Knee Pain/Crackling

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kscarlett24
kscarlett24 Posts: 54 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started running 11 months ago, have done a few 5ks and am working on a 10k. When I run 2 days in a row, or after my long run day my knees ache like crazy. And when I bend them, I can feel them crackle inside. I have been to the ortho and they took x-rays and told me there was nothing wrong (this was about 8 months ago). The pain seemed to subside as I trained, but lately its back again. I'm don't want to stop training, but I want to stop feeling achy in the knee all the time. Does anyone else have this or know what it is? Thanks.

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  • cathy46601
    cathy46601 Posts: 4
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    I am a Certified Athletic Trainer for the last 25 years. This sure sounds like something known as "Patella-Femoral Syndrome" - some of the older doctors call it "Chondromalacia." This is a problem with the patella-femoral joint (the knee cap and the thigh bone.)

    The patella has a thin layer of cartilage on the backside. Due to a improper tracking, the cartilage wears down and softens. This creates the "crackling" which is known as crepitis.

    A few things which are vital...

    1. Hamstring stretching. Check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT4mIxlAklo as it's pretty good. I would be doing this several times a day. Especially after you shower and before bed. My favorite hamstring stretch is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-wiOqYcxoI&feature=endscreen. You'll want to do these often. Warm up - stretch - then run. Also stretch AFTER you run.

    2. Strengthen the Vastus Medialis Oblique or the VMO. Three of the four quad muscles pull the kneecap out (or lateral) and the outside (or lateral) boarder rubs on the groove of the femur to cause that grinding. So, VMO strengthening is KEY! This is my favorite! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFaz-Rjy_iU. Keep in mind, when doing the right knee, point the right foot to 10:00; point the left foot to 2:00 when doing the left knee. Lift, hold for 5 seconds and repeat as often as you can. You will feel this in the knee and maybe all the way to the groin.

    Give these two a week and you will notice a difference. Then, KEEP up with them. Also, ice your knees (while they are bent a little - maybe supported over a pillow) for 20 minutes AFTER you run.

    Do NOT do any exercise or run or ANYTHING after you ice for about an hour.

    Hope this helps!

    Cathy
  • natalie412
    natalie412 Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Great info! Thanks, cathy46601. I get the crackling, but just occasional knee pain. I found that it does help if I stretch after I run. I also started taking Glucosomine\Chondroitin just in case.

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