Swollen knees after day 1

[chocolatecoffee8]

Ok so I completed day 1 run 1 last night, I had pain in my knees going to bed but woke during the night with excruciating pain and found it really difficult to walk downstairs for ibuprofen and paracetamol. Getting up this morning my knees are badly swollen more so my left than right.

I am female, 40, slim really unfit do no exercise however did not have difficulty with breathing whilst running but felt slight pain in knees and hips. I was wearing Nike air max 97 so decent cushioned footwear.

I’m now worried that I won’t be able to carry on I could cry with the pain. Anyone got any explanations or advice for pain and what to do next.

Thanks in advance

[JJ1804]

Hello,

I am in no way an expert, I’m just restarting running after many years out of any kind of exercise! But, ouch! I can sympathise!

It could be your feet are landing awkwardly when you run, if that makes sense? Back when I was much younger and running a lot I used to get similar pains, mostly just below my kneecaps. I had to work on my stride a bit and be more aware of what I was doing. You should be able to find some tips online or I’m sure there’s some better experts around here to help!

Most importantly rest, don’t overdo it and don’t get disheartened!

[Sordel]

Don't panic! I thought that my knee was going to knock me out of the programme a few weeks back but I rested, retrenched and got back into it. The key thing is that you can't run if you can't walk so keep weight off your knee until you get the swelling down.

Getting such a bad reaction in your first run is a bit of a worry: it could be something as simple as a twist that you didn't feel at the time. But I'd suggest that you do some walking once you're rested just to work out whether your knee is going to react whatever you do.

The other thing is to re-read how you're meant to run for the programme: if you were overstriding and landing on your heel, that would put more stress on your knee. Really you should be looking for very short strides, almost like a shuffle, landing on your mid-foot with the foot directly beneath your hips.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

The guide to the plan has advice on minimising impact, dealing with injury ,stretching after every run and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Nike Air max 97 s do not appear on the Nike website as running shoes and appear to be fashion trainers, so may not be appropriate, although for you to suffer such an extreme reaction suggests that you need to do strengthening exercises to build the supportive musculature around your knees.

Rest up and recover and give it another go, much slower, with shorter stride, with footfall under your body not out in front, avoiding heelstrike and if possible running on a softer surface.

Take care.