I have been struggling with this since early April. Patellofemoral Syndrome is the label, which I think covers a multitude of sins, but the first line maintenance measure, applying heat every day, sometimes twice, has certainly helped. I now have a shed load of exercises from the physio, a mix of strength and stretches, which have me trying to touch parts via routes I would have found impossible a couple of weeks ago (toes!).
At least I am still running, but that is proving to be a bit of a rollercoaster. On Monday I managed a slow 9k at 6:54 pace, but ended the day with a limp and tightness in the back of the dicky knee which made walking very uncomfortable. It was worse if anything when I awoke on Tuesday, so there was a choice, rest it or do the shed load of exercises. Anyone who knows me will guess that I went for option 2; fortunately it worked out really well and today I feel ready to go for a short 4k bimble...but I may leave it until tomorrow!
On Monday night I was thinking "well that means a week off at least" and was in danger of developing a blister on my bottom lip as it dragged along the ground. At the heart of this is the worry that this will stop me running longer distances. 10 miles (which had become a doddle!) and HM seem like a long way now.....but I need to get a grip and focus on what I can do rather than worry about what I might not be able to achieve again. I think the back of knee thing was a compensation niggle; a result of unconsciously changing the way I run to protect my knee, but transferring the pain somewhere else in the process! Anyway; onwards and upwards.
At least reading the Marathon weekly chat has saved me some money. I was thinking about buying some heavily cushioned shoes but the suggestion there is that they may be great for feet but possibly not so good for dicky knees!! Will buy some new shoes anyway....running shop will need sponsorship now they have reopened.🙂
Good news is that walkway cafe is reopening for takeaway coffee tomorrow...another small step towards normality( may not be doing triple chocolate brownie yet ☹️). Happy running folks !
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Beachcomber66
Graduate10
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Mmmnn that is a bit of a rollercoaster BC. But, as you say, at least you’re still running 🙂
Our various niggles and pains mess around with our heads I think because, if you’re like me, the thought is always at the back screaming that we just might overdo it this one time and end up on the IC yet again.
Reading your post I would say that your knee was telling you that it didn’t like the 9K much at that particular time. But then you probably know that.
You’ll get back to what you did before, you’ve got a good baseline of miles health but maybe your body just needs a few more coffees and shorter runs at the minute in preparation for what’s to come. You’re a runner therefore you’ll return to your previous glory but there’s no rush is there?
Excellent advise, I have a niggle with my ankle, but with a "Garmin Age" of 20 & Demons telling me i will loose my level of fitness if i rest..... Resting appears to be for Wimps
Patience is a hard lesson for us runners but one that we have to learn. I’ve become a bit more laid back about injuries and setbacks and accepted that they happen and that I’ll run again. Listening carefully to our bodies is key, they really do know best 🙂
Take care of that ankle, I’ve had problems with my ankle for yonks but can now control it.
So sorry to hear you’re still struggling with the knee Bc66 but it does sound as if the exercises are doing something for it! Enjoy those new shoes when you get and that takeaway coffee as well. I’m sure as a good coffee shop they’ll have a little something else to tempt you as well ! Happy running!
Everything Her Maj said, BC! Crack on with those exercises, keep those gremlins at bay. So hard to stop ourselves doing too much, but you've got a much better chance of regaining those longer runs if you can rein it in a bit now. She says, with her broken ankle up on the sofa!😂 I'll do an update post later.
I know.....there is always somebody with a worse problem than me....and for too long that has been you this year Grumps! You have had cruel luck. I am having to adjust to a "find a way to live with it" injury rather than ones I have had in the past which had a definite "fix". You stay strong; you will be back good as new.👍
I suspect that finding a way to live with it is going to become the new normal, to borrow a phrase I'm coming to detest! Just you keep going, I'm cheering you on 💪👏👏
You take care of those achy knees - your "slow" pace is my happy pace and your distance aspirations are way beyond what I aim for. Give your joints a while to recover and dont overdo the running or the physio - if you can 🤣 happy running 🤗
You’re probably right about your knee. When I had my right foot problem earlier in the year (feels like 100 years ago!), I was trying to protect it and putting pressure on my left hip so had to consciously try to are balance myself. Keep on with the physio, enjoy the coffee and look forward to the return of the triple chocolate brownie x
Thanks Sandie. I kept my run down to 3k today. Glad I did! I could tell that I was running tentatively, so engaged glutes properly which solved the running action but, of course increased the pace, so before I knew it I did a 6:05/km lap!!Knee feels to be stiffening a bit. All a question of getting the formula right I think. Running after physio certainly helps the run, I just need to get the post run bit right to stop the knee stiffening up again. I will keep working on it. Somebody complimented me on my pace 😬
Hoka running shoes💕👟 - best thing I ever did for my dodgy knee! I need stability so have Arahi's. Keep positive - there is usually a way through. Good luck! 👍🙂
Thanks Sandraj, that is a massive help. I am going to the running shop on Saturday, to pick up KT !! I need some stability too so that shoe might work. I need a new pair anyway!
I was reading on the Marathon site today that well cushioned shoes can be bad for knees....your experience (which is good enough for me) means that this is not universally true. I have just re-checked. Roseabi said that they were small studies with limitations ...I switched off one of the studies when I got to the word “acclimated”! I think that I am going to try building up (yet) again with 500m increments rather than 1k. 9k on Monday was maybe a bit ambitious. That said, I soon sorted out the symptoms through my exercises. It will be good to see the running shop guys again; they are all ultra runners so have had every problem going between them, and they are still running!!
Good luck at the running shop Beachcomber66 - I am sure they will be able to give you some sound advice. I love the Arahi's because it is cushioned but without that really pillowy feel that I dislike. Let us know how you get on. 👍🙂
I’ll send you some of my snails Beachcomber66, as I’m not sure 6:54 pace counts as a slow bimble. 🐌🐌🐌🐞None of us are experts , and you’ve got a great physio looking after you, but my advice is just listen to your body and get everything ok on the short runs first and then you can gradually build up your distance again.
Great news that your little cafe is opening again. That definitely gives you something to run for.
You are of course right Dexy, but I have not been running properly for 2 months now...hence the impatience which you will know all about! If there were a cure on offer I would be more laid back. I think that there may be two problems, as the back of knee involved too...that is also a knee cap running over the tibia problem... physio gouged that out with her thumb last time; tears to the eyes that one!! But.... 3.5k next run and I will try to cut the pace 😬
Sorry to hear your troubles are continuing BC. Sounds like you have accepted (no choice I guess!) that the best approach is to take it a run at a time and rein it in if/when the knee complains. Hopefully the complaints will lessen over the course of time ?
Thanks JP. Part of the complication is that the main symptoms, stiffness and mild pain ( movement related ) emerge well after the run finishes... so some guesswork involved as to when the knee has had enough. Tonight doesn’t feel much different to the post 9k experience 🤷🏻♂️. More research needed! Spending tomorrow in pursuit of vitamin D (rainbow trout!).
So long as they are feeding rainbows are not too difficult to catch JP...I have promised one to a couple we have been helping out with shopping; no pressure!! 🐟
In my humble opinion, It looks like you've forgotten why you do, what you do.
* If something aches, its tired
* If something hurts, its the "Final Demand"
Early warnings need to be listened to dreaming of quick times, long distances, while your body is saying "I need Time To Repair" Guarantees a road to further aggravations.
I'm 56, i have lost 3.5 stone, significantly reduced my Diabetes, & have a resting pulse of 52 - 60....... Sounds really good doesn't it.... so why do i worry that my Garmin tells me:
- that i have ran 10 km at +15 sec / Mile
- That my fitness level has dropped & I am in a static development zone
- That my fitness age has increased from 20 - 22 Yrs
Apply the advise you would offer others. "Look back, & remember the journey you have traveled".
I can absolute see where you are coming from Neil and I have doubts about this all of the time. I am trusting my physio. The pain and stiffness returned to my knee within a couple of hours of finishing yesterday’s run, following a couple of hours sitting at my computer typing a Covid-19 risk assessment for our church. I limped around the shops food shopping and then returned home, put my feet up and watched football! At the end of that my knee felt great and I know I could cruise through my physio prescribed exercises and be ready to run again tomorrow with everything feeling ok. As it happens I will be too busy to run tomorrow, so there will be an enforced rest. My belief is that this is something I have to manage and resting won’t cure it. I have got over the annoyance that I can’t chase 10k in 59 minutes 59 seconds, this is about remaining a runner. If I thought that a couple of weeks rest would fix it, that is exactly what I would do, but this has been going on for 2 months with long rest periods in there, and it doesn’t go away. Another physio trip and maybe, as a last resort, doctor to ask for an x ray/ scan are possibilities......but not sure the latter would happen in current circumstances. What is the current oft repeated phrase.... just following the science! Thanks though , I appreciate the directness; I am built that way too. 👍
I hadn't considered it was direct, but it was. The self reflection element excuses me of being righteous, currently wrestling with my running challenges / mind set.
Its a strange feeling at my advanced years that i can be affected by my running outputs / inputs. I had a comment the other day on my Strava saying "you must be gutted on not achieving a 10km result". My Garmin had a tiny blip... when i checked i was short by 0.01 mile......... un yet i had to go out the next run & push it over the line.
I know that feeling ... I'll never get back to distance, my body just isn't up to it ... it's hard to have confidence in it when you've been let down in the past.
You just have to remember it's becoming highly tuned to compensate for it's inadequacy thanks to the physio. It's turning into a different machine, a better model! You'll get there. Not as quickly as you'd like I bet, but get there you will. Just one more dirty little word .... patience 🙄
Thanks Linda. I am feeling better than the 4lb rainbow trout I brought home tonight. Pouring with rain, wind blowing...I loved it!! As IP put it, it is the rollercoaster which is messing with my brain....;I was just letting off stream; running shop for me on Saturday !!!🙂
I am a great fan of James Dunne on You Tube. I, fortunately, don't suffer with knee pain, but you may find that this video addresses some of your problems.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
