Lateral Knee Pain from running

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2008-04-07 12:45 PM

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New York City
Subject: Lateral Knee Pain from running
I am at my wits end. Of course I am an active person or I wouldn’t be on a site like this. Since last November I have been struggling with lateral knee pain in both knees. I was training for a marathon (I got up to mile 12) and finally had to stop because the pain was so bad and would not go away. I rested for a few months and every time I tried to go back to running I had the same pain. I do the elliptical trainer and take a spinning class at a gym all without any major pain, but running kills me. I finally went to see my Sports Dr. about six weeks ago and ended up having a MRI on both knees. Surprise- not a darn thing wrong, in fact both knees look great. Now I am to the point of thinking maybe I am crazy. I have had bouts with ITBS (Illiotibial Band Syndrome) before and I assume it is ITBS although the MRI’s didn’t show any obvious ITB problems. This is just nuts why won’t this heal and why was I able to run for the last 10 years without these kind of problems? Does anyone have any thoughts? I am so frustrated I figured the MRI would show something but all was fine. I want to do a few triathlons this summer but I am seriously thinking I might not be able to because of my knee pain running. How can I train and not run?

Any ideas would greatly be appreciated!

Gina

2008-04-07 1:45 PM
in reply to: #1320953

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Subject: RE: Lateral Knee Pain from running
I'm an MRI tech. It's a good thing the MRI didn't show much wrong, because that means a lot of bad things that could be wrong aren't. I've had similar problems when I recently changed shoes. Have you been wearing the same shoes the whole time? You may also want to consider orthodics. Good luck.
2008-04-07 5:45 PM
in reply to: #1320953

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Subject: RE: Lateral Knee Pain from running

What surface are you running on? Have you tried running on an outdoor track and see how that feels? Have you tried running for a shorter length (like 1 mile) and see how that feels? If you can't stand doing just 1 mile, just do something else like spinning or elliptical after that.

2008-04-09 4:20 PM
in reply to: #1320953

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Cypress, TX
Subject: RE: Lateral Knee Pain from running

There are several things that could be causing your knee pain. Considering the negative MRI, the most likely is a patellar tracking problem.  Several things can cause your kneecap to track laterally causing it to put pressure and grind on your femur and cause you pain.  First, your IT band attaches to the lateral portion of your kneecap, so if it is excessively tight, that can lead to lateral tracking problems. You mention bouts of ITBS before, so I'd start with stretching your IT band.  Also, the medial portion of your quadriceps helps to pull your kneecap medially, so quad strengthening exercises (knee extensions, squats, leg press) can also help remedy patellar tracking issues.  Lastly, they make knee braces with a c shaped pad inside that helps to pull your patella medially while running.  The brace is not a panacea, but it can help with pain until your stretching and strenghtening corrects the problem.  Most important of all: go see a physical therapist.  A good pt can give you a more thorough evaluation and help you with the specifics of an exercise and stretching program that should be able to give you some relief. 

 Good Luck,

Chris

2008-04-13 8:03 PM
in reply to: #1320953

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Subject: RE: Lateral Knee Pain from running
Here's an amateur diagnostic test:

Walk down a full set of stairs. Can you reproduce the pain by simply walking down the stairs? If your pain is worse after lifting your foot from one step to move on the next step you could have an inflammation issue with your meniscus.

I had a similar problem last year. I started increasing my mileage and trying to decrease my overall time simultaneously. I was also running on a mix of paved and dirt roads.

I was told that it was possible to cause inflammation to the meniscus and not permanently damage it. So if it's similar to my situation your pain can be excruciating and sharp with movement, then dull while relaxed. It kind of goes away after about 3 or 4 days without running but will re-present itself within the first few miles of running without a longer duration of rest.

Hope this is at least insightful.



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