Runner's Forum: Ouch! My Knee!

Hello,

I'm a new runner of just two months, with a pretty unhealthy/unfit background (no regular exersise for years). Over the last two months I have built up to about 4 miles twice a week on average. I went for a run last Thursday and felt so good after 4 miles that I foolishly carried on for another 2. Big mistake - I learned the 'too much too soon' lesson the hard way. After about 5.5 miles my left knee started to hurt a bit. I carried on and gave up at 6 miles when the pain became too much.

The morning after I could barely walk. I had to crawl around my house it was so bad. Later in the day I could walk on it, but I was limping badly. 4.5 days later and I am still limping with not much sign of improvement.

So now I'm injured because I pushed myself too hard, before I was ready, and didn't stop when my knee started to hurt. I can understand that, but what I can't understand is what kind of knee injury I have.

There is no detectable swelling, not even straight afterwards. No 'clicking' or 'popping' from in or around the knee. I can do just about anything without pain apart from walk, including standing still, raising/lowering my lower leg whilst sitting or standing etc. My knee cap area is fine. The pain is to the bottom left of my kneecap (my inside leg), and feels very much like a bad bruise although there is no visible bruising. If I touch the bone there it does feel bruised. I visited the doctor who performed several (what I assume to be) standard manipulation tests, none of which hurt much.

To top it all, yesterday my right knee started to hurt (although much less) in exactly the same way in the same place! Now, 4.5 days after, both knees have started to feel a bit stiff and are occasionally giving me a very mild 'clicking'/'popping' sensation when I bend them. I used ice to start with, and the Doc said there was no need for compression/elevation because there was no swelling.

What's going on? The Doc said to rest it and didn't identify anything common. I've scoured the internet and I can't find anything similar either. Anyone else had a similar experience? If so, did you find out what it was, and how long did it take to heal?

Many thanks in advance!
Ben

Shopping doctors is often a good idea.  However, some period of relative rest is bound to be in your best interest.  "Rest" doesn't have to mean (and should not mean!) ceasing all exercise -- maybe you can swim for a while, or bike.  Whatever your knee will tolerate without pain.

I had a similar pain for a while, under similar circumstances.  It was diagnosed as tendonitis, which I guess I'll have to believe.  Doc suggested a period of rest and that I run with a wrap/brace (soft with velcro fasteners, which I bought at a medical supply store for about $25. I rested for about a week, then I started mixing non-running cardio exercise with runner's calesthenics (high knees, butt kicks, lunges, backward paces, starts, etc) and I'll go so far as to recommend the ramp-up sequence that Nike recommended in the box of Free 5.0 shoes that I bought.  After a few weeks I felt good to go and still do, though -- lesson learned for us both! -- it was a long time before I took a run longer than 3 or 4 miles.

But don't take this as a diagnosis.  Your situation could be different.  I just offer it as encouragement and an option to consider if all any doc will say is "rest."

I developed severe knee pain around the first of the year and had to shut down running for about two months.  I went to my doctor (who runs marathons, thankfully) and he diagnosed me with patello-femoral syndrome.  Do an internet search for that and see if the description fits.  He sent me for x-rays, which were negative for any significant problem.  He then sent me to physical therapy, which I attented three times per week for 6 weeks.  Those guys were miracle workers and by the end of the 6 weeks, I was back at full strength.  They had me do LOTS of weight and positional training, which i continue to this day.  The problem was my legs were rather weak, even though I was running 30-40 miles per week.  I was neglecting to lift weights on a regular basis, which led to weak thighs.  That caused significant strain on my kneecap, causing it to go out of alignment, and giving me MUCH pain.  My main symptoms were significant pain while running, pain when standing up and sitting down, and the worst pain was when going down stairs (not up, interestingly enough).

After following the PT program, all pain ceased and I am running better than ever (two sub 20:00 5Ks this summer!)

 Good luck!

Well, three weeks after and my knees have almost completely recovered; mainly thanks to rest I suspect. As Beardo said, I suppose the rest is as important as the running. I've started running again, but I'm taking it easy to start with. I'll be increasing my mileage slowly and steadlily from now on. That's a lesson learned! Never did find out exactly what it was though. I count myself very lucky that it only lasted a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for all your comments and advice.