the next person who tells me not to run gets smacked

bostongeek

Sorry, I'm feeling a little cranky.

I love running. Totally unrelated to running, I dislocated my kneecap in July and obviously have spent the past few months Not Running. My physical therapy seems to have been successful, and I'm currently allowed on the elliptical and bike, with running possibly OK by next week.

This is REALLY EXCITING for me, and whenever friends/coworkers/etc ask me how my knee is doing (I was in an obvious brace for a few weeks), my answer is always, "great! I'll get to run again soon! yay!"

At which point someone points out that "running is the WORST thing you could be doing for your knees, you know." Me: "yeah but I love it, and it's not how I got injured." "Yeah but you shouldn't run. It's bad for you."

Frankly, I'm getting a little peeved. Any other runners get this? Any handy tips for responding? I want people to stop killing my happies.

loopingcaterpillar

every time you read about running there always seems to be a huge list of reasons not to! it's a wonder anyone moves at all :P tell them you wont race them if they dont want to play

atldrew

I totally get it! I have had bad knees for a few years and when I asked my Dr. what I could do to start running again he said "those days are behind you". I started x-country in grade school and used to run 5mi/day. I'd like to run the Peachtree road race here in Atlanta someday but every time I start running my knees get worse.
I have recently dropped about 30lbs and have been "jogging" around with the kids but really really really want to get back to running.
I always feel more centered after a run.
Good luck to you!

blues4miles

Current research on "runner's knee" seems to be a bit more mixed.

Together, the findings lend support to the theory that osteoarthritis, which affects nearly 20 million Americans, is caused mainly by genes and risk factors like obesity (obese men and women are at least four times as likely to become arthritic as their thinner peers), rather than daily exercise or wear and tear of joints. In fact, a "normally functioning joint can withstand and actually flourish under a lot of wear," says Fries. Because cartilage — the soft connective tissue that surrounds the bones in joints — does not have arteries that deliver blood, it relies on the pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. "When you bear weight, [the joint] squishes out fluid, and when you release weight, it sucks in fluid," says Fries, explaining why a daily run or any other workout is useful for maintaining healthy cartilage.

That's not to say that there are no risks in running. It can sometimes cause soft-tissue injuries and stress fractures, also called hairline fractures, which result from the compounding of tiny cracks in the bone over time. It's not uncommon for such tiny cracks to appear in the bones that bear the heaviest loads, like the tibia (shinbone), but they usually heal quickly and go unnoticed. Stress fractures occur when bone damage happens suddenly, without enough time to heal. For instance, high school athletes who stop training all summer and then abruptly start attending practice every day have a much higher risk of stress fractures in their shinbones than their friends who practiced regularly over the break.

That's from: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1948208,00.html
Also: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--12232-0,00.html

So...I say run!

julieh391

I totally get what you're saying. A couple months after I started running I had some foot pain. Turns out I have a cyst in the marrow on my heel bone that I didn't know about when I initially started running, and thoroughly pissed off in the process. I ended up in an air cast for several weeks to calm the swelling and was told to slowly ease back into running by my family doctor, podiatrist, and chiropractor (who is awesome and adjusts my feet too.) But all of my brilliant friends and family feel the need to yell at me and tell me how running is the "worst thing" I could be doing. Um.. I've lost 43lbs, I'm a zillion times healthier, and I have zero foot pain related to the cyst now that I know it's there and know to take it easy. I wish I had a brilliant response for these people. If one more person tells me to do yoga I'm gonna scream. I did yoga when I weighed 200+lbs. I'm pretty sure that's not gonna do the job like running does. And I love to run, so forget about me stopping now! :happy:

bostongeek

Thanks for posting, guys! Glad it's not just me.

BrianSharpe

There's so much misinformation out there regarding running being hard on your joints. One of the problems is that new runners, being overly enthusiastic, frequently injure themselves by trying to progress too quickly. It;'s not unusual for the injury to manifest itself as knee pain - classic example ITBS - and the new runner then reinforces the myth that running is bad for your knees and promptly stops running.

There are risks associated with any sport but for those who do it right (and don't have a pre-existing condition that contraindicates running) there are such incredible benefits (physical and psychological) to be derived from from this simplest of all sports......

janlee_001

Whatever you do - RUN :bigsmile:

I was not going to allow myself to get smacked.

bostongeek

There's so much misinformation out there regarding running being hard on your joints. One of the problems is that new runners, being overly enthusiastic, frequently injure themselves by trying to progress too quickly. It;'s not unusual for the injury to manifest itself as knee pain - classic example ITBS - and the new runner then reinforces the myth that running is bad for your knees and promptly stops running.

There are risks associated with any sport but for those who do it right (and don't have a pre-existing condition that contraindicates running) there are such incredible benefits (physical and psychological) to be derived from from this simplest of all sports......

I was definitely over-enthusiastic when I started haha-- "psh, I'm fine, I'm totally going to run four days in a row--ok maybe not."

But I am no longer new (or I'm new again, I guess) and I am actually working with a licensed medical person to ensure that I can run AND not blow out my knee, and it's just so... frustrating... to have people who probably only know about running via articles on the internet give me absolutes and rules and arrrghhhhh.

Also, "contraindicates" may be a new addition to my list of favorite words.

bostongeek

Whatever you do - RUN :bigsmile:

I was not going to allow myself to get smacked.

HA! yeah I guess the topic title is a little harsh.

urglewurgle

Personally I hate running and it hates me.... But I say go for it! You obviously love running so just do it! Just smile and nod at those people and do it anyway.