Fins for damaged knee (Spilt ?)

[chillyinCanada]

Devondiver make fun and/or be insulting all you want, while it is true I don't have the thousands of dives that you have, my Volos stood me in good stead for a few hundred dives. And they were great for my knees and ended muscle cramps. Recently, I decided to replace them and had intended to get another pair but ended up with the X-tremes instead. These are certsinly a firmer fin and I've had a cramp or two but believe they are better in a current. Time will tell as I've got more current dives coming up in Raja Ampat.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Replaced my paddles with splits and ended the leg cramps and both my knees were giving me a lot of grief. The splits solved that and I can do most any kicks with them, Never had problems in current. I do find that I have to stretch out a bit after an hour or so or my knees/ankle still hurt if I am maintaining trim with my knees bent. This age and arthritis thing is a pain in more ways than one. I have found combination of splits and varying kicks helps me a lot.

 

[kwinter]

I'm sorry, but I just can not believe the number of people chiming in about this fin or that fin without having the slightest idea of what is needed. It isn't only about the damage to your knee. It is about the type of fin kick you generally use. Different kicks put different stresses on different parts of the knee. A fin that might reduce stress on the lateral aspect of the knee during a frog kicking motion might actually increase that stress point with a flutter kicking motion. There is no one single fin design that relieves stress on all aspects of the knee during all kicking motions. You have to understand the kinesthesiology and pathology of your knee before you can find a match.

The only recommendation I can make that will let you keep diving, yet absolutely relieve the stress on your entire knee is........ a scooter.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Despite my bad knees and every other darn thing, with the Volos I was able to do frog, quick short stroke longlegged flutter, normal flutter kick, helicopter turns, etc. None of the kicks caused me any knee pain. I'm not suggest the OP doesn't/mayn't need surgery and physio, I'm just saying that in the meantime he could find himself enjoying his dives.

As ever, one of my mantra "just say no to split fins".

 

[DevonDiver]

Devondiver make fun and/or be insulting all you want, while it is true I don't have the thousands of dives that you have, my Volos stood me in good stead for a few hundred dives. And they were great for my knees and ended muscle cramps. Recently, I decided to replace them and had intended to get another pair but ended up with the X-tremes instead. These are certsinly a firmer fin and I've had a cramp or two but believe they are better in a current. Time will tell as I've got more current dives coming up in Raja Ampat.

Fair enough, so what is your experience comparing them with force fins and other specialist designed low-demand/high-output fin designs?

Relatively.. how do they perform?

 

[cb5150]

I've got bad knees also. I switched to Atomic Split Fins and found they ease the pain and are fine for recreational diving. Contrary to what others say, you can frog kick in them if thats your thing. I recently bought a pair of Aqualung X-Shots (not split fins) and absolutely love them. They're also easy on the knees.

For what it's worth I bought a pair of Force Fins off eBay and found them to be them most useless piece of equipment I've ever owned. Wanna buy them??

 

[Whitewatermike]

Try mares volos.

I second the Volos. They are deceptively efficient. You hardly feel them when you kick, yet you get excellent thrust. They are great for bum knees.


[edit] Durability is an issue though, as pointed out by DevonDiver. I put about a 100 dives on mine before the tips started to separate.

 

[tracydr]

OK .. I'll keep a lookout ... but £200 new is way too much for me.

---------- Post added October 28th, 2013 at 09:29 AM ----------

I have had 5 operations on my knee ... 4 were cartilage ops over 15 yr period and then investigation showed bone on bone wear had worn away significant bone off the end of the femur, and my leg was now 27mm out of line. I had a load of MRI scans and a stainless steel insert was carved by laser to make up what is lost and realign the leg.

By rights I should have knee replaced but as only lateral side of joint affected they went 'insert route' .... plus I do watersking, wakeborading, hydrofoiling etc., and those would be impacted by a false knee.
As you show "Dr Tracy" ... if you want the details they are here ....Conformis iForma post-op (in UK)

Again, have you talked to your surgeon about the clunking? From what I can tell, this is a partial knee replacement. They are notorious for loosening. If loose, it will need to be fixed.
Do you have any pain at all?

---------- Post added October 30th, 2013 at 07:39 AM ----------

Didn't have a replacement knee .... had an iForma interpositional device .... my guess is it clunks due to instability in the knee, cruciates not keeping everything tight under load. I do have grade 4 OA on knee (highest rating)

So,you're guessing. You have not asked your surgeon,have you?
Patients like you drive doctors like me crazy! Just go to the doctor and tell him your symptom. Don't make the diagnosis for him,please! That's what he did medical school and orthopedic residency all those years for!

BTW,I have stage 3 Avascular necrosis of both knees with partial collapse of the joints. I also have it in my ankles. Just had surgery on both of the knees to put stem cells from the pelvis into the knees. I'm swimming,doing the rowing machine, doing physical therapy. The most important thing about using any fin with suboptimal knees is conditioning. I use Jet fins and I hope to continue using them. They really work better than splits with my drysuit. They will be going to the pool with me today. People who get cramps or pain when using their fins often get pain because the muscles of their legs aren't strong enough to withstand the forces of finning. Muscles get weak when you have arthritis because you don't use the legs as much because they hurt. The only way to get better is to get in the pool and use your fins. And, bike, row, anything low impact that uses those muscles! Do strength training with weights or bands. See the Physical Therapist if you haven't done so and continue doing the exercises after release.
Stretch! With strengthening,you must also stretch! Core exercises and stretching will help relieve much of the strain from the knee. Take a yoga class if you have never learned proper stretching technique. Really, it will even help your breathing! I can't emphasize enough how important stretching is to knee health!
If I do find that my Jet fins are too much for the knees, I'll get the force fins,because I trust DD's recommendation. Doesn't Dan Volker recommend them,too?
Oh, I am 61" tall and weigh about 140lbs. I'm not a big,strong,muscle bound man. I'm a little, middle-aged woman.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I second the Volos. They are deceptively efficient. You hardly feel them when you kick, yet you get excellent thrust. They are great for bum knees.


[edit] Durability is an issue though, as pointed out by DevonDiver. I put about a 100 dives on mine before the tips started to separate.

Tips started to separate? I've not heard of that. I know the first few runs of the fins when initially entering market had some problems with stress wear at the "pivot" point. I worried about that for a long time but it was never an issue. Probably could have quite a few more dives in my pair but I'd noticed some tiny fissuring beginning. Not knowing if it could become serious I just replaced them. Missed the Volos a lot for the first 30 or so dives but pretty happy with the new fins now.

 

[boulderjohn]

Tips started to separate? I've not heard of that. I know the first few runs of the fins when initially entering market had some problems with stress wear at the "pivot" point. I worried about that for a long time but it was never an issue. Probably could have quite a few more dives in my pair but I'd noticed some tiny fissuring beginning. Not knowing if it could become serious I just replaced them. Missed the Volos a lot for the first 30 or so dives but pretty happy with the new fins now.

I used mine for a number of years before they broke at the pivot point. The shop sent them back to Mares, and Mares sent me a brand new pair at no cost.