(Alternate title, if I knew I didn’t have younger readers, potential employers and family members reading: my knee is an a-hole.)
I’m currently sitting with a big bag of ice on it because it’s a sore little baby.
It actually started bothering me a bit last week, but I just assumed it was because my shoes were worn out, and I’d replace them and it’d be all puppies and sunshine again. Well, I got new shoes, and it’s still sore.
I ran that half-marathon on Saturday (by the way, if you missed that post, please read it. I had an awesome surprise PR which I’m really happy with) probably way faster than I should have–especially with a slightly wonky knee. I can’t change the past, and really, I would never change a thing about a race in which I PR-ed, but in the future? If my knee is hurting a bit and I have a race coming up that is more important? I will sure as hell not be racing this other race.
So what will I be doing to make sure my knee is back in shape and not being a jerk 32 days from now?
In handy bullet form:
Standard disclaimer stuff: if my knee really is still being a jerk 32 days from now (which it won’t. It knows better.), then, of course, I’ll re-evaluate the marathon. But it’s just beginning to bother me (it actually is just more uncomfortable than pain), so I’m hoping I’m just catching it early and it will be okay by then. I had some runner’s knee (aka patellofemoral pain syndrome) issues last year, so I know what causes it and what works for me, and I’m trying all of this before heading back to a doctor/PT. If it’s still bothering me next week, I’ll head back to the doctor/PT.
If you’ve had runner’s knee, how do you deal with it? What do you do when you start to feel some sort of injury coming on?
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What worked best for me with my knee, is taping it up.
I recently bought some high teck compression tights that's supposed to support the knee too, haven't tested it properly on a really long run yet. Will let you know on Saturday.
In addition it helped really focusing on keeping my footfalls light, especially when I start to get tired, as well as doing all the strengthening exercises that my physio told me to do. (Yeah... Very surprising...)
Good luck, hope the knee gets better soon!!!
Oh, I feel your pain. I'm also a patellofemoral pain sufferer and although I've always wanted to run, I'm too afraid of making my knees angry at me. I hope you heal up soon. I'd love to hear how you manage to do all that running with PPS. I can lead an active lifestyle (lots of walking/hiking/etc), but running, especially on pavement, feels like a no go for me.
@Ada: Well, it surfaced last year between my first and my second half-marathons, and I went to PT for a month or so. It actually hasn't bothered me since, and to be honest, it's not too bad right now, and I'm trying to catch it before it does get bad.
What I think has helped: yoga, stretching, icing, XT, not running more than 3-4 times per week.
I was just at my doctor last week for a combination wonky foot + knee, and she actually suggested doing some biking to warm up before running (and if I'm running outside, making sure I do a nice walking, then slow jogging warm up) before going at it. It seems to help. I also seem to respond better to heat than ice for ongoing muscle pain...
@Beth @ 990 Square: ooh, good to know! Thanks.
Your face. Priceless. <3
@Gretchen @ Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!: It's saying:
Dear Knee,
I. WILL. GET. YOU.
xoxo
Theodora
Runner's knee is the devil. That's all. GET BETTER!
@Heather @ Side of Sneakers: I somehow knew you'd be commenting on an injury post :-/
Whenever I feel knee pain coming on (and this just happened to me recently) I think about if I need to get a new pair of shoes (as you did), but I also start wearing those below the knee straps that support the patella/knee. I have only been wearing them for a few runs and I am already feeling much better. I wear them until I feel stabilized and stronger, and then start to phase them out. Also, have you looked up physical therapy type exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee?
@Courtney: Yeah--I forgot to add the link into that, but yes, I am looking at PT-type exercises. And I will look at/into those knee straps. Any kind you've used that you like?
@Theodora:
I have Pro-Tec and Mueller brands. I like the strap on Mueller, which goes behind the knee, a bit better than the closure mechanism on the pro-tec, but they both do the trick in helping to alleviate my knee pain. Hope your knee feels better soon!
Ughhh I'm sorry you're dealing with that. My left knee hurts sometimes when I run, but nothing major, and it usually goes away after the first mile or two, which I realize is counter intuitive.
@Beth @ Beth's Journey: No, that's actually how mine was yesterday. Totally counterintuitive.
don't worry - you're doing all of the right things!
i had major issues with my left knee for about a month in july/august. i could run on it (definitely not as fast though) and it hurt to walk on it.
knock on wood i'm pain free now - not sure why, but the only thing i really did for it was wear my knee sleeves (from tommie copper) for about a week. the pain literally went from an 8 to a 0. can't really explain it but they are totally worth checking out - the reviews on the website about these sleeves are all positive as well.
hope it gets better very very soon!
@Christine: oooh. See, I'm just being very proactive/a big baby. It's more like a 3-4 right now, I just don't want it to get any worse.
@Theodora: you are SMART. i..... was not.
anywayyyy forgot to mention that i'm sure if you tweet @tommiecopper saying you'd do a review of their knee/calf sleeves they'd send you soon fo free :)
boo to wonky knees. I'm injury-prone, but I also have a high pain threshold, so it's *very* hard for me to tell when I can run through something and when I need to stop. That's why I practically begged for PT when I started having IT band problems -- it was a new injury for me, and I needed someone to tell me what was acceptable discomfort and what was OMG STOP NOW pain.
What's worked for me: strengthening exercises (thank goodness, because they are totally time-consuming), foam rolling, and -- to my surprise -- running on a treadmill, because I can control my pace/elevation better. When I started PT, I was given the OK to run until the point that I felt pain, so running on the treadmill helped psychologically, too -- if I only made it a mile or two, I could hop off and do something else, rather than having to make a slow, sad walk home.
I feel your pain. I started with runner's knee and ended with sciatica. Injury blows! Be smart about your training and definitely see a PT soon if it continues. One of us should be up at the crack of dawn on 11/6 and it don't look like it will be me. :(