One of the things I’m dealing with the most in this sport are knee issues. Since you will spend a lot of time on your knees, it has been really important for me to take care of them. You will find a lot of opinions out there about what works and what doesn’t. You make your own opinion.
For me what is working is:
Icing and resting my knees after a skate
(I don’t do this as much as much as I should)
Supplements: Glucosamine and Fish oil
Gear: Knee gaskets under my knee pads
Fitness: Core, Ankle, and Knee Conditioning.
My list of products that I use and why I like them.
I’m a big fan of these icepacks: MediChoice Reusable GelPack. Latex Free, Non-Toxic, and Made in the USA. They stay cold for 45 minutes and are very pliable. I prop a pillow under my knee wrap the icepack with a bandana and tie it loosely behind my knee and take turns with it off and on every 10 minutes.
www.owens-minor.com
The glucosamine and the fish oil that Im taking are both by Nature Made brand. I purchased mine through Amazon but I’m sure you could find them at a Walgreens, Whole Foods, or any other store that carries vitamins. I’m a fan of Nature Made because they don’t carry artificial colors or ingredients. They are free of filler (yeast and gluten). No preservatives, YAY!
Glucosamine Nature Made TripleFlex
This is a good one to take if you are rough on your joints and derby is very rough. Since it’s a two a day thing, I take it in the morning with breakfast and at night with dinner.
Fish Oil Nature Made
I like the product because I only take one a day and it doesn’t have the fishy taste.
Gear: I use the TSG knee gaskets. I detail my experience with the gaskets in this post: Knee Gasket
Fitness: I do a variety of things besides skating to stay fit. I belong to a gym and attend 1-2 times a week, attend an afternoon bootcamp program, occasional hikes, swimming, and off skates PEP training. Each of these activities have benefits that translate to skating but since the topic we are talking about is knee pain, the biggest thing here to keep your knees healthy is weight control and a strong core. The heavier you are the more impact on the knees and the stronger the core the less impact you will use. Your core muscles will do most of the work of lifting up and down off the knees.