You guys, I'm in pain. And I'm pretty pissed off about it.
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| My right knee hates me. |
I'm not exactly sure what happened, but my knees have both been a little sore, so I've been icing them off and on. My biggest fear is that my knees will keep me from running. I'm very worried about my knees! (This reminds me of the time I was dropped on my face on a cobblestone driveway and the only thing I was worried about was my teeth...they all survived, BTW).
My right knee has had an off-and-on pain when I bend it while walking, and a little pain while running but I didn't worry about it too much, because I wanted it to just be my legs getting used to running. Yesterday I was supposed to run three miles, but then Kara The Enabler was like, "Hey, you know what? Make up the six miles you didn't run on Saturday". And, since I'm always up for a challenge, I was like, "Yes, I can do it!" So I did 5.5, wanting to save the 6-mile PDR for this Saturday.
As usual, I stretched and then, while eating my cereal for dinner last night, I iced both knees. And then while I was walking Pippi I got a shooting pain through my knee that came back every time I took a step and bent my knee. I hoped that, after a good nights' sleep, I'd wake up and all would be right with the world again. Yeah, I was dead wrong. I walked into work this morning like a cripple. I've noticed the pain is on the right side of my right knee. When I put my hand to the area while trying to bend my knee, it feels like it's "creaking" (for lack of a better term).
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| Possibly something with the collateral ligaments? (also, yes, it annoys me that they spelled muscles wrong) |
For today I'm just going to ice it off and on and hope for the best. If it feels better by this afternoon, I'm still considering doing my 4 miles after work. I'm an idiot, aren't I?
I'm considering purchasing a knee compression wrap or sleeve of some sort. Suggestions?
Anyone else had this kind of thing happen to them? I need assurance that I won't be sidelined for long. It's severely crippling my mojo.
It could just be some growing pains from forming new muscles for running. This can cause your knee cap to rub a little and result in some pain.
ReplyDeleteIce is good, also keep it elevated at work if you can. I don't know anything about knee sleeves, but some one else probably does.
I love my new title so much. :)
I'm currently icing my knee and running every other day because of inflammation. I get it a fair amount when I increase my distance or intensity (usually happens after I run a race) and in this case, when I double my mileage from one month to another (56 miles -> 110 so far) after a stress fracture. Ice it, Rest it! There's really no reason for you to run every day right now. You could do a 3 day a week split and intersperse it with other things you like to do that won't bother your knee as much. Plus that's a good way to stay mentally motivated to keep running for the long haul, beyond the race in December.
ReplyDeletePS. If you can't walk, you can't run. :) I'm good at pushing through the pain (see aforementioned stress fracture) but I DID stop running whenever it hurt so bad that I changed my gait/stride. You don't want to end up causing pain/damage somewhere else because your body is trying to compensate for your knee.
PPS. Don't bother with a knee sleeve. There's some evidence for the benefits of compression sleeves/kinesiology tape, but there's also plenty of evidence that it's more of a mental benefit. But don't set yourself up mentally that in the future you feel like you HAVE to wear it or you can't run.
If it hurts, don't run on it. It's not worth getting four miles in to be sidelined for weeks. So many people I know have made injuries so much worse than they needed to be by refusing to take time off when the pain began. Ice, elevate like Kara said. I have a knee sleeve, not totally sure what it does, but that seems to help with the knee gets a bit sore. Also LOVE my compression socks. They go all the way to my hips and I'm wearing them right now. FYI - sore knees are a part of running - shooting pain is not. Good job differentiating! If the pain just started and you are smart and take care of it, it should be short term. I do hip exercises. When I injured my knee, the PT told me that knee injuries often happen because of weak hips. Email me if you want more info. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIf it is on the outside of your knee? Lower outside? it could be your IT, this happens a lot when starting to ramp up training, mileage, etc. Do you have a foam roller? If not, I highly recommend buying one. It is a runners best friend.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
-Jen
Sounds like ITB potentially. You probably need to back off and call your doctor if it doesn't get better soon. Have you thought about doing a training plan that incorporates a bit more cross training and a bit less running? You just seem a little frustrated and a potential injury is not a good sign.
ReplyDeleteI've actually never been one to have knee injuries when running, I generally suffered from hip pains. However, I've had friends that have had to get surgery due to ignored pains in the knee so check it out at a docs! How are Pippi's knees? :)
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