Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Runners: Knee Pain ?
So I've been running 3x per week. I have been so encouraged by the progress I've been making. However, I have pain on the inside of both of my knees. In my googling, I think I have runner's knee. It seems like overpronation is a common cause of this, which I have the super-supportive shoes to help me stop overpronating. But I'm wondering if maybe I have a mild cause because my shoes can't completely solve it (so says the guys at the running store). I've been taking Advil and Aleve here and there when they really start bothering me and that takes away 90% of the pain. I really don't want to stop running, or even scale back, since the rest of me feels great and I don't want to lose momentum. But I don't want to get injured. So how much discomfort/pain is okay to run through? I figure I'm not going to always feel amazing all the time. At what point should I scale back or even take a break?
FWIW, I have been doing intervals (2 min run, 3 min walk) for 45 min and usually cover around 3 miles. But tonight I'm hoping to increase to (2.5 run, 3 walk) for 44 min. I also do a 5 min warm-up and cool-down walk. I also want to run (with some walking) my first 5k at the end of September, so I really want to keep training for this.
Re: Runners: Knee Pain ?
How old are your shoes? And do you use them for other things besides running (ie, other exercise or every day wear)?
If your shoes are worn out they aren't doing you any favors. They need to be replaced around 500 miles or so and you'd be surprised how fast that adds up especially if you are using them for other things.
Also, where did you get your shoes. Was it just a "walk in and buy some shoes" kind of place or did they really watch you walk/jog. Some places will even put you on a treadmill to see which shoe is going to work best for you.
If you're having recurring pain that isn't good. Don't just run through it. There is a problem. Muscle soreness is one thing, but joint pain is completely different.
I just started this running thing about a month ago and the first thing I did was buy shoes. I do only wear them for running, so they are definitely not worn out! Ha- I wish! I got them from Raleigh Running Outfitters, who came highly recommended, and they watched me walk and then run in a bunch of different shoes and these were the winners.
The other thing I read that could cause "runner's knee" is if you start with too much too fast. I went from couch potato to running for 25 min (1 min run 3 min walk). So I don't think that was too crazy.
The other weird thing was that the knee pain actually started when I was down at the beach and not running. So although it fits the runner's knee symptoms, I don't know if playing on the beach I tweaked both of them somehow?? Doesn't seem likely, but possible.
I'm no medical expert by any means, but I do know that many women are NOT built to "comfortably" run just because of the way we're built--and women's hips especially play into how our legs connect to the knee and how the hip and the knee function, which plays into how the ankles and feel function as well along with the load we're built to carry (a walking load might be OK, but a running load might be more than what your knee is "supposed" to carry). That doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T run--if you can stand the pain, if you enjoy it, you should by all means continue to do so because over time, you might grow out or used to the pain. My knees sometimes have an actual "click" when I run--and its rare for me to NOT feel some discomfort in my knees (and hips) especially after hard or long runs, but I've run a marathon, so it can be done.
Many of Dh's colleague's specialties are in the lower body (one even does her research specifically on female athletes and their knees) so he brings me interesting tidbits.
I can definitely see this. My hips gave me problems before I ever started to run and now after a particularly difficult workout I walk around like an old person for a while. It isn't constant, and I've been able to work with it. When I have hip pain I stretch a lot more than normal, not just after a work out, but any time I get a minute to stretch my hips and joints. It helps a lot.
E, it might be something you did at the beach. Last year when we were at the beach I had just started getting into running again after braking my ankle. I had been walking and doing exercise with little to no pain for a while, so I took my shoes and gear to the beach with the intent to run while I was there. But there was something about it that caused my ankle to stay swollen the whole time, and just walking in the soft sand caused my ankle to hurt like it hadn't in a month. & when I got back home it was like I had taken a step backward in how my ankle felt when I ran. It didn't instantly go back to how it was before our vacation.So maybe that does have something to do with it.
I haven't heard any noises at all. No cracking, popping. Just an achy sore.
I had IT band problems and found that being consistent about stretching made a big difference. I also think strengthening exercises, particularly those for the quad/glute, can really help. Except I do avoid doing lunges to the side, since they always seem to hurt my knees. I somewhat agree w/ Derky, I think many women's muscles don't get developed in a way to keep knees supported well.
Mine makes a sort of grinding noise, and you can feel it if you put your hand on my knee. I had to do exercises to strengthen certain muscles. When they explained the issue, I suspected I knew where it came from. The machine circuit at my old gym was rearranged in a way that if you used the machine that worked the muscles that the PT was targeting, you faced the treadmills crotch open so I avoided that one for awhile.