UKC

Right, so after avoiding running for many years as a form of exercise (I find it mind numbingly boring) I have somehow been signed up for a charity event involving running amoung other things.

Generally I'm very fit, and will quite happily play a few hours of squash, tennis etc. Cycling 100 miles is not an issue for me.

To try to get used to it I went for a run last night (5K) at a gentle pace. fairly early on i got a bit of pain on the outside of my right knee, but it wasn't bad so carried on.

Today I can barely walk on it, and going down stairs is exruciatingly painful... I'm concerned I have really damaged my knee.

As far as I can tell, there wasn't anything unduly punishing about the run (it was on a flat, grass track, with no sudden direction changes etc)

any ideas what I might have done, or what might have caused this?

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I got pain on outside of knee due to two things - mainly hamstrings are far too tight, secondly my right foot turns out a lot and causes pain.
Ive almost eliminated that completely now just by stretching (after warming up) and concentraing on good running form and posture.

In reply to balmybaldwin:
what shoes did you use? If you have shoes that support your foot incorrectly (i.e. wrong pronation), it might result in pain to the knees. This happened to me once when I had bought new running shoes.

What talks against this theory is that it seems your knee started to hurt so fast, and that it only was to the other knee.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

ITBS feels like knee pain? Get a foam roller.

In reply to Ste Brom:

I'm familiar with ITBS from cycling, and this is quite different (a much sharper pain deep in the joint), may give the roller a go though just in case.

In terms of shoes, I used my normal approach shoes - probably a bit heavy, but never had any problems walking long distances (with a pack on).

I do have tight hamstrings though, so perhaps some stretching will help.

I did have an issue with the other knee a few years ago which was put down to a torn meniscus from playing rugby... this feels vaguely similar although it hasn't locked

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I doubt such a sudden and intense pain will have been caused by shoes but running in approach shoes won't help as they won't provide the same level of cushioning and support that running requires.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Check your quads.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

My diagnosis would be: too much to soon. Build up slowly and the relevant supportive muscles will develop in time.

In reply to Ander:

What am I checking for? They work fine on a bike!

In reply to mikehike:
Really? I was running for maybe 40 minutes at a pretty slow pace. And the pain came on (slightly at first) after maybe 4-500m

Is it worth diong some Gym work to build on specific muscle groups if so, which ones?

Maybe I'm just getting old

In reply to balmybaldwin:

When you get to the stage where you're good for 100 miles on the bike pretty much any time you want without training (like I am now) You soon realise that your body is pretty much good for f**k all else.
I ran for 25 minutes last week and it took me three days before I could walk properly again.

E

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Seriously im mealy guessing based on my experience. Cant run to save my life and have knee pain when ridding a bike. So Im not best placed for expert advice.

I do think my diagnosis holds some truth though. I would say Hip Pelvis Glute muscles.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

No point zero? No cracks or sudden pains?

Pain on the outside of the knee, came on gradually, pain when going downstairs. Certainly sounds like ITBS to me.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Sounds to me like your cardiovascular system is superior to your muscular and structural ability to run. Your tendons, ligaments and nervous system needs to adjust to your newfound activity. You've done too much too soon. Keep the runs to 20 mins for a few weeks and increase by 5 mins each week.

In reply to Enty:

Glad its not just me!

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Thanks all for the pointers... I guess I need to peg it back a bit then and build up slowly... will have another go once I can walk properly again

In reply to Sebastian Fontleroy:


I think this could be it. Gonna start again, 20 mins, then 30, etc etc

E