knee pain while running, please help!

[cfaulk]

About a 1 1/2 weeks ago i wake up and my right knee is hurting. It hurts on the right of the knee cap when i run. I am a big cardio person and i really need it to maintain low bf%, what can i do? I've taken some days off but it still hurts, i hop on the treadmill and after about 3 minutes the pain is there it seems like it hurts most in the moments when my right leg is off the ground. It only hurts when i run, what should i do, please help.

[Shelbz]

Rest. What else can you do?

[standard]

Rest. What else can you do?

Ice, compress and elevate.

I hate saying it because it gets said in every thread about running but if you don't have orthotics they're well worth looking in to for just this sort of thing.

[chewy77]

I had a similar experience. It started after I would run, then eventually got to the point that it hurt while I was running. The pain I had was a stabbing pain underneath the upper inside part of the kneecap on my left leg. Felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife every stride I took. They physical therapist diagnosed it as patellar femoral syndrome. Basically the kneecap was rubbing against the femur causing inflamation and irritation. Not sure if this is what you have, but if you have those symptoms, you could search "patellar femoral syndrome" on the web you can find exercises and stretches that will help.

[energy15]

For now rest and do cardio that is less straining on your knee. (swimming, biking, elliptical) Whatever feels best. After some time your knee should heal and you should be able to run again.

When you do run, NEVER run on concrete. Always on dirt paths, grass, tracks, etc. I don't suggest even running on treadmills, but some will disagree with me on that.

Hope this helps.

[amberlynn72]

About a 1 1/2 weeks ago i wake up and my right knee is hurting. It hurts on the right of the knee cap when i run. I am a big cardio person and i really need it to maintain low bf%, what can i do? I've taken some days off but it still hurts, i hop on the treadmill and after about 3 minutes the pain is there it seems like it hurts most in the moments when my right leg is off the ground. It only hurts when i run, what should i do, please help.

I would suggest glucosamine/choindroiton perhaps.

[ACslatering]

no its a knee problem and it happened to me earlier - you need to go see a doctor first makesure it really is a patella problem - then your next bet is to ease of running, work on core stability (google + bb.com search function is your friend) and try to strengthen your teardrop muslce. Look into frog squats - popularized by vince goronda, theres some articles by a bloke named christian thibadeau at t-nation who has a whole section in his quad article to stimulate the teardrop.

Hope that helps and best of luck with getting better.

[navery]

if you do have patellar femoral syndrome, you can feel or even hear your tendon crunching or grinding. palm your knee in a quiet room and listen and feel. I've dealt with it for three year and still have to maintain it. My foot arch collapses when i run which created the problem, so i don't run any more. i have recently found that cycling/road biking gives me an exceptional workout and is correcting muscleimbalances, its also low impact. Go out and buy yourself a road bike and gear (why spin in a gym?) and ride 5,10,15,20 miles.
If you have any more questions on this leave a comment on my page, ill help you out.

[jake283618]

PFS sucks I have had it in both knees for about 4 years now and those exercises they tell you to do don't work. All I can tell you to do is what my doc told me to do make sure you change your socks drink plenty of water and take some motrin for the pain. Damn military doctors. Pretty much telling you get use to it. I feel like i'm 50. Everytime I get out of bed or get up from the couch I sound like a bowl of rice krispies.

[mopar95neon]

You won't know until they do a microscopy surgery on your knee, I had the same thing wrong and the cause was mineskel tears and very little cartledge after 12 years of military running and 4 years of high school sports. Now the only thing you can do is when it hurts take a week off and substitute with bike, swim or other low impact cardio. Stay off concreate!

[Frantec]

There are a number of possible causes for your knee pain including a patellar disorder or a meniscal tear. However, only way you will be able to determine the actual cause of your pain is to have your knees examined by an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knee disorders. If the pain continues it may be in your interests to seek out a consult with such a specialist rather than to continue to speculate and possibly make a curable condition a chronic or major one.

[navery]

here's the article! I found it well written and researched. The excerises are well explained, i will try them soon.
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1198794

Thanks ACSlatering

[Panacea9]

If it hurts on the outside of your kneecap, it is caused by a tight "IT band"
All you need to do is stretch it out..

[lilly_julia]

I sprained my knee skiing last year and that put an end to my running career. I have a question, though: since the doc says bicycling is ok, then is a spin class ok, too? I took one once, it was insanely intense for me, and with a lot of standing on the pedals I don't know if that's ok for a bad knee. I know the calorie burn in spin class is incredible, so I would like to try it again. Thoughts?