severe knee ache?

Question

Ive just started running again as ive been off two months with runners knee.My knees are better now and when i had a sports massage she said she cant see anything wrong and told me to try running again.Ive started a very easy run walk programme to slowly get back into running.Today i only ran for 2 minutes walk for two minutes six times my knees were fine running but about an hour after ive got severe knee aches in both my knees.Any one know why?

Answer 1

Hello,

I used to get some pretty bad knee pain while running. I went to a PT and they put me on some exercises (leg lifts & leg curls...see link below). The pain went away and re-surfaced years later. I was told by some friends to replace my shoes more often and lose some weight (some friends, huh?)...it worked, though! I wouldn't wear running shoes for more than 1 year or 400 miles (whichever comes first). I'd also try some more foregiving running surfaces like asphalt or trails, vice concrete. Hope that helps. Good luck!

- Mike

Answer 2

You didn't discuss your age, nor your weight, nor on what surfaces you run, how long you have done this sport, your shoes, and leg conformation, so I'll try to give you a ballpark view:

To put it bluntly, running is tough on ankle, knee and hip joints. That, hon, is a given. Man evolved not as a runner, but as a walker. If you have been doing this a long time, you may have the beginnings of arthritis in your knees, and since you stated it was bilateral, it would thus indicate that your injury is of sustained insults, rather than a jolt or misstep to just one.

Knees, are by definition an engineering nightmare, since they are hinge joints rather than ball and socket ones. And if 1. your shoes are not in top notch shape, or if
2. you have less than perfect columnar construction of your knees, you will wear one part of cartilage (medial, lateral, anterior or posterior) faster than another. Both of these you should consider in your case. Further, the more years you have run, the more the joints may have been used up, and developed osteoarthritis. You may as well have some cruciate ligament damage too. Only some radio-graphs would tell whether the damage is soft tissue and/or bone/cartilage.

In your place, for the sustained health of your knees (as well as hips) I would suggest that your knees are telling you something..... "don't do this any longer". Consider other forms of exercise to get that endorphin high...elliptical trainer, walking, stair climbing (also somewhat tough on knees.... but less so than running.) The constant pounding that your knees are getting, regardless of your shoes, and regardless of the surface indicates sustained insults to these joints. And if you continue to run "through" your pain" in future years, you will be facing prosthetic knee joint replacements.

Answer 3

Beck, you need to do 2 things TODAY !!

1. Get an appointment with a sports medicine orthopedic doctor to x-ray and examine the knees to determine what the exact problem is.

2. Put ice packs on your knees after you exercise (for about 20 minutes).

Good Luck

Answer 4

I have knee problems as well and as long as it isn't a weight issues I would suggest strengthening your quads, it helps build and strengthen the muscle around the knee, it has helped with my knee problems.

Answer 5

you are too heavy (not necessarily fat, but muscles) to run, my dad is an orthopedic and he has heard that many times.

Also, it could be that you need more execise in your legs and knees.

Answer 6

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