Runners knee healing-how to move forward

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abungay
abungay Posts: 85 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, so a little over two weeks ago I went too hard too fast for my first long run of the season. I've been suffering with knee pain since. I have been walking instead of running the last two weeks.

I am feeling much better this week. I am going to continue to walk the rest of this week, to make sure I am healing properly. I have only been walking a 3km loop.

So next week, is it better to:
Start running my 3km loop? Or
Keep walking but do 4km instead of 3?


I just don't want to put myself back more by trying to get back out there too fast aftery injury. Any feedback would be helpful, thank you ☺️

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    If you feel well enough to start running I'd suggest taking a very cautious approach and start off with a run/walk workout. Maybe walk 1 km to warm up, run 1 km slowly, then walk 1 km to cool down. Do that a could of times and then if everything feels right walk .5 km, run 2 at a gentle pace, and walk .5 to cool down. If you still feel good after doing this a couple of times try running the full 3km at an easy pace and go from there.
  • dmkoenig
    dmkoenig Posts: 299 Member
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    I would alternate easy jog with walking, minute on and off. If you are starting to feel better after a few days, start extending the run time (2:1). Don't overextend your distance.

    My fave site for running injury information is https://runnersconnect.net/. Even though it is a paid site, they offer a lot of free resources without having to give them any credit card info. All their articles are science-based and well researched.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    My personal experience was that if I ran too slow, my gait devolved into a hoppy- jogging type of movement.. and that wreaked havoc with my right knee. In the end, I switched to run (no slower than 10:15 pace) / walk intervals and adjusted those to fit my fitness level. (Running and walking were fine for my knee, but it couldn't handle jogging). Not necessarily your issue, but you may want to pay attention to how your gait changes with speed and how your knee reacts.

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