Hi JRF,

There are so many influences that could be contributing factors (including the twisting that you mentioned or overuse, misalignment, leg muscle imbalances, foot issues or some other sort of trauma or injury). 

I am surprised that your doctor did not go ahead with an XRAY, CT or MRI for a full evaluation, especially since the pain is not present in common activities that would typically fall under the general definition of "runners knee."  It is possible that you have some tendon strain, nerve issues or joint damage, but again further tests would be necessary to diagnose exactly what is going on.  Anytime there is radiating pain, other considerations should be explored, so maybe it a good idea to follow up with the knee specialist to be on the safe side. 

It is probably something simple...and even if you have to cater to your knee in the future...that is easily done (custom orthos, sleeve/brace, for example). 

Wishing you all the best.

You mentioned a problem on the left side of the knee, but did not say which knee. In your second post you said the "side of" the knee, so we are probably talking about the left knee? If it is where the bones form the joint, I will assume you mean between the tibia and femur, but the fibula also joins at that spot. There is some controversy about the structures here among exercise enthusiasts. "Snapping" has often been associated with the Iliotibial band, but focusing on a body part or pain location may not be as productive as evaluating your tender running form before real injuries have a chance to develop. This may be out of the physician's or knee specialist's scope, but within the realm of physical therapy. Observation of form is very important.

Researching injuries on the internet is tricky. You'll see some of the more bizarre ailments ranked up there with the common ones, not necessarily in order of predominance or likelihood in your particular case, in a differential diagnosis. The docs' approach helps to rule out some of this complexity, but there is a lot more to know about how you run. Look for expertise with running and musculoskeletal performance, not just with anatomy and physiology.

An average guess would be the typical ITB syndrome, but with so few miles on those knees, I would not think so. Fact is, running tends to result in pain for a lot of newbies, even though the body eventually adapts and the pains often go away for good. It's ok to be cautious, but if you are going to be a successful runner, you are going to have to allow for a lot of pains for which over-treatment can be just as harmful.

Sounds to me like you can do quite a list of things that rule out the structural knee damage you fear. Repetitive motion of running seems to have brought on the symptoms, but your knee is subject to all these stresses at once. Choose your sport, because they don't always contribute to one another.

In my experience, running tightens up the muscles around the knee enough that many normal activities hurt, let alone other exercises like squats. You may have encountered a hyper-sensitive portion of your V. Lateralis muscle as it approaches the knee. It would be stiff in many new runners, and influence the movement of the knee and knee cap. It can cause radiating pain. Since the mass of your muscle tissue considerably outweighs the mass represented by your tendons and ligaments, and is a rich source of nerve endings and pain, I might start looking there in a training athlete, before I start looking for arcane minutia. Keep rubbing. It might be all you need.