Active Community: Message List - Knee pain

Re: Knee pain

guest — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:00:02 GMT

It's good to know that it doesn't have to be too long before I get back to normal. I thought about a knee band but haven't tried it yet. I did get back on the treadmill yesterday (just for a 10min mile). It never bothered me which made me very happy. I'm hoping to get outside next week maybe to try again. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll wrap it for the first run outside just to play it safe.

Re: Knee pain

guest — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:33:08 GMT

My bout with ITB lasted a couple months. My method of pain control was various forms of magnesium and kinesio tape. Mag is an all-purpose nutrient that relaxes muscles when applied topically or used orally. It is mildly laxative, though. The tape was shaped and secured to lift the kneecap slightly and counteract the pull of gravity on the area. I cut my mileage some but made all my long runs - so far, 4 of marathon distance or longer. Everything seems to be back to normal now, about 3 months out from onset.

Re: Knee pain

guest — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:04:31 GMT

By George I think you're right! That really helped. I looked at the Wikipedia site and it seems that the source is the TFL running down the ITB to the knee and the episode in the cold was very much so the Vastus Lateralis. It's nice to know where the problem is coming from. Any idea how long it will take to recover from this and suggestions on things to do until then?

Re: Knee pain

guest — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:30:35 GMT

ITB is usually more of an overuse issue. In your case, I am inclined to suspect a strain to one of your muscles after jumping that stump.

Muscles react to cold, because one of their main jobs is heating your body by burning glycogen (why we shiver). The lateral quad (Vastus Lateralis) is under the ITB, and would be the first muscle exposed to the air when you get out of your car. It would also act as a shock absorber during jumping and running.

Sitting in a chair, reach over the affected thigh with your fingers, just above the knee (while sitting, just toward the hip) on the lateral part of your quad, and reach under the ITB and quad (by curling your fingertips under it) and pull it upward. See if you find sensitivity under there. Sometimes after trail running, I have to rub that area at stop lights on my way home. That muscle is famous for getting loaded with painful knots that are noticeable during exercise. It's hard to get to most of it because of the hard, flat ITB on top.

The hip stretches are good, although it is hard to stretch them much on a normal person. Check the hip stabilizer muscles in the upper glutes and forward on the hip (TFL) which tension the ITB and sustain a lot of impact when one leg strikes the ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscles_of_the_hip

Knee pain

guest — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:08:43 GMT

I was trail running about a month ago and felt a slight ache after jumping over a stump. It didn't bother me too bad so I finished about half a mile later. The next day as I was getting out of my car the cold air hit me and OWW the pain set in!! I could hardly walk. It went away once I got warmed up but I chose not to run for a couple of weeks just to give it some time to heal. It has a been a month and I haven't had any problems out of it so I decided to try the treadmill for my first run since then. It started aching within 7 minutes so I stopped. What am I going to do about my training? My plan was to start my training this month and it looks like I'll be delayed and don't know how long it will be. I think it may be an IT Band injury and I know those can be long recoveries. What can I do to help speed recovery? I've been doing hip stretches daily and that may be why I don't feel any pain but I don't want to make matters worse. I plan to do an indoor mini triathlon 2/27. That's not long from now. Help!