Anyone else had "runner's knee"?

CDXJade

Hi all,

So I've run a couple of half marathons in the past. First one, I had quite bad pain in my right knee, but managed to get round with the help of some strapping. Second one, no problems, and I got a decent time.

Recently, after about 6-12 months with no running, I started up again to help get in shape (and because I missed running in general, especially in cool autumn months) - everything was going fine, but in week 3, after a routine 3.5 km I was feeling sore in my knee after finishing. For the following week that knee has been stiff as hell, and pain walking down the stairs, and when I've been lying still for too long.

I *think* my problem is patellofemoral pain/ runners knee, given the pain is all around the kneecap and the symptoms fit. I'm planning on resting it for a few weeks and maybe doing exercises at home to strengthen my muscles.

Any advice on time scales and which exercises would be good for building up my quads and hips? Care to share your experience with this injury? I just hope it's not a chronic thing, as I couldn't give up my morning jogs

Ta

mgalovic01

If you have a gym membership you can try the quad and ham machines. Otherwise, you can bring your foot up and down by bending your knee while in a seated position to rehab the knee. When running, try to land more-so on your toes. This will cause your calf to absorb more impact, and take stress off your knee. Your calves are going to get sore, but your joints will thank you.

Joanna2012B

Agree with landing of your foot. Even if you can land midfoot to toe rather than heel to toe. How old are your shoes? I just replaced mine and the pain in my knee is gone.

Squats are one of the best Quad exercise. Also, jump rope, this will help with the calves and also your form. I jump rope at least 3 times a week, not only because I LOVE IT, but also because it enhances my running.

NorthCascades

A lot of people injure themselves as runners, then go on to lead long, productive, happy lives as cyclists.

BrianSharpe

Surprisingly many cases of runners knee are a result of weak hips / glutes

triathlete.com/2015/08/training/runners-knee-treatment-recovery-and-exercises_72793


runnersworld.com/newswire/to-relieve-runners-knee-strengthen-your-hips

...and forget the machines, do squats and lunges. Machines limit your range of motion and don't strengthen smaller stabilizer muscles. As to running form, shorten your stride but employ a natural gait, running does not put undue stress on otherwise healthy knees (I can only assume the above poster doesn't actually run....)

RoxieDawn

Get an ortho to look at it..

RoxieDawn

Get an ortho to look at it..

AnnyisOK

What Roxie said. I had it when I first started running but haven't had that problem since. I did develop Achilles tendonitis though...after seeing a a doc and a month of taking it easy I'm finally on the mend.

canadianlbs

CDXJade wrote: »

Care to share your experience with this injury?

disclaimer: i'm absolutely not a runner. but i've tried a few times and usually felt like i'd ruined my knees.

if your quads are strong enough to be hurting your knees, doesn't sound to me like they need more strengthening. that's just been my experience the few times that i tried to run [and it's assuming your stuff is caused by the same stuff as mine. which may not be true].

vicious amounts of hip flexor stretching especially to rector femoris seemed like it helped me the most with getting mine back to normal. and glute/hamstring work. mostly when my knees freak out it's because that rf muscle is too tight over the kneecap, which causes the pressure and pain.

MeanderingMammal

CDXJade wrote: »

I *think* my problem is patellofemoral pain/ runners knee, given the pain is all around the kneecap and the symptoms fit. I'm planning on resting it for a few weeks and maybe doing exercises at home to strengthen my muscles.

See a physio. You've got some good advice in this thread, and some bad advice. You have no way of determining which is which.

There are a wide range of conditions that can lead to knee pain, and some treatments are appropriate to one but contraindicated for others. You could easily make the problem worse by picking the wrong one.

To illustrate, I have had Illiotibial Band Syndrome, which is significantly improved by cycling and rowing. If you use cycling and rowing as cross training opportunities for other conditions, you'll make them worse. fwiw when I did have ITBS it took about six weeks to recover. I'd follishly run the back half of a half marathon with the injury and could barely walk by the end.

CDXJade

mgalovic01 wrote: »

If you have a gym membership you can try the quad and ham machines. Otherwise, you can bring your foot up and down by bending your knee while in a seated position to rehab the knee. When running, try to land more-so on your toes. This will cause your calf to absorb more impact, and take stress off your knee. Your calves are going to get sore, but your joints will thank you.

Joanna2012B wrote: »

Agree with landing of your foot. Even if you can land midfoot to toe rather than heel to toe. How old are your shoes? I just replaced mine and the pain in my knee is gone.

Squats are one of the best Quad exercise. Also, jump rope, this will help with the calves and also your form. I jump rope at least 3 times a week, not only because I LOVE IT, but also because it enhances my running.

Thanks for the input! The foot landing thing is interesting, as I probably do land more on the heel than the sole. My shoes aren't that old but I'll consider changing them.

Jump rope- YAY- I have to admit that sounds like the most fun workout

CDXJade

AnnyisOK wrote: »

What Roxie said. I had it when I first started running but haven't had that problem since. I did develop Achilles tendonitis though...after seeing a a doc and a month of taking it easy I'm finally on the mend.

For me, doctor is always a last resort. Man I hate the waiting and the being poked. But if it doesn't improve I will do that to try and salvage my running career lol

mgalovic01

Just be careful when changing your stride. It's going to take a little time to get used to it. Devote some attention to how you land, and make sure it feels stable. Try to stay light on your feet, and buckle if you roll your ankle to reduce injury.

MeanderingMammal

CDXJade wrote: »

The foot landing thing is interesting, as I probably do land more on the heel than the sole.

It's probably irrelevant though. The evidence around foot placement is contradictory and inconclusive, and more applies to lower leg than knee. There is some evidence to suggest that intentionally changing foot placement can lead to alternative injuries, rather than fewer.

I'd reinforce the suggestion of seeing a physio, rather than a doctor. Many primary health physicians don't ahve good, current, knowledge of sports injuries and physiotherapy treatment. If you can go straight to a Physio now, then do it.

Bluntly, it's a month off now and some physiotherapy, or it's months off later with the risk of surgical treatment.

Maurieawest

I got runners knee last year from upping my mileage to quickly. It sucked, finally went to get PT from a MD. He did some laser treatment for the pain but the rehab mostly consisted of 2 exercises. 1. eccentric decline squats for the affected leg (I did not buy a board, I just used some 2x4's laying around) 2. Leg raises but with the toes facing out. I did these everyday and made a conscious effort to stretch more and I saw improvements within a couple weeks. A year later its all good. I've done several events this year with zero knee pain and even just did my first marathon (50k ultra) pain free although undertrained (everything else hurt though, haha) And I also tried to become more conscious of my stride as in having my feet strike under me as opposed to in front of me.

CDXJade

mgalovic01 wrote: »

Just be careful when changing your stride. It's going to take a little time to get used to it. Devote some attention to how you land, and make sure it feels stable. Try to stay light on your feet, and buckle if you roll your ankle to reduce injury.

Yeah I read an interesting blog post on 'smash run', she said you should practice 'creeping runs' as if you're chasing someone in front of you with light steps so they can't hear.

mgalovic01

CDXJade wrote: »

mgalovic01 wrote: »

Yeah I read an interesting blog post on 'smash run', she said you should practice 'creeping runs' as if you're chasing someone in front of you with light steps so they can't hear.

Stealthy. It reminds me of how Jim Carey walked as the Grinch. It would be funny seeing someone running down the street like that.

CDXJade

I don't care how I look when running

apullum

I developed severe knee pain when I first started running, and occasionally still have trouble with that knee if I don't take care of it properly. Your symptoms sound pretty similar. Here's what I did, which is all basically RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation):

- Went to my GP, who sent me to an ortho, who did an MRI on the knee. My kneecap was tracking incorrectly and rubbing on a tendon, which was causing the pain.
- Physical therapy, which was mostly exercises to strengthen my quads and hips, pretty much everything on this page: https://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/the-top-5-hip-strengthening-exercises-for-runners-to-prevent-injury-and-improve-hip-drive/
- Ice to bring down the swelling. I now preemptively ice the knee if I have even the slightest sense that there's something wrong.
- KT tape; I use an application for patellar tracking, but of course you want one that targets your particular injury/area of pain.
- New running shoes, because I was a newbie runner who hadn't gotten fitted properly for shoes.
- I stopped running for a long time, probably longer than I really needed to, because I was afraid of getting reinjured. However, you probably do need time to rest and heal.
- Compression tights that help support the knee. There are mixed opinions on whether these help or not, but my knee hurts when I don't run in them and doesn't hurt when I do, so I'm a believer. I also have a compression sleeve that I wear if the knee starts giving me problems.
- Foam rolling the quad/IT band. Odds are good that if my knee starts hurting now, it means I'm overdue for a date with my foam roller. But I needed to do all of those other things--getting it checked out by an ortho, doing strengthening exercises, etc.--before I got to this point.

AnnyisOK

CDXJade wrote: »

AnnyisOK wrote: »

What Roxie said. I had it when I first started running but haven't had that problem since. I did develop Achilles tendonitis though...after seeing a a doc and a month of taking it easy I'm finally on the mend.

For me, doctor is always a last resort. Man I hate the waiting and the being poked. But if it doesn't improve I will do that to try and salvage my running career lol

It was mine, too. I went in for my annual physical and brought it up to my doc because well...he's always saying I give him nothing to do. lol Pretty much just told me to take it easy for a bit, but he's also a runner.

The Achilles tendonitis I had to see a specialist for after putting it off for several months and having pain off and on and basically messing with the progression of my training. As it happened, that doc is also a runner. lol So he understood the inconvenience.