Week 3 repeat

Well nearly thought I'd done my knee in again and running was not going to be for me but antI inflammatory tablets bio freeze gel and a visit to the Physio hopefully has me back on track 😊 lovely evening in the park and week 3 run 1 done 😆

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Way to go... great that the knees held.

Where do you get bio freeze from? The company that made it were literally 5 minutes drive from my house 10 years ago and then suddenly they weren’t. I think they must have rebranded too as I can’t find them online.

[Hidden in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Boots chemist (maybe we in northern ireland have things different?) I also have the Spanish version for it have had issues with my knee for some years now I have another appointment with my GP at the end of this month and I'm really hoping for some different treatment 😆

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks... it’s wonderful stuff. I’ll check boots out.

Good luck with the GP, hope they find the cause

[Hidden in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thanks 😊

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Glad your knees are no longer bothering you, nice view of the park and a lamppost, glad you enjoyed your week 3 run 1.

[Hidden in reply to AlMorr]

Thank you 😊

[Runningnut]

What are anti inflammatory tablets?

[Equi-geek Graduate in reply to Runningnut]

Plain ibuprofen (over the counter) is an anti-inflammatory 👍 Can get stronger ones on prescription too. Inflammation is helpful for building muscle as the fluid brings nutrients to help with repair and strengthening soft tissue. But it can also discourage range of movement and healthy biomechanics if it causes pain. So I don’t tend to take ibuprofen immediately before or after exercise, because I dont want to mask pain and cause more damage, and I do want that helpful ‘repairing’ inflammation. I might take it 6-12 hours afterwards, if I am nursing along some long-term niggles - my left thigh and muscles around my knees needed looking after all the way from Week 6 to Week 9.

Then in the morning on rest days I’ll assess whether the pain is getting easier or worse. If my normal movement is worse, I might take another dose to stop me moving awkwardly. I also need to reconsider what happened to make it worse, and do something different if I run the next day.

So then the morning of the next run I shouldn’t have any painkillers in my system and I can make a judgement call on whether I’ll run, or take another repair day. If I don’t run I will still do some other gentle exercise like swimming to get everything moving. No painkillers. Next day reassess, and so on....

People with joint conditions (inc. me, I have arthritis) might need to take anti-inflammatories whether or not they exercise, but ibuprofen looses it’s effect with prolonged regular use. I’ve actually experienced less joint pain from arthritis since starting running, I think because the muscles are now supporting the joint better and running has been good for strengthening my core, backside, and hamstrings, and improved my posture too.

[Runningnut in reply to Equi-geek]

Doesn’t ibuprofen and abandon have caffeine in as opposed to regular paracetamol, my GP said to steer clear of that stuff

[Equi-geek Graduate in reply to Runningnut]

If a product has caffeine in it, I believe that should be listed on the packet. I just buy supermarket (or generic brand) plain old ibuprofen - some of the fancier brands in colourful packets have added paracetamol or caffeine for migraine or 'flu. But do check with the pharmacist and tell them your concerns about caffeine as they'd be able to advise you better than I can.