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Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 23:38:42 GMT

Thanks James! And, again, thanks for all your time, effort, and great info!

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:52:33 GMT

Got a pair of stability plus running shoes, some custom insoles, and a foam roller and it's now fine. Last two 5Ks runs had no knee pain. Must of been ITBS and I just needed the right shoes, etc.

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:01:46 GMT

Update: On July 1st, I decided to try a 5K run. But, to maybe offset my potential ITBS, I decided to run my usual route backwards. No luck. I was fine for the first 13 minutes into it. And, then, my knee started to stiffen – just a tad. So, I kept running. However, 6 minutes after that, the pain got worse. Not wanting to push it, I ended the run with six rounds of “run a bit, walk a bit.” Total time for the 3.1 miles was 30 minutes and 29 seconds. Later that night, after dinner, I was seeing stars walking downhill – my left knee was screaming. Further, it still hurt when I went to bed. (Also had major foot cramps – no idea what that was about?) But, the next day, I was fine. This has to be ITBS, right?

Re: Knee Pain - What now?

guest — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:31:39 GMT

Sarah - I'm not a vet. Never ran before 2011. Did C25K this January.

But, I think it couldn't hurt to see a doctor - just to be safe. And, dont give up. Just get cleared to run by your doctor first. Don't push it - you don't want to cause more harm if you did hurt youself. I can say that knee pain issues may take a long time to heal. I've been battling it since April.

Re: IT Band Won't Heal

guest — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:55:23 GMT

I think ITBS is my issue. (Still trying to confirm it.)

And, it's been this way for 11 weeks and I'm still fighting it.

I'm not giving up yet. Have you tried the foam roller?

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:36:25 GMT

JamesJohnsonLMT - Thanks again for all your time and information! I read through it all this morning and it's super.

FYI, I did your sitting in the car test. But, I could not find a pain point. That's the thing - right now I have no pain.

My knee feels fine - maybe a tad sensitive - but, strong. And, it feels fine when I run - until I hit that "2 mile" mark. And, then, it hurts (if I push it) for the remainder of the day (where I walk with a limp and see stars if I walk down stairs) and maybe a little for the next day. But, then, I'm fine again - no pain, etc.

For what it's worth, here's my timeline since I first had the knee pain in April 14th:

April 14th – I hurt my knee while running. It happened about 2 miles into my 3.1 mile run. Knee goes stiff and I had to limp the last third of the 5K home. Knee hurts for a week or so.

April 30th – After resting my sore knee for about two weeks, I try and run again. And, it happens again. About two miles in, it starts killing me. The next day, I can barely walk without a limp. Going down stairs is a nightmare full of pain.

May 7th – I go to see an acupuncturist and she thinks I have a torn meniscus.

May 11th – After resting my knee for about 10 days, I try and run again. This time, I only get one mile into it and the knee starts to stiffen. So, I shut it down.

May 16th – I get a major thigh strain. Not sure how it happened. The side of my thigh, down by my knee, spasms like crazy. I cannot lift my left leg without terrible pain. Standing is very difficult unless I take the weight off my left leg. Pain is so bad I feel like Dr, Gregory House walking around with a limp because of the thigh paim.

May 17th – I go to see an orthopedist. He thinks it’s a bone bruise and says not to run again until June 1st and to take celebrex for nine days.

May 21st – After days of intense leg pain – enough to keep me up at night – I go back to the acupuncturist. A few days after that, the thigh pain starts to get better. I had been using a heating pad with a massager on the leg and that seemed to help the quad.

May 24th – I’m not feeling anything bad with my knee or my quad, at all. Maybe the celebrex did the trick?

June 1st – I go for the test run. It’s not good. Two miles into it, my knee gets stiff. I still end up running 3.1 miles. Later that night, it starts to get worse. It’s very painful going down stairs.

June 2nd – My knee is killing me. I cannot walk without a limp. I don’t even think about walking down stairs. I call the orthopedist and they want me to come in for an MRI to see if I have a tibial bone bruise or a meniscus tear.

June 3rd – I wake up and my knee feels fine. No pain at all. However, later that morning, when running up stairs, I twist my knee and the pain comes back again. Yet, later in the day, it goes away.

June 4th – I wake up and again my knee feels fine. I have a busy morning with no issues. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon, when I am walking down a hill, that my knee starts to bother me again and causes me to limp. But, once I get down the hill, it passes and I’m OK for the rest of the day.

June 15th - I try and go for a 5K run again. Two miles into the run my knee started to hurt. And, then, I started to limp. It was so bad this time that I had to switch back and forth between running and walking for the last mile. I’d walk for 20 seconds, or so, to get the pain to lighten-up, then I would run again as long as I could before the pain came back, then I would walk again, etc.

June 22nd - Go to RRS and do the Foot Dog thing. Get custom inserts and stability shoes. June 23rd - Went for a 5K run with the new shoes and insoles. The pain in my left knee came back. It was enough for me to feel, and enough for me to wince every time I had to step up or down a curb. But, it was not enough to make me stop running. When I got home, my knee felt terrible. I could barely walk on it.

June 26th - I tried my new running route and “IT” stretching idea. Starting out, I felt great. I was starting to think I found a miracle cure. And, then, about 2 miles into the run, that usual bad news mark, the pain in my knee returned. However, this time, it was not as painful in the last. Therefore, I kept going, for a bit, stopping every quarter-mile or so to rub the “IT” a tad. I could tell that it wasn’t going to leave me. So, I decided to stop running about six-tenths of a mile short of doing a 5K.

I'm hoping to get that MRI this week. It was scheduled for June 6th. But, the doctor's machine broke and I've been waiting on them to get the new one installed.

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:02:25 GMT

JamesJohnsonLMT - more great information! Thank you again. I am amazed by your kindness on this matter and the amount of detail that you are providing me. This is all very, very, appreciated. Yes, overpronation may be a factor in my case. I did the Road Runner Sports Shoe Dog thing and the video showed me overpronating a bit on the left side only. (Same side as the knee problem.) I'm hoping to have a MRI later this week - just to make sure the knee is sound. And, if that comes back clean, I then know it's ITBS or something else that I'm doing to myself. And, at that point, I'll look into some stability shoes and some custom insoles to try and help with the overpronation. I'm going to print out all your info and read it over tomorrow during breakfast. Thanks again for all this!

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:41:43 GMT

JamesJohnsonLMT - thanks for all your input on this matter! You've put a lot of time into your response and it is greatly appreciated! I'm going to read it all over and will let you know if I have any questions.

For what it's worth, yesterday I tried a new running route. Instead of taking local sidewalks and streets, I went to a park with a blacktop, flat, track. And, before going, in addition to stretching my quads, hamstrings and achillies, I did some “IT” stretching and used a rolling pin (since I don't have a foam roller).

Starting out, I felt great. I was starting to think I found a miracle cure.

And, then, about 2 miles into the run, that usual bad news mark for me, the pain in my knee returned. However, this time, it was not as painful in the last. Therefore, I kept going, for a bit, stopping every quarter-mile or so to rub the “IT” a tad.

I could tell that it wasn’t going to leave me. So, I decided to stop running about six-tenths of a mile short of doing a 5K. All told, I ran for about 23 minutes. It was a decent workout. I did get a nice sweat going. That was enough. I didn’t want to push it. After all, I did just run three days earlier. I’m rather not have the pain again that I had on that Thursday, after running, and be able to try it again in a few days.

Maybe I just need to stick with this new track and “IT” focus for a while until I can get past that 2-mile knee pain mark?

My friend's wife is a PT and she said that I probably don't have an injury to my knee because I don't feel the pain when I start and the pain does go away the day (or so) after I run. She thinks it's something in my running that's making the knee hurt. Maybe it is ITBS?

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 12:21:20 GMT

Damien - thanks for the follow-up information!

Re: Do I Have Runner's Knee? What Can I Do?

guest — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:48:12 GMT

Damien - thanks for all this information!

The shoe store was Road Runner. They have that Shoe Dog system where they took video of me running barefoot on a treadmill and then slowed down the replay to show me where I was overpronating.

The strangest thing for me in all this is the fact that I was able to run (a personal) 5K eight times in a span of 4 weeks with no pain. And, then, when running on April 14th, I had pain and have had pain on every attempt since then - always around the 2 mile mark of the 3.1 miles. And, yet, the ortho said, after the x-ray, that my knees look great.

Why was I having no pain in the past and now have it all the time? Again, seems strange unless I had an injury and the doctor just missed it? FWIW, he is supposed to be one of the best in our area.