knee/muscle pains

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anti
anti Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started doing podrunner couch-to-5k beginning of August.
At the beginning I was suffering badly from shin splits without actually knowing what it was.
When I found out (courtesy of this forum), I managed to stop it somewhat changing the way I was stretching.
So for the last two weeks of August I was doing podrunner intervals twice per day (1hr 8km).

At the end of the second week, my knee started hurting badly (front inside, in the muscle below the kneecap). I stopped doing podrunner for 1 week, and had my knee on ice every other evening. My knee still feels bruised if I press it, but the pain has mostly gone now and I was looking forward to starting to do the intervals again (although just once per day).

However, since a couple of days ago I've got a different pain now, in the muscle behind the knee. It's a kind of tightness, like a pulled muscle. I don't want to try intervals in case I do damage.

Any suggestions, advice or reassurance?

Cheers.

NB: The good new is I still managed to lose almost a kilo last week just through eating healthily.

Replies

  • charlesbess
    charlesbess Posts: 1
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    not sure but sounds like a medial meniscus problem from your first description of pain just to inside of kneecap and inferior.
    then really sounds like medial meniscus problem when you describe pain behind the knee which is a commonly associated problem with meniscus tears etc. called a baker's cyst.
    I have same problem and most important thing i have done to avoid surgery etc is no impact exercise, no hard soled shoes and a little patience, plus of course avoiding things that make it hurt.
    i stopped running and now do just elliptical
    I had mri to definitively diagnose mine. good luck
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    My suggestion is that you slow down your exercise routine and keep icing the knees, front and back every night. If you have no problems, you may try Ibuprofen for the pain and inflammation.

    If you over exerted the muscles, tendons, and/or ligaments you need to let them heal or you may end up with a chronic injury (meniscus tear). Better rest and slow down now than be sorry later. Try to do gentle streches to relieve the tightness.

    If the pain continues or if you see some swelling, you may need to got to the doctor for further examination.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    not sure but sounds like a medial meniscus problem from your first description of pain just to inside of kneecap and inferior.
    then really sounds like medial meniscus problem when you describe pain behind the knee which is a commonly associated problem with meniscus tears etc. called a baker's cyst.
    I have same problem and most important thing i have done to avoid surgery etc is no impact exercise, no hard soled shoes and a little patience, plus of course avoiding things that make it hurt.
    i stopped running and now do just elliptical
    I had mri to definitively diagnose mine. good luck

    I also have meniscus tear in both knees, and I can not run or jump or do leg extensions in the gym (machine). I walk in the treadmill but I noticed that high incline brings discomfort, and I can not do the elliptical either. I am good in the rowing machine and stationary bycicle. I dance and take yoga and pilates classes so I have to be carefull too not to agravate the condition. I am not interested in surgery (neither is the doctor), until is totally necesary.
  • Ladysarah
    Ladysarah Posts: 6
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    I found put after an MRI, which found nothing, that wearing Birkinstocks corrected the problem. My arches were not properly supported which caused my knees to be in unnatural position. The shoes also took care of my heel spirs. I even wear them on the elliptical trainer. Borrow a pair from a friend if you are short on cash. I hope it works as good for you as is has for me.
  • mcjabber
    mcjabber Posts: 374 Member
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    rest and ice and all that, but when you're ready to get back out there i definitely recommend making sure you have the right shoes. when i started training for marathons a few years ago (not having been a runner AT ALL), i got horrible shin splits and knee pain. then i went to a specialty running store where they fitted me and watched me run on a treadmill so they could look at my footfall and whatever else they look for. shin splits no more! (except very infrequently when i start too hard too fast--gotta make sure you're nice and warmed up before you start the high impact stuff).

    the thing about it, too, is that everybody is different, so my perfect shoes might be terrible for you, etc. my issue is ankle pronation, so i have shoes that help correct that. but maybe you are flat footed and need something totally different. that's where the running shoe experts come in handy. i had really nice expensive shoes when i started, but they were just totally wrong for me. SO much happier now.

    i had what sounds like similar knee pain, and the marathon trainer at the time suggested that it was probably due to weak thigh muscles. i'm not an expert, but i think the tendon goes from your hip to just below your knee. he recommended stretching (google the pigeon pose in yoga--it's a stretch for the outside of your thigh) and strengthening moves like squats and lunges.

    hope that helps! stay positive! and listen to your body--if it says stop, it's ok to stop. :)
  • anti
    anti Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. I'll certainly take on board the advice.
  • tater8589
    tater8589 Posts: 616
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    I have had knee problems myself.. Mine dr's can't help. My hips are uneven and causes my right leg to be shorter and puts more stress on the knee during running and high impact activities. A chiropractor has been able to help me a little, and there are also inserts for shoes made to help with this issue. No matter what it is, See a dr.. def don't want to cause perm damage. You may also look into supplements like glucosamine chondriton (spelling may be lil off) it can help. Another thing that has helped me with my running form is shoes with extra support in the middle (New Balance and Asics make good ones) because my feet pronate (flex to much in the middle) causing more stress. A better supportive shoe should help with shin splints too.
    Also, swimming is very low impact on the body but still a great workout. Good luck..
  • tater8589
    tater8589 Posts: 616
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    rest and ice and all that, but when you're ready to get back out there i definitely recommend making sure you have the right shoes. when i started training for marathons a few years ago (not having been a runner AT ALL), i got horrible shin splits and knee pain. then i went to a specialty running store where they fitted me and watched me run on a treadmill so they could look at my footfall and whatever else they look for. shin splits no more! (except very infrequently when i start too hard too fast--gotta make sure you're nice and warmed up before you start the high impact stuff).

    the thing about it, too, is that everybody is different, so my perfect shoes might be terrible for you, etc. my issue is ankle pronation, so i have shoes that help correct that. but maybe you are flat footed and need something totally different. that's where the running shoe experts come in handy. i had really nice expensive shoes when i started, but they were just totally wrong for me. SO much happier now.

    i had what sounds like similar knee pain, and the marathon trainer at the time suggested that it was probably due to weak thigh muscles. i'm not an expert, but i think the tendon goes from your hip to just below your knee. he recommended stretching (google the pigeon pose in yoga--it's a stretch for the outside of your thigh) and strengthening moves like squats and lunges.

    hope that helps! stay positive! and listen to your body--if it says stop, it's ok to stop. :)

    Your right about the muscle from hip to knee, strain that muscle and it results in knee pain.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    Problem might be too much too soon. Knee problems occur for many reasons but it is very likely that you need to start strengthening your hip muscles.

    RICE....rest, ice, compress and elevate and even take an anti inflammatory if needed for about a week.

    Once per day is about all you should do until you have built up your strength and make sure you take rest days.

    Get knee straps, these are thin velcro bandages that go below the knee cap and help keep the tendons aligned (this fixed my issues when I first started running)

    If all else fails.........and maybe go anyway just to be on the safe side, go see your doctor. If you keep going your knees being injured can really mess you up and take you out of the game for a long time, just ask poor emmylew from the runners club thread.

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