Running with knee pain.

lace0211

I was just wondering if anyone else had the same knee problems as me. Every time I go running or hiking or put to much work into my knee I end up with excruciating pain. I can't bent it in anyway and in a matter of hours it ends up swollen. I do remember in High School I always had problems in sports. It's been along time with this problem and I don't like it! I want to be able to just go running or hiking with no problems. I have made I doctors appointment to find out some answers but figured it wouldn't hurt to get some insight on it from my fellow MFP's. Thanks! :bigsmile:

purple_punk

My doctor said i have loose patella thats why my knees hurt when i do high impact exercises, i was told not to jog and stuff but i just wear patella support around my knees and its really helped me

LoganScottsMom

bump. I'm interested too.

cjzoller

Back to Goleanwendy's question.. Where is the knee pain? It could be a number of things, some are fairly easy to resolve.

sleepytexan

DON'T run with pain. I suggest a chiropractor instead of an MD. An MD will prescribe drugs and tell you to quit exercising for x number of weeks. A chiropractor will adjust you into alignment, relieve the pain immediately without drugs, and instruct you on HOW to exercise without pain.

Sometimes running is bad. I am a spin instructor and a cyclist, and my classes are full of ex-runners who decided to stop abusing their knees.

Good luck.

rbryntes

Depending on where your knee pain is..

I started C25K and after three weeks could not walk at all. Both knees had this problem. The doctor said it was overuse and I haven't been able to work out at all in three weeks, I'm just getting back to being able to walk without a limp. SO pay attention.

deathstarclock

DON'T run with pain. I suggest a chiropractor instead of an MD. An MD will prescribe drugs and tell you to quit exercising for x number of weeks. A chiropractor will adjust you into alignment, relieve the pain immediately without drugs, and instruct you on HOW to exercise without pain.

Sometimes running is bad. I am a spin instructor and a cyclist, and my classes are full of ex-runners who decided to stop abusing their knees.

Good luck.

Sound advice, finally.

lace0211

It is mostly on the left side of my left knee. I went hiking last Saturday and I ended up with the pain shooting up to my hip.. My husband tells me I am just getting old :laugh:

u2fergus

I'm pretty heavy, so I usually get some knee pain when I do anything that requires a lot of bending, squatting, jumping, or other unusual stress on the joints, and I have learned to do everything possible to minimize the strain (supplements, proper stretching before and after, wearing decent shoes) and to recognize my limits. This seems to me to be a good balance. However, when you say your knee pain is excruciating... that really makes me think that there is something worse going on with your knee than just the average strain of running/walking when you're heavy, and I really do think that you should consult your doctor before you do any more of this type of exercise. You could do some serious damage, if there's a real problem. Maybe you could try walking on flat ground for the time being? I know it's disappointing to have knee pain stop you from doing what you love (it kept me from things for years), but you just do NOT want to mess around with knee injuries... so not worth it.

sleepytexan

My doctor said i have loose patella thats why my knees hurt when i do high impact exercises, i was told not to jog and stuff but i just wear patella support around my knees and its really helped me

I"m glad you can still exercise, but I've gotta say what a STUPID doctor! Loose patella?????? huh?

Salpica

It is mostly on the left side of my left knee. I went hiking last Saturday and I ended up with the pain shooting up to my hip.. My husband tells me I am just getting old :laugh:

When I first started running I thought I tweaked my knee. It would hurt if I tried to run, but I could still use the elliptical. The pain continued to be persistent for two weeks. I ended up going to a cousin-in-law who is a chiropractor to take a look.

It ended up being my iliotibial band (IT) muscle. It runs from the side of your hip, down your leg to your knee. It was tensing up so much that it was causing my knee to work awkwardly and that was causing the pain. I had to do about 2 weeks of treatment of that muscle and basically not do any kind of cardio exercise. It got better and I haven't had a problem since.

Make sure you ice your knee and also the outside of your thigh as well. Elevate, ice, and rest is the best way to start feeling better. I know it's not fun taking a break but you don't want to create anymore issues.

moreaudrey

You should definitely have it checked before continuing to run. I tried to "run through" a patella tracking injury last spring. BAD idea. I visited an osteopath who completely helped me with the discomfort but I still have quite a bit of quad strengthening to do before it's advisable to resume even a moderate running program, since I'll be right back to where I started if the supporting structures aren't in place. Maybe what you have is not the same thing and maybe it's fine to run on it, but you won't know until you get a knee x-ray. PS - your doctor's an idiot.

lace0211

A BIG Thank You to everyone for your help! I was worried I would end up with knee surgery and be out for months!! I plan on buying some Vibrams to see if that helps. But I am going to try all of your tips and suggestions too. Yay! I wont be a gimp after all!

pa_jorg

I did not have swelling, but I did have knee pain when I started running too. Someone on MFP said my hips were not strong enough. Sure thing I worked on my hips and the knee pain went away! Still, if you're really in pain, see a doctor.

rac401

Sounds like collateral ligament pain, however, you would need to see a doctor to confirm that. You probably need to improve your quad strength in order for the pain to improve. Some people when they start running go too hard and end up with injury problems. It is a high impact sport and requires respect which means a decent pair of running shoes fitted by a running shop ideally to suit your running gait. You would be better off with swimmming or cycling and taking the impact off the knee TBH. As for the chiropracter, what exactly are they going to do other than manipulate your spine for a large amount of money and not actually sort the knee out?! There is of course the fact that knee problems can often be related with problems in the joint above so could easily be a hip problem. Go and see a doctor and don't run through pain. Also talk to running shops about vibram, they aren't so convinced if you are a new runner.

rac401

I did not have swelling, but I did have knee pain when I started running too. Someone on MFP said my hips were not strong enough. Sure thing I worked on my hips and the knee pain went away! Still, if you're really in pain, see a doctor.

There is more to running than just your legs. The biomechanics of it requires good core muscle strength as well. Hence how it can be so difficult to know what is causing the pain in the knee.

windyweather88

I was just wondering if anyone else had the same knee problems as me. Every time I go running or hiking or put to much work into my knee I end up with excruciating pain. I can't bent it in anyway and in a matter of hours it ends up swollen. I do remember in High School I always had problems in sports. It's been along time with this problem and I don't like it! I want to be able to just go running or hiking with no problems. I have made I doctors appointment to find out some answers but figured it wouldn't hurt to get some insight on it from my fellow MFP's. Thanks! :bigsmile:

I had a similar knee problem in high school. I almost had surgery to loosen a tendon around my knee cap... instead I had 3 months of physical therapy. My problem was having week quads. To strengthen them, I recommend doing leg extensions (and squats). If you don't want to do these on the machine this works too: sit on the edge of a couch/chair and hold a weight between your feet. Extend your legs out straight and then back to a 90 degree bend and repeat.

Since strengthening mine, I haven't had problems in years!

agthorn

My doctor said i have loose patella thats why my knees hurt when i do high impact exercises, i was told not to jog and stuff but i just wear patella support around my knees and its really helped me

I"m glad you can still exercise, but I've gotta say what a STUPID doctor! Loose patella?????? huh?

Um, why is this stupid? I have a loose patella too. It just means the muscles and ligaments don't support the kneecap as tightly as they should, so the kneecap moves around more than usual and can cause pain. http://www.livestrong.com/article/419730-exercises-for-a-loose-knee-cap/

sleepytexan

My doctor said i have loose patella thats why my knees hurt when i do high impact exercises, i was told not to jog and stuff but i just wear patella support around my knees and its really helped me

I"m glad you can still exercise, but I've gotta say what a STUPID doctor! Loose patella?????? huh?

Um, why is this stupid? I have a loose patella too. It just means the muscles and ligaments don't support the kneecap as tightly as they should, so the kneecap moves around more than usual and can cause pain. http://www.livestrong.com/article/419730-exercises-for-a-loose-knee-cap/

sorry, don't mean to be offensive. I find it frustrating that MDs just tell people, "oh well, you have this or that condition, so here's a drug, or you can't do xyz activity". I don't mean to push chiropractic on people, it's just that I see so many people taking drugs, having surgery, saying "well, my Dr. told me I can't do this", so basically restricting themselves based on "expert" advice.

I was told at age 11 by an MD that I had degenerative chondromalacia. There was nothing to do for the pain except take meds or stop activities. They told me I would probably need knee surgery by the time I was 30. So stupid. All those years I just lived with pain, wearing away all the cartilege in my knees bc they said there was nothing they could do. Only many years later, once it was too late for my cartilege, did I learn that if only I had had a chiropractic adjustment of my hips, that my knees could have been realigned, and I wouldn't have spent 25 years wearing away my cartilege. Ugh ugh ugh.

Oh well.

rowerc2

In early May after 1 week of running every day i suffered a bad case of what i think was runner's knee. When it first started I could barely walk and it hurt even when i was sitting. I took a couple of months off and it didn't get better. I know from past experience thay any time you have tendonitis/inflamed ligaments that the surrounding muscles weaken (i used to have tennis elbow, daughter had sagging arches....). In each case therapy via a sports doctor was to strengthen the surrounding muscles. So around this time I was starting P90X and figured that Plyo and Legs and Back would be as good as any routines a sports doctor would recommend. Guess what - after 3 weeks my runner's knee went away. Just saying this worked for me. You need to strengthen the surrounding muscles.

alikat5544

Check with a specialist, but my advice is don't run. I had severe knee pain, like crying it hurt so bad. I couldn't even bend down to use our toilet without knee pain. After going through 2 months of PT and two MRI's later the ortho told me I had arthritis. Most people told me I was lucky, but this is a life long thing I have to deal with. Anyway, I ended up getting a cortizone shot which I was not a fan of getting. However, it was the best thing for me because it allowed me to workout (with modification, ie., no running, no deep squats, no zumba, etc...) and lose 20 more pounds for a total of 30 off. I also take gluocosamine chondrointin to hopefully help as well.