Debbie is a stupid *****, *****

AliciaBeth78

I'm talking about the tropical storm that hit Florida earlier this week.

Even though the stupid b***h, w****e flooded the streets with water and debris, my first 5K is this coming Wednesday and running on a treadmill for longer than 10 minutes bores me!

Needless to say,I decided to train outside once it cleared up a little. I ran amidst the debris and puddles and it was a huge FAIL. With scrapes all over my arms and face (my battle scars!), I hobbled home! Luckily,there was no real damage other than a sore knee, which I figured would go away within a day or two. Even though, it had only been a week, I hadn't gone on a run since. But this morning that was going to change...

This morning I woke up completely gung ho about going for a 4 mile run! I stood up and the same dull pain that I noticed during yesterdays spinning class was back! It is on the side of my right knee. I tried to stretch to get rid of it.... nada. I took some Advil and went back to sleep for a few hours thinking that I would wake up and be fine. Needless to say, it's 10pm now and the stupid pain is still there!

I'm so scared that I wont be able to run on Wednesday and even if I am that I won't be able to run as fast. Does anyone have any helpful advice on how to get this pain to go away?

AliciaBeth78

P.S. I've been doing the Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation thing for the last 2 hours!

morkiemama

You should have iced it the first day. 20min on, 20 off. Then if it was still bothering you the next day. Heat would be an option.

You could still try ice. You also might consider some sort of knee wrap/brace/compression gear for added support.

However, you really should get it looked at if it is persisting.

Edit: I see you've been icing and it is not working. I would really recommend getting it checked out.

w2bab

I don't have much to offer to you except wishes for good luck. I started running in March, and developed pain in the inside of my right knee. I did the R.I.C.E too, and finally asked a runner friend of mine. He suggested it might be tendonitis, and when I looked it up online it sounded exactly like what was going on with me. It took 3 weeks to get to where I could walk without pain, and 4 before I could run. Hopefully your recovery will be faster, but better to miss one 5K and get back to running asap than to cause serious injury that keeps you laid up for months. Best of luck, and maybe have a doc take a look at it.

morkiemama

Have you been doing a slight warm up and stretching it over the week? It could have gotten stiff/tight from lack of use as well.

If ice is not working, you might consider trying heat.

Again, my best recommendation for persistent pain is getting it looked at. My methods have helped me through some minor issues. They didn't persist past one rest day or two.

For a longer term solution, you should consider adding some knee strengthening exercises to your routine outside of running. It can help prevent injury.

AliciaBeth78

Have you been doing a slight warm up and stretching it over the week? It could have gotten stiff/tight from lack of use as well.

If ice is not working, you might consider trying heat.

Sort of? I mean I have been stretching before and after each of my strength training sessions spinning classes, incline work sessions and bike riding. But maybe I wasn't stretching enough? Oh and I always do a warm up and cool down

morkiemama

Have you been doing a slight warm up and stretching it over the week? It could have gotten stiff/tight from lack of use as well.

If ice is not working, you might consider trying heat.

Sort of? I mean I have been stretching before and after each of my strength training sessions spinning classes, incline work sessions and bike riding. But maybe I wasn't stretching enough? Oh and I always do a warm up and cool down

I hate to break it to you hun, but if you've been exercising consistently since your injury (even if it wasn't running) you didn't really follow the R in RICE. Hee hee.

I would try taking a complete rest day and see if that helps your knee. You can walk to warm up your muscles a bit and then do some light stretching to see how your knee does, but really REST for a day.

You could try icing it tonight, 20min on then take a break, then 20 min on again every few hours. However, the ice is generally to prevent swelling and tissue aggravation right after injury. Thus, you might consider heat instead if your knee isn't obviously swollen/irritated.

If you do ice tonight, see how it feels/looks tomorrow and try the heat.

If it persists, I really wouldn't push it and run on it without getting an ok from a doc to do so.

miracole

Don't know if you have time for this with your race coming up but see a massage therapist or physio therapist. My physio does massage and she keeps me running, without a doubt. Most importantly she was able to help me pinpoint what the trigger was for knee pain, turns out almost 100% of my knee pain was caused by problems with my hips and IT bands, go figure. (every so often it's also caused by tight feet and improperly engaging lower abs...she fixes it all!)

In the short term I find that sometimes knee-high compression socks work to relieve knee pain.

morkiemama

Don't know if you have time for this with your race coming up but see a massage therapist or physio therapist. My physio does massage and she keeps me running, without a doubt. Most importantly she was able to help me pinpoint what the trigger was for knee pain, turns out almost 100% of my knee pain was caused by problems with my hips and IT bands, go figure. (every so often it's also caused by tight feet and improperly engaging lower abs...she fixes it all!)

In the short term I find that sometimes knee-high compression socks work to relieve knee pain.

The massage is a great suggestion! I know that I'd love to (and was told by many that I need to) go more often. They may very well be able to help.

A full body hot soak also might make your muscles relax, which could help. I know sometimes a bath can cure my soreness issues.

I LOVE my compression gear for running. I highly recommend compression socks (I have cep brand) and compression pants (I have 3/4 length CW-X Stabilyx Tights built for improved knee support). I find the compression has helped me to prevent injury, go for longer on my runs, and recover faster.

However, if your pain persists, you need to listen to your body and not push it. There is always another race, but you only have one pair of knees.

crobl

DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT,DON'T HEAT

did I mention DON'T HEAT?

Applying heat to the body causes vasodilation which increases blood flow to the area, thus causing increased swelling and inflammation, which by the way, worsens an injury.

A general rule of thumb to apply is to not apply heat to an acute injury for at the very least 72 hours or you run the risk of extending the inflammatory phase of the healing process.

Oh yeah, and DON'T HEAT

morkiemama

DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT,DON'T HEAT

did I mention DON'T HEAT?

Applying heat to the body causes vasodilation which increases blood flow to the area, thus causing increased swelling and inflammation, which by the way, worsens an injury.

A general rule of thumb to apply is to not apply ice to an acute injury for at the very least 72 hours or you run the risk of extending the inflammatory phase of the healing process.

Oh yeah, and DON'T HEAT

You can't say don't heat, don't ice, etc. without knowing the exact injury they have. Most people don't know the exact injury they have unless they go to a doctor. That is why I recommended going to a doctor, multiple times.

However, I said "you might consider heat instead if your knee isn't obviously swollen/irritated." If ice isn't working and the knee isn't swollen/inflamed, it could be due to tightness/soreness and the heat MAY loosen it and lessen the pain. I've had doctors tell me to apply heat and it worked.

At least from my experience, not icing for 72 hours after an injury is not standard for most injuries. I've gone to the ER and doctors for various sprains/strains/breaks/muscle injuries/etc. and they all say to ice along with taking IBuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory. It helps to reduce/prevent swelling in the injured area.

All in all, NO ONE here knows what the OP's injury is. They merely asked what they could try. I suggested some things, but I also pushed going to a doctor.

First and foremost, the OP needs to REST the knee and not be doing any kind of exercise on it. I imagine since they've been working out on it that they are not in intense pain from it.

crobl

DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT,DON'T HEAT

did I mention DON'T HEAT?

Applying heat to the body causes vasodilation which increases blood flow to the area, thus causing increased swelling and inflammation, which by the way, worsens an injury.

A general rule of thumb to apply is to not apply ice to an acute injury for at the very least 72 hours or you run the risk of extending the inflammatory phase of the healing process.

Oh yeah, and DON'T HEAT

You can't say don't heat, don't ice, etc. without knowing the exact injury they have. Most people don't know the exact injury they have unless they go to a doctor. That is why I recommended going to a doctor, multiple times.

However, I said "you might consider heat instead if your knee isn't obviously swollen/irritated." If ice isn't working and the knee isn't swollen/inflamed, it could be due to tightness/soreness and the heat MAY loosen it and lessen the pain. I've had doctors tell me to apply heat and it worked.

At least from my experience, not icing for 72 hours after an injury is not standard for most injuries. I've gone to the ER and doctors for various sprains/strains/breaks/muscle injuries/etc. and they all say to ice along with taking IBuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory. It helps to reduce/prevent swelling in the injured area.

All in all, NO ONE here knows what the OP's injury is. They merely asked what they could try. I suggested some things, but I also pushed going to a doctor.

First and foremost, the OP needs to REST the knee and not be doing any kind of exercise on it. I imagine since they've been working out on it that they are not in intense pain from it.

saying don't ice was a typo..I corrected it. I'm currently quite ill and mistyped. That is my bad and I corrected it.

And yes, I can say don't heat. I'm a medical professional specializing in sports injuries

jaymek92

If it's a muscly type of sore, try foam rolling. If you don't have a foam roller, use a tennis ball or something of the sort. Definitely take an entire day off, though, and see if that helps. I also use Icy Hot if it's bothering me and I'll ice right after I notice any weird aches or pains.
Assuming you make it to your race day just fine, good luck with your run!

skb12573

P.S. I've been doing the Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation thing for the last 2 hours!

Stick with the rest, ice, elevate for 3 more days. Rest being the most important! It will take at least that for inflammation to go down (even thought you can't see it, it is inside). Add ibuprofen 800mg 2 or 3 times per day instead of advil. that gives me the best results. it is overworked and strained. if you have a knee brace or reinforcement put it on as much as possible. Good luck to you!

ahelsel1970

Maybe a better question is....

Should I live to run another day.

Pain is an indicator that something is wrong.

Let the body heal, life will go on, you will go on

and life is still wonderful.

My best to you,

Austin
:flowerforyou:

morkiemama

DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT, DON'T HEAT,DON'T HEAT

did I mention DON'T HEAT?

Applying heat to the body causes vasodilation which increases blood flow to the area, thus causing increased swelling and inflammation, which by the way, worsens an injury.

A general rule of thumb to apply is to not apply ice to an acute injury for at the very least 72 hours or you run the risk of extending the inflammatory phase of the healing process.

Oh yeah, and DON'T HEAT

You can't say don't heat, don't ice, etc. without knowing the exact injury they have. Most people don't know the exact injury they have unless they go to a doctor. That is why I recommended going to a doctor, multiple times.

However, I said "you might consider heat instead if your knee isn't obviously swollen/irritated." If ice isn't working and the knee isn't swollen/inflamed, it could be due to tightness/soreness and the heat MAY loosen it and lessen the pain. I've had doctors tell me to apply heat and it worked.

At least from my experience, not icing for 72 hours after an injury is not standard for most injuries. I've gone to the ER and doctors for various sprains/strains/breaks/muscle injuries/etc. and they all say to ice along with taking IBuprofen or some other anti-inflammatory. It helps to reduce/prevent swelling in the injured area.

All in all, NO ONE here knows what the OP's injury is. They merely asked what they could try. I suggested some things, but I also pushed going to a doctor.

First and foremost, the OP needs to REST the knee and not be doing any kind of exercise on it. I imagine since they've been working out on it that they are not in intense pain from it.

saying don't ice was a typo..I corrected it. I'm currently quite ill and mistyped. That is my bad and I corrected it.

And yes, I can say don't heat. I'm a medical professional specializing in sports injuries

That makes more sense now.

You cannot diagnose someone you have not seen or treated. You can suggest that it is highly unlikely the injury will feel better with heat or that heat is likely to aggravate it, but you cannot say absolutely don't do X without having seen the patient and diagnosed what is wrong with them.

I've been told by medical professionals to apply heat before. It worked for me. I was merely making a suggestion if the ice didn't work. It was a suggestion.

The OP shouldn't take anything anyone is saying here (including me) as the ultimate solution. I pushed going to get it checked out first and foremost. I still think the OP should get it checked out. Like I said, you only have one set of knees.

MissMormie

Maybe a better question is....

Should I live to run another day.

Pain is an indicator that something is wrong.

Let the body heal, life will go on, you will go on

Yes, that. It's just a race. There'll be a lot of different races in the future. If you don't ruin your knee now. You're better off taking a few days of rest too many than one day less than you need.

Dargealing

I have been having a mometary pain in my left knee, and I put aspercream and a tight bandage on it before I do a work out .. ie aerobics etc.. It does not happen all the time or everyday, but when it does it hurts.. So wrapping it and just doing apsercreme, and or putting icyhot on it as well. seems to help, but I agree with the others. Go to dr. find out.. thats what they take your money for.. oh, urh.. I mean get paid to do.. you don't want to hurt it to the point of no recovery..

tridiv

I would recommend seek medical help immediately, I have had a similar pain in my left leg once, if its the same thing, I tried home remedies / stretching etc...it resulted in my left leg getting varicose veins and it is usually larger in width than my right leg.

I am no medical professional, the resultant swelling and issues I have faced may be unrelated but it was immediately after the pain i had so I would recommend please see a doctor immediately than trying stuff on your own. Get well soon