Achy Knee

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Jan 2012
3:57pm, 23 Jan 2012
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alifrobertson
Fellow Fetchies...

I have been suffering an achy knee since the Christmas holidays which is not quite hindering my running but it's worrying me that if I keep on training it's going to become a big problem. (It started after a 10 mile road run, then a 10 mile orienteering event next day, and a 5km Fartlek session on the third day)

I am an orienteer, so most of my competition running is on rough terrain. I am competing once or twice a week at the moment doing weekend or night events and I find my knee isn't too bad for approx 40 mins each time on this terrain. When I have been training on roads with my running club or on my own I find the pain starts a lot sooner.

I can run through the pain (it never gets so sore I feel the need to stop) but I did cut short a long run on Sat morning to be on the safe side.

The pain is across my right kneecap, as if there is a bruise. If it is aching I can press the sore point on my kneecap (knee bent approx 45° from straight), but it's not easy to locate when straight or fully flexed.

So... should I continue with my 3-4 runs per week, or cut it down? Are there any tricks I can adopt to reduce the pain, or reverse the symptoms.

The major competition season starts in a few weeks time and I don't want to miss much of it!

Thanks for listening...
Jan 2012
4:06pm, 23 Jan 2012
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geordiegirl
That sounds very similar to my poorly knee mine is the patellar tendon (by my fizz diagnosis)

As for what to do she has me reduce my run to where I could run with no pain afterwards (it tended not to hurt running) I don't do a lot of mileage but run most days with the dogs)

Someone more knowledgeable will no doubt be along soon hope it clears up soon
Jan 2012
9:07pm, 24 Jan 2012
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Chocster
hi Ali
sounds similar to what I'm suffering from at the mo. I'm not qualified but can tell you about my experience so far. Hopefully I'm getting somewhere.

Likewise, it's been since end of last year, right knee localised 'bruised' type pain to the middle/inside of the kneecap (patella) aggravated by running hard, sprints especially downhil (which I do a lot of)l . Read a little and I think mine is runners knee or patello femoral pain syndrome (PFPS) . Physio not overly concerned , reckons it could be as a result of the following all of which I'm guilty of

- pelvic (mis)alignment

- hill running
- increased mileage

- changing running style (trying to reduce/remove the heel strike)
- lack of core strength

So I have reduced mileage, am doing more strength exercises, with a focus on quad, hams (squats, lunges etc), cross training on the bike. This seems to be working touchwood. I feel I could carry on running , but if I did it would just continue hurting - this is OK for short runs but I find running with pain for anything over 10 miles really affects my motivation.

Hope this helps and hope you get some improvement soon.
Jan 2012
10:03pm, 24 Jan 2012
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Winniefree
This month's Runners World has some exercises specifically for "runners knee". I've been suffering over the last few weeks, no problem whilst running but very painful as soon as I stop and stairs are impossible for an hour or two. Anyhow I've been doing the RW exercises and have come back from this evening's run pain-free, so something's working. Worth a try.
Jan 2012
8:36am, 25 Jan 2012
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geordiegirl
thanks for the tip on RW having the exercises in, great news in it helping your knee WF. My knee was just like you say (WF) last year, it was incredibly painful to do stairs but running was pain free, these days my knee hurts running but is ok most of the time and stairs no worse than normal walking. Mine is all due to hypermobility causing all kinds of nonsense with my joints, pelvis and tight hip flexors. Such a joy!!

I also started chi running & did a session with an instructor last year, I found that helps an awful lot I was running pain free from May last year until December this year when I slipped and the hip issue started.

I have been trying to increase my core work and do more squats & lunges, but find lunges aggrivates my knee? I have also bought a bike with the aim of doing more cycling to assist the running and to keep my fitness levels up while running miles are reduced, just need to get it out, lol.

I am still hopeful of fixing it and getting back to running without the pain soon.
Jan 2012
10:32am, 30 Jan 2012
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alifrobertson
Chocster - Wow you're physio seems to have suggested causes which exactly match me! Weird?! My physio had got me doing stretches I'd not tried before (Piriformis for example) so maybe my legs are just adjusting to that. Agree that the pain is manageable, but it's not fun on long runs. Thanks for the advice.

Geordiegirl - Struggling to reduce my mileage as I'm only doing about 30k per week anyway, orienteering races tend to be 5-6k, and a lot of other training seems to be tempo runs on roads/trails. I've not looked into Chi-running, what is that? I have tried moving from heel strike to a flatter landing but I've been doing that for months now and it was fine before the Christmas holidays. Thanks, and good luck with your recovery!

Winniefree - Thanks for the heads up, I'll take a trip to ASDA at lunchtime to checkout the magazine. I get pain going upstairs sometimes, never so bad I can't manage, but it's a different pain to the running pain, deeper in the joint, and only when I transfer weight onto the higher knee.

My knee pain hasn't been quite so bad for last couple of sessions, one orienteering race on Wednesday evening, and one Short Speed session on Thursday evening. Fingers crossed it's getting better...
Feb 2012
7:49pm, 16 Feb 2012
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Chocster
I`ve since seen a sports fizz who confirmed the diagnosis and put me on a program of exercises and stretches inc the piriformis. it`s very common in runners he says and the exercises should do the trick. My IT band and front thigh muscles are tight as hell which is a contributing factor, so lots of time on the foam roller. Also no running for the time being. good luck
Oct 2012
11:43am, 12 Oct 2012
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alifrobertson
Sorry I fell off this thread for a while. My knee pain has cleared up I think partly due to the enforced rest I had when my wee girl was born at the beginning of May. Since August I've cranked up the mileage and it's been totally OK so far (not ven crossing fingers I'm so confident). I did make one significant change since August too, I put in Superfeet (blue) insoles to raise my arches. Physio (new one) said my feet were starting to go flat so I'm wearing them on commute to work and in road shoes. So far so good.
Really hope the rest did you good Chocster. :)

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Fellow Fetchies...

I have been suffering an achy knee since the Christmas holidays which is not q...

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