Week 3 knees

[amandarotherham]

Hi, completely new to jogging but not to exercising - has anyone experienced knee pain at this stage of the programme?  I don't know if I'm damaging my knees by jogging of if this is normal.  Thanks.  Amanda.

[Rignold]

Lol. Just finished a post about knee pain in another thread.

Yes it is quite normal. No you are unlikely to be damaging yourself. unless you have really sharp at using paint like something is broken. In which case go to A$E. There will be a lot of aches and pains in joints and muscles as your body gets used to this running lark. They will pass as you get stronger. And be replaced with more aches and pains as you run further/ faster etc. 

Don't neglect your post run stretches. Do some strengthening exercises - squats and calf raises and perhaps invest in a foam roller ( that will introduce you to a whole new world of pain).

This is meant to sound encouraging even if it comes across as scary. 

[AncientMum Graduate]

Yes, I experienced knee pain quite early on in the programme and did all the RICE stuff (Rest Ice Compression Elevation), used Ibuprofen gel, ran with tubigrip on my knees to support them etc - everything except get to the root cause of the problem. The upshot was that I was injured for 2 months after I graduated. I ended up seeing a wonderful physio who explained that all runners need to do quad strengthening exercises to protect their knee. I posted the ones he gave me on OldFloss' thread yesterday, so they'll be easy to find if you want to try them. Honestly, they really do work and are so worth doing. It's about 18 months since he gave them to me and I still do them regularly. Also, in the pinned posts down the side of the page, there are the NHS guides to how to run and stretch correctly, both of which are full of great advice and well worth studying - the how to stretch guide also has a link to recommended knee exercises (but I liked my physio's better) Very best of luck, Amanda. Hope the magic quad exercises work for you too 😀