All runners I'm freaking out please help!

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Replies

  • dnish53
    dnish53 Posts: 162 Member
    Go to a orthopedic doctor. Tell him you are training for a marathon. A good doctor will not just tell you to rest and take meds. I have learned the hard way and can tell you that it is better to pay the money and be safe than sorry down the road that more damage has been done.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Do you think its possible to finish a marathon with my longest run only being 18 miles barring my knee holds up of course?

    Yes! There is nothing magical about 20 miles exactly. In fact I have seen several (metric system based) marathon plans that have no runs longer than 30km (18.6411 miles).

    Even if your knee starts to feel better I see no reason to force yourself to run 20 miles. Its basically taper time for you now anyway. Don't force yourself to run if you are in pain either to train or on marathon day itself.

    Hopefully your knee will feel all better soon. If not there will always be another marathon
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
    My hubs had that problem

    go see PT
    it helped him emmesley and he ran his first marathon with success!
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Get in touch with your running club and ask about a running physical theropist. Get a PT that has worked extensively with runners, they may not be able to 100% fix you for the run, but a PT who has worked extensively with runners will know how important that race will be and will work towards at least making you able to finish.
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
    I know my shoes were worn out and I finally bought a new pair last week so that might have been part of the issue. I have been going back and forth with my family they insist I see a doctor but I just don't want to spend money on them doing an X-ray just to say its from "overuse" and I need to just rest. I did make an appointment for Friday but have been going back and forth about keeping it or not?

    Did you get the "right" shoes? My husband got the wrong shoes, got runner's knee and had to take a few weeks off. Went to the running store got fitted in the correct shoes and after the proper rest he's back running. Check the shoes!
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
    Get in touch with your running club and ask about a running physical theropist. Get a PT that has worked extensively with runners, they may not be able to 100% fix you for the run, but a PT who has worked extensively with runners will know how important that race will be and will work towards at least making you able to finish.

    This!
  • Nikki_G30
    Nikki_G30 Posts: 72 Member
    As others have mentioned, I would go see someone for it. However, I would not go to an MD right away unless they are a knee specialist who is a runner or works with runners. I would start with PT or a chiro that does Active Release Therapy. Dry needling has really helped me too. The most important thing would be, regardless who you see, is to make sure they work with runners and/or is runner. If they don't, they don't usually understand runners and will tell you not to run no matter what. If they do run or work with runners and they tell you not to run then I would listen to them. Stretching can do wonders. Sometimes its an issue with glutes, IT or instability somewhere else that is causing the pain in your knee. Good luck!
  • robosgonefishin
    robosgonefishin Posts: 4 Member
    Reasearch "IT band" and try out some of the stretches. Did wonders for my knee pain.
    ^^^^^^^^ I agree, if you haven't looked into this please do. I'm training for a 1/2 and a few months ago I started experiencing pain in the front of my knee and thought about going to the DR as well. I spoke with an ultra marathoner friend of mine who recommended "rolling out the IT band" first and if the pain persisted then see a dr. I tried it and my knees don't bother me anymore. Of course your mileage may vary but it's worth looking into. Here's a link to a youtube video that demonstrates rolling out the IT band:

    http://youtu.be/OUEUbgYN1VE

    Hope that helps and you start to feel better.
  • Jessie__86
    Jessie__86 Posts: 71
    First off thank you for all the input and advice. I went to my appointment today, an X-ray was done. The doctor said there isn't anything wrong with my knee itself, no rips or tears. But I was told that when I stand straight my knees point inwards so that when I run my knees aren't on track the way they should be. So I am supposed to start physical therapy to strengthen my hips so that my knees will turn the way they are supposed to. Does this sound legit or does it sound like someone trying to make money? Haha. The physical therapist said he believes that with the right exercises and strengthening my hips I should have no problem running my marathon.
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
    First off thank you for all the input and advice. I went to my appointment today, an X-ray was done. The doctor said there isn't anything wrong with my knee itself, no rips or tears. But I was told that when I stand straight my knees point inwards so that when I run my knees aren't on track the way they should be. So I am supposed to start physical therapy to strengthen my hips so that my knees will turn the way they are supposed to. Does this sound legit or does it sound like someone trying to make money? Haha. The physical therapist said he believes that with the right exercises and strengthening my hips I should have no problem running my marathon.
    Not sure how much difference 3 weeks of physical therapy will make to your upcoming marathon. I do believe it should help you in he long run though (my sister is a physical therapist, so I am biased).
    As for the alignment issues IDK, since I've been doing more and more minimalist running, I've had less issues than with shoes that cushion and influence gait. Point being, working on proper muscle balance and refining your technique should always trump artificial corrections such as shoes and inserts (ok, maybe if you have one leg that's significantlylonger than the other....)
  • PinkkCamel
    PinkkCamel Posts: 47 Member
    For a number of years I was easily running 4km every single day with no pain at all. However issues arose when I suddenly increased the milage ridiculously and I stupidly didn't think of the consequences this could've had on my body. Surely enough within 1 month of maintaining my daily routine but doing double the distance, I began having knee problems. I went to the doctor and he referred my to a physiotherapist. Turns out I'd developed a tendinopathy in my patellar tendon which has taken several months to even begin to heal.

    I got the the stage about a month ago where I was allowed to run for a very restricted amount of time and gradually increase. It was going well until I had a random set back that came out of no where and pain unexpectedly returned. Moreover, I recently damaged my fat pad (very painful) and consequently, I can't even walk without pain. It will take ages to heal apparently. So now my initial injury is almost healed, but I've got another one... Sigh. I understand the stress for you. So frustrating!!

    Also, like you, I had a lot of biomechanical issues which affected my running style. My physio actually instructed me similar exercises to strengthen quad muscles, primarily my vmo because the timing of contractions with my other muscles were out of whack, causing a misalignment with my knee cap tracking. There are a few muscles that attach around or cross the knee so it would all affect alignment. So yeah, he's not bull****ting you haha :p

    She gave me modifications of my running style as well such as keeping up high cadence (ie. the number of steps you do per unit of time when running - so a lot of sort of bouncing I guess, as opposed to longer deeper strides with large knee flexion which puts large loads on your knees) and maintaining straight up right posture. The main issue with a lot of people (well with me, lol) is that when they strike the ground, they do so with the wrong part of their foot. You're apparently supposed to strike the ground around the mid foot region. However using the modifications as above, this can be achieved without thinking about it too much.

    I hope you can gain enough strength to get back into everything, especially your marathon! Just make sure when training you're always listening to your body and even the slightest pains should be an indication to take a break. Don't end up like me lol. And just keep in mind recovery isn't unidirectional - as with weight loss, there are often a lot of set backs you can experience, or other injuries you can sustain along the way as a consequence of having vulnerable knees. Just be patient, trust the medical professionals advising you and understand that it requires time. (: Hope my advice has kinda helped you!

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