Runner's Knee????

Have you been warming up properly? Are you increasing your long distance too quickly? I'm only going up a 1/2 mi every week (8.5 mi last week) and am including recover weeks. I've planned my mileage to go up only 4% - 5% each week so that I don't overdo it. What are you doing after the run? I find that sitting in a tub of icewater for 15 min after running helps everything feel better.

I think you should be careful not to overdo it until your knee start improving. I went through some rough times with mine when I first started running and when I was increasing my mileage closer to 10% each week. They still ache a bit towards the end of my long runs, but it goes away after icing and rest.

Good luck -- I hope you feel better.

Hey Bones,
That happened to me 3 weeks ago. It happened on a Wed. I tried to run and couldn't do more than 5 minutes. It took one week and 3 days of complete rest with lots of ice packs (Don't know if the ice did anything) before I could run again. I don't know what caused it or why it went away. But its gone and since then I bought new shoes and it hasn't been back
Tom

Again...and I've only experienced it once but...when was the last time you bought some new shoes? I had the same pain, read somewhere that a pain behind the kneecap is the first sign that your shoes are done for, changed my shoes and the pain was gone within 1-2 days. Was pain free for a week, looked at my old shoes and decided to give them a try again...not more than 20 feet later my knee hurt again.

The up and downstairs pain is just now starting again in my knee and I plan on going out tomorrow to buy new shoes…fyi, it’s been 335 bike miles/105 run miles/50 work days in my current shoes.

As a side note, I changed out shoes about 15 miles before my tri-date...15 miles was enough to break them in.

Without any other history of your running program it's hard to tell if you are overtraining. If you are feeling pain like you describe, chances are that you are overtraining and you need to cut back/rest and let the knee heal. There is no benefit in 'running through' the pain, especially where the knee is concerned.

Judging by the fact that this is your first ever run of 7 miles, I'll assume you are not a long time runner, it seems likely that you have only been running for a short time. A couple points to consider as you decide how to best deal with knee pain....

1. SLOWLY increase weekly distance as you progress - conventional wisdom says by no more than 10% weekly
2. every 3-4 weeks give yourself a recovery week and reduce the amount of running and biking and take some extra rest
3. work on strength training and stretching. the knee (and other joints/tendons) are less likely to become injured if the supporting muscle is strong and flexible. Also, unbalanced strength in the leg can lead to knee problems - make sure you are working anterior and posterior muscle groups
4. work on core strength - glutes and quads, abs and lower back - these seem a bit far from the knee, but I'm starting to really believe that the stronger the core, the better your form, and thus the lower chance of injury
5. shoes - make sure they are right for your run style - go to a running shop and have your run analyzed. consider and ask about insole pads. If your current shoes are old, get new ones. DON'T wear your running shoes for ANYTHING OTHER THAN RUNNING! If at all possible don't bike, walk, cut grass, or go to work in the shoes you run in. This compromises the shoe's ability to absorb the impact of running.
6. try to run in flat areas on lower impact surfaces (e.g. crushed gravel is good, avoid concrete). Stay off roads that are crowned and force you to run leaning to one side.
7. On longer runs, walk regularly, even if only for a few steps. This takes the strain off the knee for a few seconds and provides some relief. Put aside any macho tendency to keep going despite the pain. The time you might lose walking instead of running will be of no consequence.
8. technique - maintain a good vertical posture, head back and chest/belly out. Shorten your stride a little and keep a steady "fast feet" cadence (as opposed to longer strides that place greater strain on your knee and force your foot to land on the heel).
9. slow down. slow down. oh yeah, slow down.

A podiatrist is a runner's best friend. Most of us have some kind of joint/bone imbalance which causes the knee to work out of ideal alignment during walking. Running exacerbates this movement. At one point, I could not run for more than a mile and afterwards couldn't walk down stairs for 2 days. Turns out that one leg is 1/8" longer than the other which means that the knee on the longer leg has to give. With custom orthotics made by my podiatrist to correct this, I've never had a problem since.

S.

I concur, go see a doctor. You need to find out why its happening before you create any long term damage.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I may have just been pushing too hard. I went from 5 to 7 miles pretty quickly plus most of my running is on the streets of Manhattan. Think I'll stick to the gravel track around the resevoir after some rest. I iced it 2x yesterday and have been taking advil every 4 hours, swam this morn w/o using the leg much and the pain has subsided substantially. I'm not going to try to run till next week and even then I will go SLOWLY!!!!

Thanks again,
Mark

In my athletic training experience, I would say you are experiencing patella femoral pain syndrome. Occurs when you push to hard and your knee is not strong enough. I suggest strenghting for your VMO. To do this you need to conentrate on the last 15 to 20 degrees of knee extension. Also, I would only increase your mileage by about 10% a week.

I have had pain just below my knee for about 8 months now (patellar tendonistis) and after 3 Orthopaedic Surgeons, over 5 months of rest, and 5 weeks of PT, it is STILL not better. Please warm up, stretch, run in good running shoes, strenthen your legs, and watch the hills, especially going downhill.

Also, the runner's/jumper's knee strap works to relieve some of the pain but will definately not cure it. You should really get the kind that is more like a large rubberband with straps vs. the kind that is just a band with straps.

By me not following my own it advice has put a complete halt to my training and I think I have actually blown the entire season, if not longer, by not listening to my body.

Be careful.

Tony

Edited by tribesman 2005-03-14 8:45 PM

I recently went to the campus sports doctor regarding some knee pain. They performed Muscle Energy technique on my hips to correct posterior slip and gave me a few more stretches to try out, since then, I went running once, The pain was still there, but its getting better, in the mean-time, Ive just been swimming like a fish trying to keep up my cardio. It didnt start bothering me until I jumped my mileage from about 40 miles a week, to about 70 miles a week over a period of about a month and a half. Good luck w/ it Bones