Learning to run with bad knees

DesdemonaRose
DesdemonaRose Posts: 190
in Fitness and Exercise
Is there anyone who has become a runner after a knee injury? I would appreciate any tips or resources! I was told by the last physical therapist that I had there was not much she could do for me after a few appointments and a list of exercises to strengthen my legs (sigh).

For my history, my knees have been touchy since my early 20s and bootcamp. I had one Dr. tell me my knee caps were too lose and my only option was to deal with it or have surgery (I opted to deal with it). One physical therapist just gave me shoe inserts and a brace since at that time I had knee pain. The second one I saw did see me for a few weeks, did the electrode stimulator bit and tested my leg strength. She said that it was because my knee caps were so small and I have a hunchy posture (I dont' stand really straight). She said posture was ingrained and it's not something I can really change. She suggested strengthening my thigh muscles and said that there wasn't much else she could do since it was basically bad genes.

I started biking and that helped a lot (using resistance not speed to make my thighs stronger) and I do yoga to help build leg strength all over. I want to be able to run though. Any tips would help! I am going to get new sneakers too just for that purpose, though my current ones are pretty good. When I do jog I don't feel much complaints from my knees. Sometimes though they just get sore and stiff. I think I'm turning into a weather woman, since the last time they got stiff I didn't do any knee strenous workouts but it started raining *sigh*

Replies

  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    Yep - new shoes (get fitted properly by a specialty store!), and do lots of squats and wall-sits to strengthen your quads. If you have stronger quads, it can take some of the impact pressure off. Also, check your stride and make sure it's a smooth stride rather than a bouncy one?

    I've just re-started the C25K program after multiple issues and those tips are helping me right now. My medic boyfriend (Army reserves) is going through this issue as well and strengthening his quads has had the biggest / best effect so far.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    Ok, I think you can change your posture with some hard work. That being said I have loose and rotated knee caps and I run. I've had two surgeries on my right knee and I am dealing with it for my left. I started very slow, barely running, now I'm really slow (about 3.8 mph) but my knees have been cooperating. I also started on the flat, no hills. I ran on hills Wednesday and I'm still paying for it in my upper legs trying to compensate for my knees. I'm doing C25K right now and while the intervals are really annoying they do give your body the rest it needs in the beginning. Just take is slow. Find a track to start running on since it's a little softer or grass, that may or may not help depending on how bad your knees are.

    I've found that different surfaces makes different areas of my legs hurt. Concrete kills my quads, the treadmill makes my shins ache, asphalt (bike path) is usually not too bad but sometimes gets my hips and knees, the grass doesn't hurt me at all, and wooded trails, well, I'm just not ready for those yet but the one and only time I ran on one it hurt my lower back (I've also had a lumbar fusion).

    However, I love love love running and if I have to I'll wear knee braces. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • DesdemonaRose
    DesdemonaRose Posts: 190
    Thanks for the replies, I'll look up C25k. No hills will be kind of hard where I live and my gym doesn't have a indoor track :( I use it because it has a no extra charge daycare. I will try the treadmill with no incline. There is a sandy running track on my base that is mostly flat.
  • khalikhoopri
    khalikhoopri Posts: 81 Member
    Try running in water! I have seen many runners practicing their runs in water if they injure their knee or ankle. Seems to work :)
  • jtndle
    jtndle Posts: 54 Member
    If it has been going well so far I say just stick with it slowly increasing distance as you go along. I have had surgery on one of my knees (kneecap dislocation issues) and thought for sure I'd be unable to run very much. What do you know? I've run for over a year straight now with multiple half marathons in the books. My knee does get grumpy now and then but nothing consistent. I've had more issues with my hip although I'm certain that the hip issue is directly related to my knee. At any rate none of it is so bad that I cannot run consistently with a smile on my face. I still feel unsteady walking down stairs and have obvious muscle imbalance even years after sx but running feels good. So you don't know until you try!
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,226 Member
    i don't understand the logic behind trying to run in a bad knee. it's like trying to drive a car with jammed transmission. anyway, if that's makes you happy go for it... it's just a knee anyway.
  • DesdemonaRose
    DesdemonaRose Posts: 190
    I'm in the military, so I pretty much have to run or risk a possible medical discharge.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    You can DEFINITELY improve your posture. The key is to be mindful of it while you sit, stand, walk, etc. After a few weeks of discomfort, you will start internalizing better habits. Yoga must have taught you some things about alignment--use those lessons in your everyday life. As Musashi said,

    "Make your fighting stance your everyday stance, make your everyday stance your fighting stance."

    About running with bad knees. You can definitely do it, and your knees might even get better. But you have to be meticulous about your form--cadence must be high, toe strokes are your friend, etc., etc. You also need to strengthen your legs. If all you do is run, with no strength and flexibility routines, you will injure yourself. Strengthen the musculature of your lower legs by doing calf raises, preferably with a resistance load of some sort. And with your particular knee problem, you would want to address any strength imbalances between your quads and hamstrings. I would do some deadlifts and squats, or some other exercises that strengthen those muscles.
  • Frost70
    Frost70 Posts: 1
    I have similar injuries from basic in Fort Dix in 1988 with the floating kneecap and a stretched ligament I chose not to let them fix. I am just getting back to trying to jog now and am just sort of going slow so as not to annoy anything and just building up. I can walk basically endlessly without issues but if I run or jump it can cause issues. One thing that used to always trigger a flare-up is jumping from heights. Make sure to go slowly and carefully getting into foxholes and jumping off of the back of trucks (if humanly possible - obviously in real combat you do what you have to but in training situations just be careful - better to get scolded than to cause your injury to flare and jeopardize your PT test). I had a note that I could do alternate PT to the runs but that meant I was stuck at E-4 so I didn't re-enlist. Make sure to land carefully on the balls of your feet and to land as soft as possible. I have used Xeroshoes and that really helps me to know if I am running/walking in good form (if not, it hurts). You can get those on the internet. You wouldn't be able to use them for PT but you could use them to work on running/walking on your own. I don't run far or fast yet - but I definitely have a lot less pain than I did in the years after my accident.

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