help

[johnnyb]

what do I do now, my knee started hurting after the first 3 miler this week but i kept on going and done my final 3 today. But it hurts like hell. Its not so bad when I run, but when I bend my knee or walk thats when I feel it most. should I rest or strap it up bearing in mind i'm only in my first week of my eighteen week plan.

many thanks

john

[El Gordo]

Bad luck. Hope it's nothing serious. The R-I-C-E treatment is usually recommended, though it should be done straight after the run.

R -- Rest.
I -- Ice. Apply an ice-pack to the knee for at least 15 or 20 minutes. In the real world, an ice pack usually means a bag of frozen peas.
C -- Compression. Something like an elasticated knee support is helpful.
E -- Elevation. Take the weight off the knee by 'putting your feet up', quite literally.

That's the treatment. As for the causes and prevention, there are a lot of possibilities/ideas. The wrong shoes can be a cause. Running exclusively on hard surfaces isn't great. If you can, try a soft trail or canal towpath or grass rather than concrete and tarmac all the time. You could try a week of non-impact cross training like cycling, rowing, swimming to work on your fitmess without putting any pressure on your knee. Swimming in particular is said to be good. Losing a few pounds will reduce pressure on the knee. You could take glucosamine supplements to strengthen the tendons. A lot of people swear by it. I take it to help my own knee problems, and it does seem to help.

It's a blow so early in your training, but if it's causing you real trouble, take a break and see a doctor.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

[amit]

hey, I am no expert and cant give specific advice but here is what happened to me.

i started to run three years ago and consequently used muscles in a way i had never used before and so faced knee, back and shoulder pain for almost a couple of months. i kept icing them, bandaging them and going to the local physio for various treatments. Infact I single handedly financially supported the entire physiotherapy department of the local hospital for those two months

slowly things got better, i also did some strength training so the muscles grew stronger over time.

good luck , dont get discouraged, over the length of the training program you will run into several such events besides work commitments etc. a few days rest does not put you so far back as you think

[stillwaddler]

I think you should have your shoes checked out. Go to a running specific shop rather than a general sports shop and get them to check your gait, most have a treadmill in house to do this. It's always useful to take your normal running shows with you so that they can see the wear pattern. It's possible that you need more supportinve shoes? There are also a series of excercises that you can do to strengthen the quad muscles that support your knee cap if it turns out to be good old "Runners Knee", or illotibial band syndrome. Some useful info on the Runners World web site.