Knee Pain

[lannerjarv]

I have been running now for 9 weeks.
I'm averaging 5.5K twice a week, and then 6-7K every Sunday.

My knee has become increasing sore, on the outside of the cap.
I ice almost every day and am taking an anti-inflammatory.

When I run it doesn't hurt all that much.. it gets a bit sore by about the last .5K but that's it. It does hurt however every am, and if I wear dumb girl shoes. lol

Any suggestions on exercises that can strengthen the knee so it stops hurting? Is it possible that my legs are unbalanced muscle wise which is causing the pain?

I have excellent shoes.. was fitted for them and everything so it's not the shoes.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[neutronnorman]

Re: Knee Pain

Lay-off from running. You might be over-training or you may have a torn meniscus. If the pain lasts for more than a week, go to your doctor. He might suggest an MRI.

Try stationary cycling or just give your body rest. Over-training is the most common cause for athletic injury. Trust me on this one.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

ughhhhh
i'm not over training though.

i'm training to do a 10K.. it's a pretty good program.

my 10K is May 9th.. i really hope that this stupid thing goes away and doesn't end all my weeks of training.

if it helps i've had knee pain from various things my entire life.

[neutronnorman]

Re: Knee Pain

Which anti-inflammatory are you taking, I'm curious.
I lift very heavy weights and suffer from a chronic shoulder injury. Fortunately, after a 4 month lay-off due to a detached retina, It is not bothering me anymore.

I lost 4 months of training, ballooned up to 210 lb and lost my research and semester because of the eye.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

yowza. that is awful!!
i'm taking aleve now.
i was taking ibuprofen.

[liv]

Re: Knee Pain

So does in hurt more to go down hills. I suspect where you are there may be more hills than here?

Strengtening quadriceps is usually a good idea. I try to do lunges but with a bad knee I would not do that. Probably laying down leg raises would work. (Jane Fonda style workouts)

Are you sure about your shoes. If one or both of your feet roll inward or outward (pronate) just a tad when you run that could be hard on your knees.

My recourse would be check the shoes, work on upper leg strength, keep off down hills, and slow down or pause running till it felt better.
I know that when we get into running we do not like to do that.

[neutronnorman]

Re: Knee Pain

I have a friend that needs double knee replacement. She goes to therapy and they have her do leg presses to strengthen her quads.

[neutronnorman]

Re: Knee Pain

P.S.

They have her on a cox 2 inhibitor, Celebrex. But that script stuff.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

i have been laying off the weights lately.. i should probably get back into that.
i get laser focused on something and forget everything else. my obsession with running and atkins has taken over everything else i was doing. lol

i'm going to keep icing, do my runs on flat gravel and get my feet checked. i'm also going to do some medialus muscle strengthening and see if that works.

i think one cause might be because i'm a bit pigeon-toed.. therefore my hips turn in making the medialus weaker than normal.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

wow i just found a FANTASTIC article.
TMUSCLE.com | 18 Tips for Bulletproof Knees

i love the interwebs.

[liv]

Re: Knee Pain

How is it going? Have you tried to run on it again?

(Some impressive muscles in that article )

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

i ran again last night.
we went painfully slow, and only ended up doing 5k.
it felt ok.. but now the pain is up in my IT band area.

today however my knee feels pretty good. i haven't iced all day and it only hurts when i extend it fully. which you should do much of anyways.

i'm thinking its my hips or my feet now. not my ankles. i'm going to get my feet looked at this weekend for orthotics. that will probably do my back a world of good as well.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Knee Pain

update: did 7k yesterday.
my knee was so bad it was hot and screaming by bed time. :-(
during the run however it warmed up and didn't hurt much at all.
today i went to the doctor and i have patella femoral syndrome. to sum it up i have to strengthen my quads and VMO and i should be good to go.

not going to quit running, just going to incorporate more exercise into my weekly regime! which means exercise 7 days a week. lol. not that i'm complaining because if anything it'll just make the weight come off faster.

i'm going to be doing 2 days of aquafit and 2 days of light cardio/weights in the gym.
because both of these are low impact and low intensity, i won't be over training.

i'm actually pretty excited to get back into the pool. last fall i was addicted and was going 4-5 times a week!