There may be exceptions, but physios seem to be in a position whereby they can't offer advice on an injury they have not been "hands on" with pre lock down. Out of nowhere I have developed a painful knee and a bit of research has thrown up two likely culprits; arthritis (which could only be diagnosed with an X-ray) or patellofemoral syndrome, i.e. Runners' Knee. I have decided that the latter is more likely, I don't have arthritis anywhere else, and am now following a set of exercises from Healthline. "Do nothing" doesn't work for me.
After one session I can tell that my right knee is much stronger than my left (the problem one) so a bit of strengthening won't come amiss anyway. The pain when exercising is well within the bearable range so I reckon that, at worst, I am not doing myself any harm. I am now reconciled to the fact that this will not be a quick fix. 2/3 weeks is my hope. I had hoped that 5 days rest from running would make a difference but no. Product of too many faster runs over too short a period I think. All part of the life of a runner I guess. Reconciled to walking the dog, cheering on from the sidelines, and comfort eating chocolate brownie for now.😊
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Beachcomber66
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Those are the knockon problems that this lockdown are beginning to cause, nothing is open except food shops and chemists, if anything breaks you can't repair or renew it, same with physios, hairdressers, shoe shops etc, very worrying let alone people out of work and no end in site, anyway, I hope exercises and especially running will help us at least a little bit.
I keep reminding myself of what the NHS is doing and how people are suffering Al. Me having to make it up as I go along is the least of anyone’s problems, including mine. Missing my diversion though 😊
I decided to limit brownies to PB celebrations!!No likelihood of an OD! Good job I got one in on Monday. I am icing the spot regularly; seems to be helping. 👍
KT tape works well to support the knee, I swear by it. You can look on line to see how to strap the knee. Strengthen the knee doing squats (can be painful - just do them gently to start with). Straight leg raises, i.e. sit comfortably on a firm chair, one leg at a time, keep leg straight, do some lifts...start with a few and gradually build up. Strengthens the quads etc. that support the knee. You can also do the straight leg raises whilst lying on the bed....always nice to have a lie down!!
I'm not a physio, but from experience I know the above are good for offending knees. Take care, hope it gets better soon. Good luck.
Of course, there's the good old: rest, ice, compression and elevation!
I get it from Amazon! Where else. No I don't have shares in the product nor the company !! And I use: Pro-Works Kinesiology Tape. The jury is out on the value of the stuff. My osteopath is for it - others say it's no better than gaffer tape! There are often articles about it in the running magazines and other such forums. Personally, I wouldn't be without it! Happy Easter.
Oh dear! I think many of us probably have a fair idea of what’s caused our aches and pains and physios just confirm it.
Rest is probably the single best thing you can do anyway and really that’s what physios tell us to do in most cases, the only difference is we pay them huge sums for the advice 🙄
Fingers crossed for you. As for the brownies I’d say if you can’t eat chocolate brownies at a time like this then when can you.....?
I had a proper knee issue, well documented here some years back. We are talking painful injury, massive swelling through inflammation, the works. I had difficulties walking and couldn't run for around three months and then limped for a few more. You're doing what l did. Google search won't find you the cause or the cure. A good physio will, so you need to be patient there. You are working through pain and so did l. Pain means you are injured. Working through pain means you are simply aggravating that injury. I learned that discomfort is ok but pain is not and never will be. Don't do what l did, I paid for it nicely.
Thank you. I have been having an argument with myself on that very topic. I have just come back from walking our large dog. I kept her walk short today, but it was enough for me. I mention large dog because she can quickly change direction which loads up my legs and knees!
There is an inflamed area at the top of the tibia which settles down when I ice it, but the pain and swelling returns after exercises or a walk. I will get some tape to protect/stabilise the knee and, on reflection, I will rest and ice it for longer before doing any weight bearing exercises. I really appreciate the warning. Come back physios !! 👍
Thank Sandie. When it gets to the point that walking is uncomfortable it is time to pay attention. Things were going so well.... but, no point in moaning. I will avoid load bearing stuff and try to keep flexible until I can get to my magical physios. Pain isn’t necessarily a show stopper...when I commented that an exercise hurt after Molly damaged my knee, the physio’s reaction was “and?” , but a consultant has diagnosed the problem and referred me for physio...,so they knew what they were dealing with I guess. Ice elevation and rest for now and find what I can do by way of exercise without causing pain. 🤷🏻♂️
Definitely go for ice and rest BC. I wasn’t allowed to do anything else for 3 weeks after my injury. I moved onto alternate ice and heat after 10 days(there are packs that you can freeze and microwave.) .Then 2 weeks of gentle non impact exercises. Only after 6 weeks am I on squats , balance etc. Hopefully you’ll be able to see someone in person. Our minor injuries clinic is still open - do you have anything nearby?
Thanks Dexy. Icing and resting will do to start with, plus exercises which don’t load up my knee. I am not keen to trouble the health service in present circumstances. Maybe physios will be back on stream in 3 weeks or so. Silly time to get an injury! 🙄
Sorry to hear that your 'sore spot' has worsened BC. I understand that you don't want to trouble the NHS, but if the obvious remedies don't have the desired effect, you might want to reconsider, to get a medical view. I've now had an x-ray on my foot and the initial diagnosis is that the swelling/lump is likely to be arthritis, despite not having it any where else. Not sure yet what the implications for running are - planning to speak to GP next week and cycling in the interim to maintain some fitness.
Initially I thought it was a clear up in a couple of days job JP. It feels fine after a night’s sleep, The swelling goes down, and the slight pain is limited to a thumb nail size spot. It feels as though I could run on it. As I move around, it swells up and gets really sore over a bigger area. Icing reduces it, but it gets bad again as I move around..very strange. I read that arthritis improves overnight, but needs an X-ray to confirm! I am just guessing really.
Oh phooey. 🤔☹️ Unpleasant at the best of times and this is not one of those. Even my chiro- who knows my funny feet well - was understandably reluctant to offer more than the most basic suggestions of things to try over the phone. Glad it isn’t stopping the dog walks. Hope it gets better soon. Cheers.
Hi Granspeed. It’s weird... goes from feeling ok to being uncomfortable to walk on, never mind run. Accordingly I go from optimistic to down in the dumps over the course of a day. I think I need to rest it now, give it some ice treatment and see how it goes.
I think if you could see a physio they’d tell you to rest it for at least a week. Does the pain feel as if it’s behind the kneecap? If so, may be a cadence / stride length issue?
No, Dave. The pain and intermittent swelling is about an inch below the knee cap and towards the inside of my left leg. About the top of the tibia/ meniscus area I think.
Regards the injury, checkout Gary Reinl's argument for not using ICE as a treatment on sore or sprained joints.
Beachcomber66AdministratorHalf Marathon• in reply to
Thanks windyrider. The pattern is becoming clear. I wake up with swelling gone down leaving a very localised area which I would label as being slightly painful. As I walk about or do strengthening exercises the area swells substantially and the pain is a bit worse and less localised. So, I will rest it and try to knock back any swelling with ice when it becomes uncomfortable. Best I can do for now, apart from ordering some tape.
As you know, I am in the exact same situation as you! Went for a short walk this morning and my knee flared up again (well I was on my feet for 7 hours during work yesterday...) which is so frustrating! I'm so glad I'm not the only one going through this! Enjoy those brownies! 😀
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Regards the injury, checkout Gary Reinl's argument for not using ICE as a treatment on sore or sprained joints. 
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Knee pain
A good run...and my indecision!🤷♀️
