"warm" sensation in knee

[Desmond]

Hi , I'm new here and hope someone can give me some good news [ tell me I'm not getting old ] .
4 years ago I used to life heavy weights in the gym , I reached the point of lifting 410kg [ 900lbs] and decided to change to cardio work in case I hurt myself .
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/me/pans4000072.jpg .
I do a lot of hiking and 3 years ago walked 92 km through rough mountain territory with no problems . About a year ago I attempted a walk around "Mount Ruapehu " [ 72km] and did 25 km the first day [ with a 25 kg pack ] , the second day I reached my destination by 3 pm and decided to keep going . After another hour my left knee started hurting though I hadn't twisted it or anything . I kept going and reached a road and hitched a lift to my car .
NOW : this scared me a bit and I haven't done another walk like that since and gave my knee a rest and stopped running . [ for a while after it hurt my knee every time I tried to start running , occasionally if I catch the right position it hurts like crazy , a bit of movement suddenly takes the pain away .
If I pick up something heavy [100kg] and carry ot a distance I get a ''warm" feeling in my left knee [ it has decreased over the last 12 months but still makes me worry ] .
I did some research , did a "detox" , have started drinking a lot more water [ hopefully to flush out my system and started cycling . This all seems to have helped over 2 weeks .
Would anyone say I have actually done permanent damage to my knee and this is it for me for my future of mountaineering ?

[Heidi]

Hi

Without wishing to be rude...how old are you?! You didn't say...other than you hope you aren't too old!

Your knee problems could be caused by one of two things, or a combination of both! Cartilage damage, or athritis. Thats the bad news!

A personal training client of mine recently suffered with very similar symptoms. He had an arthroscopy to remove the flap of torn cartilage, which revealed considerable arthritis and is so now waiting for a knee replacement.

Now, I don't mean to scare you! This may not be the case, but i would definately recommend visiting your Dr who should refer you for an MRI which would show up any cartilage damage and also arthritis to an extent.

Only then can you really make a decision about the best course of action for you.

On the bright side...neither of these injuries are definate reasons for you to hang up your walking boots!
You just may have to be more careful, limit your miles and the difficulty of your walks/climbs. Maybe consider a knee brace to help support the knee.

I hope this helps!

[Desmond]

Thanks , I was 38 when I regularly lifted 340kg at the gym - 4 years ago .
The warm sensation has decreased in "temperature" over the last 6 months and now is just a "lukewarm" reminder when I overdo things .
I had X-rays a few weeks ago and was told that I have extremely good knee joints though it wasn't an mri or anything .
In two weeks I want to walk the famous "tongariro crossing" [18.5km] in New Zealand [ once again ] and also climb Nguarahoe [ mount doom] for some decent photos . I will be wrapping my knee with an elastic support