Running with knee pain?

Well, you can skip your rest days and an enforced injury can keep you off your feet for weeks or months.

Or you can listen.

You can do another endurance activity on your off days like the bicycle.

Long time runner and last week experienced knee pain. I've taken a week off and have been icing and rolling and massaging this sucker. Still fiery when I touch it. I'm only walking right now.

Take time to heal. I used to run through pain and tore myself up a few yrs ago.

I'm from the camp that says you can run more as a beginner than a lot of programs suggest WITH some big caveats: you have to be running correctly which means correct form for your body (injury-free form), correct pace/exertion (this means you actually run easy on the easy days, at the correct pace for your body/fitness level, which may mean as slow as walking pace), and appropriate recovery and maintenance during the non-running times of the day.

Interestingly, that old "don't increase your distance by more than 10% per week" myth is actually not based on any science or research. There are a number of those myths out there. And, new research suggests increased distance is not a basis for injury--the old "you gotta get your ligaments and joints used to running" is likewise, just a myth. Humans were built to move on their feet (not on their rear-ends--so unfortunately, this same logic doesn't necessarily transfer to bicycling).

I used to lead a couple of PT programs where we took completely sedentary participants with chronic injuries [think: middle-aged people who sat in a chair for 95% of their waking hours for years] and pushed them to move for a few hours, on a daily basis (bicycling, treadmills, other exercises). We also monitored to make sure they were doing each activity correctly. Oh yeah, we definitely heard complaints, they had a lot of psychological issues in addition to physical, but nothing they complained of actually prevented them from doing some sort of heart-pumping activity every weekday during the month-plus long programs.

Probably the reason beginner running programs ease runners into distance and time is because a lot of beginning runners are doing the program on their own and are starting from a true ground zero in both knowledge and experience therefore, the programs have to be designed for the LCD.

So, I'm not suggesting anyone should deviate from a program as defined. If you have appropriate guidance, you certainly can change things up to do more.

Okay so from what I've read, majority of what is being said is false.

Your knee - regardless of position and or activity, is a joint that is basically a hinge. If something below or above the hinge (ie. The foot or the pelvis/hip) isn't quite working as it should, force transfer isn't very good and effects the knee, and can more often than not cause positional knee pain. I can get into the technical stuff but that's complicated so I will say this...

1. Wear proper shoes and or orthotics in them when running

2. Strengthen the crap out of your glutes. It will help to keep the pelvis stable when running, walking, sitting to standing, bending over, you name it.

3. Stretch the hip flexors a lot - sounds like those would be tight if you're always in awkward positions + running is a quad dominant activity.

4. If it continues, see a therapist and have them look at the chicken or the egg (ie. Pelvis and or feet)


I'm an athletic therapist and deal with this every single day. Biomechanical issues are always overlooked.

elphie754 wrote: »

Need some more advice. I took everyone's suggestion to take a rest day but it turned in a 4 day break lol. So in your opinion do you think I should restart the week I was currently on or just forget about it and resume where I left off?

Not sure where you were in the plan, but it might be prudent to restart the week. If you do just go for it, then set your expectations and don't push yourself to the stage where it's painful.