thank all for the thoughts and particularly Sidewinder and HUB for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[TheBeardedFatGuy]

49 years old here, and I've had to deal with some knee issues now and then.

1. Listen to your body. Jonesing to play shouldn't count as much to anybody as possibly inuring yourself badly. When something hurts, lay off stressing it for a while. Ice as frequently as possible to reduce swelling and see if you can identify the cause. (I had a hamstring issue I tracked to how I was sitting at work - eliminated the cause and it got better.)

2. Video your drive and see what exactly you're putting your knee through. The best technique for the plant leg is rotating on the heel, not the toe, with the leg straight. This minimizes torque on the knee.

3. Try a brace to minimize knee movement.

4. Use stairs much? Try taking the elevator for a while. Using stairs, especially going downstairs, puts as much as 5x your weight strain on your knees with each step. I resisted this since stairs at work were part of my incidental exercise, but they can definitely irritate the knees.

5. A stand still throw, while not optimal for distance, is easier on the knees and usually increases accuracy. Us old guys sometimes beat the young bucks through accuracy.

Good luck.

 

[DavidSauls]

Standstill throws are much harder on my front knee, probably because there's less follow-through. I step into throws even in the 100-150' range, when I could standstill.

 

[sidewinder22]

Standstill throws are much harder on my front knee, probably because there's less follow-through. I step into throws even in the 100-150' range, when I could standstill.

Follow through is pretty much the same for me in standstill or x-step. I'd venture a guess that you are not getting balanced forward enough. If you are 100% balanced forward the momentum of the swing will automatically and effortlessly pull you and pivot you through into the finish. If you just stand up on one leg in front of your computer and swing your arm, you should be able to pivot on your heel with ease and no torque on the knee by straightening(not locking out) it just a little from a slightly flexed balanced position. It's almost weightless/jumping.

What I see a lot of players do instead is collapse the knee through impact sending their weight crashing down on it - ouch! Been there done that, tore my MCL. The other extreme is locking out the front knee which is not good either.

 

[DavidSauls]

You're probably right. Easier with a step and a little momentum. At least, for me.

 

[IVER]

Regarding shoes: I own a Dancewear store and, with bad knees, have been wearing what are called 'jazz shoes" for golf. They are made for turning and do not 'stick' to the floor like other athletic shoes. One has to be careful on wet/ muddy hills but the trade off is worth it for bad knees. Just to pre-empt your thoughts, No, I don't wear my tutu on the course.

 

[wolfmandragon]

good video. This is making me think I am doing so things wrong