What Causes Knee Pain While Walking Down The Stairs?

Posted on Wed, 14 Jan 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 Answered on

Thu, 12 Feb 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been having some knee pain walking down the stairs and hills. Also sometimes my right knee gives when I make a slight turn. Are there any home remedies for this to go away. I have tried knee support bandages which help but gets uncomfortable. What do you advise for this kind of knee problems?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
glucosamine and physical therapy

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question. The knee supports are fine to use when you are going to be walking a lot but not something that is comfortable to wear all the time. The supplement glucosamine is very helpful in building up cartilage in the knee and may give you some relief. It is not a pain pill and you will need to take it for about a month at a dose of 1500 mg daily to notice a result. The other thing that may be very helpful to you is seeing a physical therapist. They can teach you exercises to build up the muscles surrounding the knees to give the joints more support. You can take acetaminophen for pain, it is somewhat safer if only used occasionally than ibuprofen. I hope you get some relief soon.
Thank you for using HCM

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D