MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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In a bid to get a bit fitter and leaner I've been doing a bit of running. I'm 37, 6"4 and weigh about 14.5 stone. Not really run much before, but have gradually built up to running about 10-12k at a go once a week. Today when I came home my knees hurt a bit. I did some stretching, went for a gentle swim and had a wander round town, and felt fine. I sat on the sofa for an hour this afternoon, and when I got up I could hardly walk. They've loosened up a bit again now, but what I want to know is 1. Have I done myself a mischief, and 2. What is the best way to stop it happening again, other than not running?
I've never had any knee problems before. Is this nature's way of saying I'm too old and heavy to take it up and I should just ride my bike more instead?
At the front? google runners knee, sounds like it too me.
Aye, knees are complicated things.
As alex says if its around the front the chances are its to do with your patella so runner knee. The patella is linked to loads of ligaments, if one ligament is tighter than another the its going to pull it out of line and affect its tracking so doesn't move smoothly leading to pain.
Its what happened to me for a years then a month of knee curls on a weight bench and its basically gone. Wish I knew earlier!
Put your saddle up, that normally cures knee pain 😉
I was suffering from knee pain earlier in the year, I hadn't been riding very much, once I got out and rode a few miles the pain started to go away and they've been fine since. So in my case lack of cycling is bad for my knees. 😉
What is the best way to stop it happening again, other than not running?
Why not try strenghtening you knees with some exercise such as cycling (this is a cycling website not a running one BTW). 🙄
Running is the same as any high-impact activity - it takes ages for the relevant ligaments and muscles to adjust (condition) to the new forces you are imposing on them.
Ease off for a couple weeks by doing shorter distances with reduced speed and slowly build it back up again. if it gets worse even doing this, go get a [b]professional[/b] opinion as it could be more serious than just over-use.
HTH
Thanks chaps. Some really helpful stuff there. I have a feeling I might have dived in a bit quickly. Will ease off a bit.
I ride quite a bit - did 60 miles a couple of weeks ago in an enduro with no knee pain at all. I'll try and toughen them up a bit in the gym and see how I go.
It could also be your running gait / style, often brought about by incorrect shoes / incorrect or excessive engineering of the shoes.
bol, run shorter distances more often. If you're new to running, you need to build up slowly. Took me ages to do a 10k about 3-4 months of running 5km then same again of 8km or so, then 10kms.
good idea to get measured at a shop though, most will do it for free if your buying trainers
I had my gait checked in the sports shop, and got neutral shoes as recommended, despite pronating slightly with my left foot. It's both knees that hurt - although they feel fine today thankfully. I think I'll just take the advice to ease off a bit and build up slowly.