So I went to my physio lead Pilates today and mentioned that my knees hurt after running for a few days. He made me do my shuffle down the room and back (mortifying) and said my knees are turning in when I run. I’m a knockneed runner! I’m hyper mobile in all my joints...great for Pilates...sort of. Not so great for running apparently. He suggested getting hard insoles for my running shoes. Does any one else use these???? How are they? Can you run with them straight away?
He then suggested cycling as an alternative...I’ve just completed w2r3 I’m not prepared to give up yet and yes I gave him the full on are you crazy look and came home to ice my knees.
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jiggles7
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I get where he’s coming from... flexibility is great... muscles to control that are still developing. From what I understand Hypermobility for a runner needs more strength work. runnersworld.co.uk/health/i...
Hi unfitnomore, yep agreed! the reason for the Pilates at the physio is for strength work...were working on strengthening within the normal range of movement which hopefully will discourage hyper extension moving forward.
OK. Cycling is good for strengthening muscles and tendons around the knees.
But like jogging advice, take it slowly.
I used to have a knee cap that would 'pop' out of the joint after an injury (not a nice look) which was a pain and felt sore for days after. Cycling I think did more than any physio work might have done.
If you have a bike then try a 10-15 minute ride on your rest day. If you haven't been on a bike for a while that'll be plenty of time. Don't forget lights in the now darkening mornings and evenings! 🚨😸😸😸
Ahh Katnap! If only I could the idea of cycling more appealing than the 3minute intervals looming tomorrow. I have been given a load of excercises for knee and hip strengthening which fortunately do not involve those undignified squats. Honestly the last time I was on a bike I misguidedly joined a spinning class. That was the first and last time I attended. I ran out of the class after 10 mins and promptly burst into tears in the locker room. Everything part of me was shaking and I had resolutely refused to do the stand up cycle lark because that is just crazy and I just did not feel safe...it bad terrifying enough just climbing on the thing and it doesn’t even move!
Hey jiggles7, I have flat feet and planter fasciitis so had hard insoles made earlier this year. They have completely taken away my knee pain and I've had absolutely no PF pain since. I have two pairs, one which stay in my running trainers and the other in my normal day shoes. I was fine to run in them straight away but I bought new trainers half a size bigger to account for the extra space they take. They look big at first but you do get used to them and you do need to wear then in every shoe that you use. Good luck, insoles didn't stop me running, W6R2 for me tomorrow.
This is reassuring thank you! I will take your size advice onboard when I go running shoe shopping at the weekend...not a sentence I thought I would ever write.
I had knee pain in the spring when running, this time around I’m doing more strengthening and have SuperFeet insoles, they are pretty hard. No issues so far, I’m just in week 3.
I’ve heard good reviews about superfeet insoles. I’m going to town at the weekend to see if I can get proper running shoes from a place that does gait measurements stuff, do you think insoles aswell?
Just an additional point to mention about custom made insoles, you may need to take out the original insoles of shoes to accommodate for the extra space taken up by the hard insoles. This is one reason why I bought a half size extra pair of trainers and left my original insoles in but also tie the shoe laces a little bit looser. You get two types of insoles made, ones which go up to two thirds of your foot length and others which cover the entire sole of the foot. With the later, it doesn't matter if you remove the shoe's insole as your feet still have a base sole but with the shorter ones you may need to replace the shoe insole with a flatter comfort gel - my husband does this as he too wears insoles. He buys the Scholl comfort gel ones. I've managed to get away with leaving the originals in for now but then I have quite thin feet. Happy trainer shopping.
I think as with all things there is a variety of solutions after a proper diagnosis. I was getting massive blisters and back pain. This had been building up for the last five years until I couldn’t walk distances let alone run them. I put off going to a sports podiatrist for ages. I went and I have custom orthotics now. They cost about as much as three pairs of runners but for the first time in ages I am blister and pain free. My problem was my big toes don’t move so opposite problem to you but still sorted with insoles. My advice would be
1) find a good sports podiatrist
2) be honest about what you can afford, there are expensive and then there are cheaper options.
Some podiatrists can be very expensive but to get the best resolution you need to ask around in your area and ask runners for referrals if you can because an average nhs or general podiatrist will give you different advice to a sports one. For me personally I wish I had made the change years ago. I have had to go back to week 1 run 1 to allow my muscles to adjust to the correct posture but it has made such a difference.
I totally agree. They are expensive, I was lucky I got 1 pair paid and 1 free (my husband is still fuming as he bought his from the same supplier only the year before 😆). Cost was about £300 or so and this was at the Ideal Home Show after a discount. The difference is magic! Having constant and excritiating pain in your knee and your heels for it to then disappear was unimaginable. There's absolutely no chance I would be running without them. I've also found that my posture is better so less back pain at night (from babies' deliveries years ago). Disclaimer: I do not and have never worked for any orthotics companies 😁
I’ve had sore knees during c25k but I bike ride in between runs which I find really helps. Also got good gait analysed shoes. I’m really careful not to run too fast or long.
Anyway about to graduate today and my knees are much improved from when I wasn’t running and legs are getting stronger. At the age of 63 so pleased I’m managing to do this and benefits are not just physical but also mental strength and self belief is improving massively.
As always thanks to everybody out there for their continued support.
Savouring the thought of doing graduation run today 😊
So I went running shoe shopping and wasn’t laughed out of the shop😀 the girl was super lovely-are all runners nice people?? After a gait analysis which involved running on a treadmill for the first time (I do not like treadmills after all) she gave me the sturdiest pair of running shoes on the market. They corrected my knock knees 90%. She advised against insole addition but if I plan to run more than 10k (there are no plans whatsoever) that these orange monstrosities would do me well...if I do suddenly decide to run marathons 😂😂😂 then it would have to be with custom orthotics as nothing currently on the market will suffice. I figure before I make the expensive commitment to orthotics and running I will see how I get on with the C25k. Don’t get me wrong I fear I may be somewhat addicted already. But as I’m only 2 thirds of way through week 3 I’m hedging my bets. I really appreciate all the advice on here, it really gives a lot of hope.
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