My knees hurt from running =(

SeaMonkey83
SeaMonkey83 Posts: 44
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been training for a marathon. I was doing well. Then I went on vacation. I started my vacation out with an AWESOME 9 mile run (the best I've ran in years - which included a 1.2 mile stretch along the beach).

UNFORTUNATELY, under my knee caps hurt for days. It ruined my running workouts the rest of the week.

I'm not sure if it was the beach, because they started hurting like this a couple of weeks ago. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    Have you had your stride analyzed? It sounds like you might be "heel striking" which can cause knee pain.

    How old are your shoes? Time for new ones?
  • Mills187
    Mills187 Posts: 171
    invest in a Glucosamine supplement im 21 and use it running is hard on the knees
  • txgator
    txgator Posts: 65
    Well because of Soccer injuries and incidents while in the Air Force, I cant run without it hurting. The only thing I can help is in recovery. Other than icing, the one thing thats helps most are Icy Hot patches. I stick them over the areas that hurt and then wrap loosely right before bed and 9 times out of 10 I wake up pain free...
  • bexdc
    bexdc Posts: 202 Member
    The knee pain could be the cause of several things:

    1) What's your weekly running mileage? Have you ever run 9 miles before? If you're going from only 20 mpw and all of a sudden running 9 miles at once, your knees may complain.
    2) When you ran on the beach, was it on hard-packed sand or on "slushy" sand? The latter is much harder and can deteriorate your form, which can cause knee pain.

    Things to do: Ice your knee. And to prevent further knee pain, stabilize the muscles around your knee by building them up -- do one-legged squats and other exercises that strengthen those muscles. Check out runner's world for suggestions on exercises.
  • bexdc
    bexdc Posts: 202 Member
    Also, don't run with a heavy gait. Try to touch the ground lightly to minimize the pounding to your body. An old coach used to say, "Run nice and polite."

    You do that by landing on the midfoot, not the heel. Imagine you're running barefoot. Or even try that out for a half-mile or so. Most modern running shoes are so cushioned that we don't notice our bad running form until we start to hurt.
  • SeaMonkey83
    SeaMonkey83 Posts: 44
    I have newer shoes with good support.

    I have been running 3-4 miles on Tuesdays, 4-6 miles on Wednesdays, 3-4 miles on Thursdays and 6-9 miles on Saturdays.

    I have noticed that my form feels ugly, but I was contributing that to my added weight and thought it might improve when I lose some. I was used to running 7-9 mph with decent strides, but right now I feel winded trying to keep 4.5-5 mph pace up.

    It could be the different terrain change. I usually do better on a crushed pebble running path, instead of the packed sand and sidewalk running from the vacation.
  • xxthoroughbred
    xxthoroughbred Posts: 346 Member
    I suffered from a very lengthy bout (8+ years) of bursitis because I didn't realize what was going on and kept trying to push through it. That might be what you've got, but there's so many different knee injuries. Mine occurred from running about 3 miles every day over the course of 4 months. Take an anti-inflammatory and ice your knees for 10-20 minutes after every run. And don't run if they hurt! You've got to wait for the inflammation to go down to be able to run without pain.
  • SavCal71
    SavCal71 Posts: 350 Member
    shoes, shoes, shoes.

    Newer and "good support" don't really mean that much if you weren't professional fitted for your individual stride.
  • Andy9053
    Andy9053 Posts: 2
    try cod liver oil, works for me and have done 5 marathons now training for Berlin in Sept. A major increase in mileage (dont add more than 10% a week and have easier weeks every 3 to 4 weeks) or change of running surface can also have an effect.
  • nickscutie
    nickscutie Posts: 303 Member
    bump
  • mfpchris
    mfpchris Posts: 279 Member
    We are of similar stature. I also want to run a Marathon. What I decided to do was get to a good marathon weight first, then start the training for it.

    I think hard marathon training is much easier on my body once I came out of being obese and then in to overweight and then into a better running weight.

    Doing it backwards, get to marathon weight, then train for and run a marathon while maintaining. Your hips, knees, ankles, and arches will thank you.
  • DonPendergraft
    DonPendergraft Posts: 520 Member
    There is no quick fix for this, but running at 180 will help your knees tremendously. :)

    I ran a marathon at 200 and my knees hurt. They had never hurt before since I was running on dirt roads. But the pavement for that distance killed my knees. I did a 50K trail run, and my knees were fine.

    You can try trail running or (yuck) the dreadmill. Both are better for your knees.
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