Knee pain

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toydnls
toydnls Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Recently, Ive been experiencing some knee discomfort/pain from running. Should I discontinue exercise until the pain goes away?? I know the pain is because of the weight I'm carrying around....

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  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
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    Recently, Ive been experiencing some knee discomfort/pain from running. Should I discontinue exercise until the pain goes away?? I know the pain is because of the weight I'm carrying around....

    In addition to weight, your gait/stride and foot strike can greatly impact your knees. Heel striking is terrible for your knees, you should be striking mid or forefoot striking. Not only does it reduce/prevent injuries but it is also a more efficient form of running.
  • Lumberjacklady43
    Lumberjacklady43 Posts: 5 Member
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    I would go to the doctor first. If there is something wrong you may not want to irritate your knee. I have a torn meniscus on my right knee. It hurts badly. I just try to take it easy until I have the surgery.
  • Shelby814
    Shelby814 Posts: 273 Member
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    How often are you running & for how long? On a treadmill, a track or outside? Are you wearing the right shoes? Are you stretching before & after? All of those things could be factors. I'm assuming you didn't go from zero to running overnight. Hopefully you did some power walking first to work up to it & build up your muscles. I'd recommend taking a day or 2 off to let it rest & taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen (if you can). Start back slow & see what happens. If it's persistent, I'd see your doctor. Good luck! :)
  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
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    How often are you running & for how long? On a treadmill, a track or outside? Are you wearing the right shoes? Are you stretching before & after? All of those things could be factors. I'm assuming you didn't go from zero to running overnight. Hopefully you did some power walking first to work up to it & build up your muscles. I'd recommend taking a day or 2 off to let it rest & taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen (if you can). Start back slow & see what happens. If it's persistent, I'd see your doctor. Good luck! :)

    yes, better answer~
  • mabug01
    mabug01 Posts: 1,273 Member
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    I'm not a runner because I have bad knees. I wish I hadn't done some stuff when I was younger so that I didn't end up with bad knees. Why not try an elliptical machine and avoid wearing out your knees prematurely? Sorry if the runners out there are offended by my suggestion. Just the voice of experience here.
  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
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    I'm not a runner because I have bad knees. I wish I hadn't done some stuff when I was younger so that I didn't end up with bad knees. Why not try an elliptical machine and avoid wearing out your knees prematurely? Sorry if the runners out there are offended by my suggestion. Just the voice of experience here.

    this is good advice as well. When I was about 220lbs I stuck with the elliptical, bike, and pool until I was down to about 200 when I started to reincorporate running back into my routine, but it was a slow integration.
  • queenpushycat
    queenpushycat Posts: 761 Member
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    I have knee problem too! :( It's because I went for excess cardio dance... and it somehow strained on my knees... plus with my weight. it got worse. But now I'm resting my knees probably 2 to 3 days now to rest so I can go for my dance.
  • vs1023
    vs1023 Posts: 417 Member
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    I started doing some running a few years ago and injured my knee. Found out I was neglecting the fact that I needed to do strength training so the muscles surrounding my knee could better support the knee and the impact. The ortho wanted to do surgery and I opted to look for a chiropractor. I didn't feel that I needed surgery. Turned out I had massive knots and adhesions in my quads, hips and hamstrings. Took some work with regular stretching and heat, but it improved dramatically and I was able to run again.

    I do recommend biking though if your knee isn't so good because it will help build your quads. Or the elliptical, but ultimately strength training will also help and maybe see a massage therapist. I opted for the chiro once i had imaging done on my knee to determine that nothing was torn. I just had poor alignment since the muscle adhesions and tightness were pulling my kneecap out. This especially happened because I had a desk job and sat a lot. When you sit your muscles shorten.
  • ansonrinesmith
    ansonrinesmith Posts: 755 Member
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    Make sure you have GOOD running shoes! Get fitted at a professional shop.
  • toydnls
    toydnls Posts: 12 Member
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    Wow!!! This is some good stuff!! I do have a desk job and it has made me quite lazy...smh. I hurt my knees when I was playing kickball at our office picnic. ::embarrassing:: I haven't done any running since. Lately, I've been on the treadmill walking. Unfortunately, I am wayyyy out of shape and I get out of breath on the elliptical quickly.
  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
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    Stretching is very important. Quad stretching is very helpful. sometimes will get acute pain when I do a squat but I just stop and do a long quad stretch and it'll be gone instantly. it also helps greatly if you have Iliotibial band syndrome (IT band syndrome) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome

    very common injury
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
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    How often are you running & for how long? On a treadmill, a track or outside? Are you wearing the right shoes? Are you stretching before & after? All of those things could be factors. I'm assuming you didn't go from zero to running overnight. Hopefully you did some power walking first to work up to it & build up your muscles. I'd recommend taking a day or 2 off to let it rest & taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen (if you can). Start back slow & see what happens. If it's persistent, I'd see your doctor. Good luck! :)

    This is good advice. As a runner who learned the hard way, I would not recommend static (standing in place type) stretches before you run, because it is possible to injure or tear "cold" muscles, but start with a warm up walk or gentle jog in place. During a run, you might need to stop running, stretch briefly, and continue your exercise. Also, take note of your speed/distance. It's ok (and easier on your body) to start slow and easy. Work on proper running form (lots of info on this on running sites) If you find that your running form deteriorates (which could cause injury), slow down, take walking breaks, etc. If you really like running, you're cleared by a doctor and work to keep yourself safe, no reason you shouldn't keep running even if you're overweight. Keep in mind that some average weight or thin runners have knee (and other) issues that aren't necessarily connected to weight. Losing weight can lessen the impact of running, but it doesn't guarantee that it gets easier (I've been running for 10 months; I've dropped lots of weight, but running is still hard for me sometimes!)

    I wish you the best of luck :flowerforyou:


    Other things to consider: definitely the shoes--make sure you are wearing what is best for your anatomy/fitness needs. Also, there's a difference between normal aches and soreness, and actual injury. If resting a couple of days doesn't seem to help and you're uncertain about your knee issue, definitely get to a doctor (preferably one who knows a bit about sports medicine/running). Try the RICE method as well: Rest/Ice/Compression/Elevation. If nothing else, it can help alleviate your symptoms.
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
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    You should get fitted for correct running shoes. Would you be willing to walk/run?
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
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    You should get fitted for correct running shoes. Would you be willing to walk/run?
  • harriet_tubman
    harriet_tubman Posts: 52
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    i used to have this problem until i started paying attention to how my feet hit the ground. i guess i was using more of my heel than my toe. i don't know how much better i'm doing, but the pain has gone away mostly. the other thing i noticed was that i only got the knee pain when i was running once or twice a week, once i started running almost daily, the pain stopped. they also have knee braces that i have been recommended (but too lazy to buy).

    when i DID have pain (and wanted to run) i just took some advil etc
  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    I have going to present two sides of the coin here:

    First you need to look at your shoes, your gait, your stride etc.
    Second you need to consider your mechanics. If something is hurting its likely because you have a muscle/gait instability somewhere else. Could be your hips are weak, your glutes are weak, etc.

    If you want to run ... I would STRONGLY advise a PT referral and make sure that your form and technique is good. If you have weakness either you can take care of it now, or take care of it later!

    I am a fat runner -- started at 276 pounds and currently about 236. I have been in PT since October and I STILL have more work to do. A lot of my aches and pains I ignored until they smacked me in the face.... I wish I would have been smarter and listened!

    Please take this advice as its meant ... kindly... I do not think that you need to stop running, but just like any other exercise we want to make sure that you are not harming yourself. Unlike some of the earlier posts I do not feel that your "size" is a reason to not run.

    Good luck! :)

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