Knee pain from running too far too soon
April 10, 2017
Hi, I exercise a lot, and I used to do a lot of running, however took a few months off from running to do other sorts of exercise, then last Tuesday I went on a run (the first in a few months), and my knee has hurt ever since.
The pain almost feels like something is out of place, it hurts most when walking downstairs, but also can ache just when I’m walking. The pain is in my left knee along the bottom and outside of it. I’ve never had any injuries or knee related problems before, and I’m only 19.
Hope you can help, thanks!
Tamara
Tamara
April 10, 2017
Morning Tamara…it should be a great day for a run!!!
You’ve very simply done too much too soon, even at 19!
The body really doesn’t like going from nothing to lots in a very short time period.
Think of it like you’ve bruised the back surface of your knee cap (or the front of your femur, where the kneecap tracks over it) – any load through your knee, when bending (down stairs, sitting in the car etc) pokes the bruise – not once but either repetitively or a sustained poke!
So rest from running (in the short term) is OK to allow the “bruise” to get better on its own, then very gradually start to increase your loading and running activity – try a recovery run (1 minutes running and 1 minute walking for 10 minutes) and repeat this a few times before doing a single 10 minute run, then slowly increasing your distance and pace.
Also think about doing some glut based work pre run and pain free – lunges, squats, jumps. Little and often works well.
In the interim try taping your knee – it’ll be a massive help
Easy does it – enjoy your running…..next week!
The Guru
