Injured on week 1!

ferocityturbine

So I'm all excited about finally getting round to C25K, I've got new running shoes fitted for my gait in a running shop, custom insoles, I've watched videos on form and ensured my stride length is short and I'm hitting the ground with my mid-foot and not heel-striking, I make sure I'm going nice and slow, warming up and resting on my rest days, doing all the right things....

And I injure my knee in week 1 day 3!

Seriously? I can't even walk without pain now, let alone run. It's so frustrating! All posts/articles about injuries talk about the wrong shoes and doing too much too soon. I can't believe as a young, fit person with no joint issues I could throw myself out of the game on week 1. I'm so disappointed...

This post is mainly just a vent, but has anyone else had similar issues? Why is my body refusing point blank to run!?

likitisplit

It sounds like you need to talk to a sports medicine doctor. I'm so sorry this happened to you. You really have done everything right. I hope it's something simple that you can fix with rest/ice etc.

What concerns me is that you HAVE done everything right, so injury points to a possible underlying issue.

pmur

I didn't have this happen during C25K but it happened to me when I started working out after a long break(years). I didn't even attempt to run but started Zumba and the first week my right knee was in agony. I thought I hurt myself. I had proper dance shoes et al but still hurt myself. I went to my gp and she found out that it was not a major issue, just pulled ligaments or muscles due to sudden activity. My trainer at the gym then showed me to use the foam roller to help my knees after each work out session. I was in pain for a month. After each session, I would promise myself I was quitting but I used the foam roller and came back in a couple of days to get killed. A month later, the pain was completely gone. Get checked out by the doc first but do try the foam roller if your doc rules out major injury.

ferocityturbine

Thanks for the responses. I'm a physiotherapy student and we're actually studying knee injuries at the moment so I'll be interested to get a good brainstorm of ideas (and hopefully the sound clinical opinion of my lecturer) on what could've happened when I go in tomorrow.

I guess it's the best environment to be in. My knee will now be used as a case study as a room full of students have a go at assessing the cause and I can hopefully get some good advice on what to do next.

I'd rather have a knee that helped me run rather than helped me learn though!

likitisplit

Hopefully you have one that lets you do both! I'll be thinking about you.

velocityc6

Good luck with your recovery.

fitplease

Were you stretching after your run? Sometimes the IT band can get tight and cause knee pain. Do check with your doctor to find out your issue. I do mention this because I thought I had a bad knee for years until someone pointed out to me that I just needed PT to loosen the IT band and then to make sure I stretch properly and use a foam roller to help keep it from getting too tight.

ferocityturbine

UPDATE: The knee is all good after a couple of weeks of rest and I've just completed week 2 pain free

I thought I'd post an update in case anyone else experiences similar issues:

Running shoes will correct your pronation and apparently prevent injuries. However, they will also affect the biomechanics of your whole lower limb and even your spine. This is a good thing for a lot of people, but in some in can cause problems higher up the chain as your body is manipulated into moving in a way it is not used to. I have a lot of rotation in my knees and correcting my pronation 'untwisted' my knee alignment somewhat, and putting force through an alignment that your body is not used to can result in pain and injury.

Source: advice of my physio lecturers.

I took a break from C25K and started wearing my running shoes to walk in each day which got my knees used to their new alignment before putting force through them by running again. Voila, no pain

likitisplit

That is true. Absolutely true.

And I'm happy to tears that you are able to run pain-free. GREAT JOB in staying motivated and getting past this hurdle. You had an awesome reason to quit and you pushed through it. That is winning.

hoyalawya2003

Yeah! Glad you figured it out and got back on track!