Giving up on running and triathlon because I can't run (Page 2)

no knifing involved with Synvisc.....hehehe......

"An avocado a day, keeps the knee pain awayyyyy?!" I've got to try that!

Whatever you do, don't stop until you haxe exhausted all of your options. Good Luck!

Everyone has offered lots of great advice. with the best being not to give up until you have explored every avenue. I have had 2 reconstructions on both knees, so I know how frustrated you must feel. Definately go to an othropedic doctor and definitley get an MRI. If there is a problem, the MRI will diagnose it. If not, then it may be your mechanics. Hang in there.

My diagnosis is that it sounds like tendanitis, which usually is a result of overuse. Keep in mind that I am not a doctor

I'm in the same boat, tomorrow I have an appointment with a physiotherapist, because of my knee problem, I tried every liniment (creams), in the drug store and nothing solve the problem permanently. My problem is mainly running, but last Friday when I was on my bike, my knee was burning like hell, in the climbs. So I give up with the self treatment, and tomorrow I'm heading to a doctor, to get a x-ray and some treatment.

So wish me all good luck.

Another race on the horizon, details not finalised, distance unknown should be lesser than olympic distance I think. I,m going to go for the informal race AQUATHLON(Swim and run) organised by TAS http://www.triathlonsingapore.org/ on April 26, 2004. After swim, can't run so maybe really slow jog or fast walking or crawl whatever it takes to cross the finishing pt. No target or timing, Just for the fun of it. Hope my legs recover by then.

Edited by steven 2004-04-13 5:53 AM

An Aquathlon, huh? Very cool! Wish they had a race like that here!

No shame in walking/crawling (think Julie Moss)! I think you are right, just to finish is the accomplishment!

If you are running and landing on your heel forst- that could be the problem right there. By landing on your heel you are putting all that pressure on your bones, all that force is going right up your skelton. By landing on your heel you have created a path for all that force to follow straight up to your knee, hip and spine.

By landing on your midfoot, you are creating a situation where your muscles become like a spring and ABSORB most of that force and pressure. And a high foot turnonver is better as well.

Plus when you land on your heel you are creating a situation where you are decelerating. You are creating drag as you have to roll over your foot from heel to toe

Check out the Pose method. I dont totally do it, but I now land on my midfoot, take smaller steps and have been increasing with speed. I use to haev knee pain as well. I had knee surgery after a car accident. My knee was pretty banged up after that! But now, I take my time with increasing speed or distance (not both at once) and use weights on the legs to build those muscles

http://www.posetech.com/

I have to agree with Marty. Heel striking is not good for the knees, hips and back. It take time to become a midfoot striker but by shortening up your stride you should reduce the pounding by landing softer.

I'm no expert, not even close but last year I overtrained and wound up with IT Band problems which feel like knee problems. If the pain is sharp on the upper outside part of the knee that may be your problem. If it is there are of course a lot of solutions but I'll tell you what worked for me. After rest, 2 athletic therapy sessions where I was diagnosed with various rotated pelvic problems, more rest and wrapping my leg six ways from Tuesday all to no avail I managed to get in to a very good sports medicine doctor. He asked me some questions, moved my leg around and told me I had IT Band problems...thanks, I knew that...then he asked me if I did any stretches. I said that since it happened I had been doing the IT band stretch before every run but it hadn't helped. He then asked me how many times and for how long. I had been doing maybe three reps of the stretch. He gave me a sheet instructing me to do warm up my hip on the affected side, do the stretch for about 15-20 times holding for about 45 seconds each time and take a couple of anti-inflammatories before I run. I never had another problem. I have since been able to scale back the stretching and I have found if I run in the evening as opposed to the morning I am way better off since my hips and legs are much looser by then.

Anyway, good luck! Don't give up!

Mel

I am a bit confused on what is proper good running technique. For me running naturally is hitting the heel first then transfer the weight to the tip of the foot then takeoff...
Now this article is encouraging people to run on the tip of their foot.
I saw a running article at
http://www.triathletes-uk.org/info/running.html
should be credible since from triathletes-uk.org.
Should we strike the ground on our tips, mid or heel first for long distance running?????

Landing heel first - Your foot is out in front of your center of gravity (slows momentum) and it allows your foot to pronate or supinate (rolling in or out). If your foot is too far out in front(overstriding too much), you will send a shock up through the Heels, knees, hips and Lower back. As long as you are using the right shoes, the rolling of the foot can be controlled somewhat but it may still cause some problems. Heel striking does use major muscle groups so you can go for a long time without wearing out.

Landing on your toes - Most efficient power transfer, your foot will be on the ground under your center of gravity for only an instant and foot/ankle will work much like a spring. There is virtually no pronation or supination of the foot. The downside is that alot of smaller muscle groups(in the feet and calves) are used so long distances become an issue. The smaller muscles don't hold up for longer periods. Sprinters are toe strikers.

Landing midfoot - This is the marriage of the above two. Ball of foot strikes the ground under your center of gravity and you use mostly major muscle groups. There is also little or no pronation or supination of the foot. This is where most of the "elite" distance runners fall.

Heel Striking feels natural only because you have a big thick padded heel on your shoe. Find yourself a nice soft patch of grass and do a few short strides barefoot. You will instinctively lean forward and start landing on your toes and/or midfoot because that is where the padding is. There is no natural padding on your heel.

Hope this helps

Edited by JayC 2004-04-14 8:23 AM

I gave the Pose method a shot last night on the treadmill after reading about it on the website. I know I didn't get all of the info on it from that site (of course they want you to buy their instructional materials), but in general, I tried to strike on my midfoot, lean forward just a itty bit so that I was allowing gravity to pull me forward a bit and kept from putting my feet far in front of me. I noticed that my knee pain decreased a bit (I'm having pain during the first few minutes, but then it goes away) and I was moving a bit faster. I felt a bit restricted on the treadmill, so I'll try it when I'm running outside and see how that does. Even so, I was able to run 10 minutes/mi for 30 minutes without problems, so I think it's worth trying it more. I just kept focusing on using my leg and foot muscles as shock absorbers for my joints. That helped.

this is the whole idea behind the Pose running and he says the same thing in the book "Go run barefoot and see what happens". Unfortunatley for us, we get screwed by the shoe makers who add inches of cool/techno looking heel support.

Moving to a midfoot strike does take practice as noted above- new muscles are working and need to be brought up to speed so dont expcet miracles over night!! Be careful!

Glad it helped- just go slow and build up the muscles.

I have the book and it is filled with information exercises. If you can get it out of the library. It isnt the most exciting book I have read.... but has the information- nor is it cheap- at least I thought so compared to all the other books out there about tri's and what not.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. I have started jogging again and it does not feel so bad only a bit of discomfort in the knees. I should be able to take slow and short jog (around 6min/km) for now as my legs seem to be getting better or not as uncomfortable.