hello need a bit off advise plz guys, done a 10k race recentley and was very pleased with my time etc , took a week of training as a treat , and went to do my ist sun last sunday and both my knees where really painfull, had to give up as i really dont want an injury, so then went out toinght being the 14th may and only my left knee still hurts, feels like theres something grinding in my knee cap :-S and advise is really welcome , i am thinking off strappin it up see if that will help at all , am feeling quiet blue as i do love my running and to date ive never really experienced any injurys , so am really gratefull for any help.
Do you do any crosstraining (especially weights)? When I increased my mileage, I started having significant knee pain. I was diagnosed with something called patellofemoral syndrome, which is a big term for general knee pain. The problem was that I was only running, and running a lot. Running is great for your calves, but doesn't do much for strengthening your quads. Due to the weak quads, my kneecap wasn't tracking properly. I actually ended up having to go through 5 weeks of PT with no running at all. At the end of the treatment, I was good to go. Just ran a 19:32 5k, so all is well with the world again. At the peak of the pain, I literally couldn't run for 30 seconds. I tried straps and braces, but they didn't do anything for me. My advice would be to incorporate crosstraining into your workouts, including weight training. I also do occasional workouts on the elliptical as opposed to running as a lower impact alternative. Hope that helps!
thanxs for that jkpesven , i dont do any cross training any more or weights, i am soley into running at mo , but i have taken on what you say, though my quads arnet weak as i am on my feet all day at work and have pretty strong legs all over really( and i do lift heavy things most of the day so i guess thats sorta like weight lifting lol), oh well hopefully things will settle sooner than later, once again very much.