knee pain

[Triandrun]

Well I'm beginning to get real fed up. I've had the month of December pretty much completely off as
a rest with maybe running once or twice a week biking once and swimming once a week. My plan was to
begin training seriously again 1st January with a plan for a 1/2Ironman in Aug. I don't know if this
is what caused the problem but I decided to play a game of golf 2 weeks ago and 2 days later had a
sore rihgt knee. At first it just felt tender behind the kneecap and slightly to the left of centre.
I was real sore walking down hill.

since then i've tried running once and it was sore, but not sore enough to stop me running. Today I
tried a 2hr steady bike (HR 125-130). It felt tender but again not enough to stop me riding. an hour
after coming off the bike it's no more sore than it was before going out on the bike.

I plan on seeing the doc over the next few days with the thought of maybe seeing the physio. Does
anyone have any advice?

I popped a ibuprofen(Brufen - anti-inflammatory) 30 mins. before i went out on the bike this morning
so that maybe dulled the pain somewhat.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

[Bob]

Like you said you numbed it beforehand.Golf is VERY stressful on some peoples knees also how old are
you,your problem seems to be similiar to my own.Bob

S=B2

[David]

triandrun@yahoo.co.uk (triandrun) wrote:

> Well I'm beginning to get real fed up. I've had the month of December pretty much completely off
> as a rest with maybe running once or twice a week

Two thoughts... first... running once or twice a week is not "pretty much completely off"
second... even very minor knee problems usually need a minimum of 6 weeks OFF to get better on
their own. One last thought... do NOT take anti-inflamatories before exercising!!! If you knee is
in pain and trying to tell you something, you want to be able to get the message! I would say, lay
off for a while long and be patient. See a doctor too of course, one who hopefully knows something
in sports injuries.

--
Nova Scotia, Canada

[Andrew Smith]

"triandrun" <triandrun@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:989ef029.0401110441.26510418@posting.google.com...
> Well I'm beginning to get real fed up. I've had the month of December pretty much completely off
> as a rest with maybe running once or twice a week biking once and swimming once a week. My plan
> was to begin training seriously again 1st January with a plan for a 1/2Ironman in Aug. I don't
> know if this is what caused the problem but I decided to play a game of golf 2 weeks ago and 2
> days later had a sore rihgt knee. At first it just felt tender behind the kneecap and slightly to
> the left of centre. I was real sore walking down hill.
>
> since then i've tried running once and it was sore, but not sore enough to stop me running. Today
> I tried a 2hr steady bike (HR 125-130). It felt tender but again not enough to stop me riding. an
> hour after coming off the bike it's no more sore than it was before going out on the bike.
>
> I plan on seeing the doc over the next few days with the thought of maybe seeing the physio. Does
> anyone have any advice?
>
> I popped a ibuprofen(Brufen - anti-inflammatory) 30 mins. before i went out on the bike this
> morning so that maybe dulled the pain somewhat.
>
> Any advice appreciated.

1. See a doctor. Or describe the location of the pain here so the many of us that know little can
misdiagnose you. :)

2. Never, ever, ever take NSAIDs prior to exercising. That inflammation is your body's way of
saying, "Hey! You're doing some damage here and I would like you to stop."

3. I had ITB, the sharpest pain I've ever had in my life, a few years ago and it took almost 8
months to get over it. I've learned that strengthening my entire leg (biking, running, lifting,
etc.) instead of just running and stretching keep it away.

a.

[jobin]

David <user@host.com> wrote: .....
> thought... do NOT take anti-inflamatories before exercising!!! If you knee is in pain and trying
> to tell you something, you want to be able to get the message! I would say, lay off for a while
> long and be patient.
....

i absolutely agree with david. dulling the pain and running could possibly lead to much
worse injuries.

jobs

[Eno]

You will get lots of advice here. Little of which worked for me. What did work was a targeted weight-
training regiment to strengthen and balance the muscles around my knees. Bye-bye knee pain.

--
eNo "Why am I here?"

[Imadad2]

I am not a runner, but a big tennis "freak". I developed tendinitis on both of my knees. The way to
tell is with your knee bent slightly push right below your kneecap. If a shooting pain occurs, that
is it. I broke up all the cartiledge in my knees two years ago, and I am still playing tennis. So, I
think I have a little experience on this subject.

Never take anti-inflammatories before exercise. I agree with the posts. Your body is telling you
there is a problem. I used to do that, and it contributed to my injuries. I now ride a stationary
bike 20 minutes before tennis. I also stretch well before and after.

See a othepedic surgeon. Do not, and I repeat do not let a family practice doctor diagnose you. I
did, and regret it. If I had discovered my knee problems earlier, I might have prevented my
injury. The family practice doctor gave me a few anti-inflammatory pills and sent me home. Get
MRI's and X-Rays.

Also, start taking a glucosimine/Chondroitin supplement. Osteo Bi-Flex is the brand I swear by. It
will help with the cartiledge in your knees. Also, L-Glutamine is a must. It helps retain muscle in
your body. Finally, if you lifts weights with your legs do not do any leg extensions or deep squats.
They kill your knees. Weight training helps the knees, so using a legs press or doing standing
lunges will strengthen the legs.

Finally, do not ignore the problem. You rested it, and the symptoms came back, so there is something
wrong. Take care of it now instead of waiting. Don't use the attitude that the pain is not that bad
I can take it. It will get worse. I love sports, and because I did not listen to my body, I can play
tennis only once a week, and cannot play basketball ever again. I have problems playing with my
kids, and cannot jump down from anything. I am only 34 and I am like this. I am not looking forward
to my life at 50. Good Luck.

"andrew smith" <anla@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:<K_oMb.4548$i4.2622@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net>...
> "triandrun" <triandrun@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:989ef029.0401110441.26510418@posting.google.com...
> > Well I'm beginning to get real fed up. I've had the month of December pretty much completely off
> > as a rest with maybe running once or twice a week biking once and swimming once a week. My plan
> > was to begin training seriously again 1st January with a plan for a 1/2Ironman in Aug. I don't
> > know if this is what caused the problem but I decided to play a game of golf 2 weeks ago and 2
> > days later had a sore rihgt knee. At first it just felt tender behind the kneecap and slightly
> > to the left of centre. I was real sore walking down hill.
> >
> > since then i've tried running once and it was sore, but not sore enough to stop me running.
> > Today I tried a 2hr steady bike (HR 125-130). It felt tender but again not enough to stop me
> > riding. an hour after coming off the bike it's no more sore than it was before going out on
> > the bike.
> >
> > I plan on seeing the doc over the next few days with the thought of maybe seeing the physio.
> > Does anyone have any advice?
> >
> > I popped a ibuprofen(Brufen - anti-inflammatory) 30 mins. before i went out on the bike this
> > morning so that maybe dulled the pain somewhat.
> >
> > Any advice appreciated.
>
> 1. See a doctor. Or describe the location of the pain here so the many of us that know little can
> misdiagnose you. :)
>
> 2. Never, ever, ever take NSAIDs prior to exercising. That inflammation is your body's way of
> saying, "Hey! You're doing some damage here and I would like you to stop."
>
> 3. I had ITB, the sharpest pain I've ever had in my life, a few years ago and it took almost 8
> months to get over it. I've learned that strengthening my entire leg (biking, running,
> lifting, etc.) instead of just running and stretching keep it away.
>
> a.

[Scott Williams]

eNo wrote:

> You will get lots of advice here. Little of which worked for me. What did work was a targeted weight-
> training regiment to strengthen and balance the muscles around my knees. Bye-bye knee pain.
>

I will second this. Doing wts. is my ticket to admission to running and biking. No wts. -- hello PF
syndrome and knee pain.

I would suggest:

-drop squats (to 90 deg.) -leg press (ea. leg separately) -one-leg squats with hand wts. -lunges
with hand wts. -stairmaster, facing backwards

If it is an impbalance problem, time off will in fact hurt your cause, not help, because your quads
will become weaker and less stable.

Do 3 times per week to rehab, then 1-2 times per week to maintain. I can get away with 1/wk biking
but need 2/wk running.

Best of luck.

Scott

[Eno]

<jobin@REMOVE-DEEZ-WORDS.cs.ucr.edu> wrote in message
news:btru79$sss$1@glue.ucr.edu...
> David <user@host.com> wrote: .....
> > thought... do NOT take anti-inflamatories before exercising!!! If you knee is in pain and trying
> > to tell you something, you want to be able to get the message! I would say, lay off for a while
> > long and be patient.
> ....
>
> i absolutely agree with david. dulling the pain and running could possibly lead to much worse
> injuries.

Not accurate. They're called anti-inflammatory, not pain-be-gone for a reason. They do not so much
mask the pain as they remove/lessen the source of the pain. To get rid of the pain altogether,
however, one has to address the *cause(s)* of the pain. And of course, everything in moderation and
sanity, and all that jazz.

Example: after six week's rest for an ITB injury, the pain remained and running was out of the
question. I started low mileage assisted with anti-inflammatory, added some targeted weight
training, and that ITB eventually released. Inactivity isn't always the best course of action--it
could in fact lead to further tightening--so to get things moving, anti-inflamatories sometimes come
to the rescue.

--
eNo "Why am I here?"