Knee'd to Know

I have been running on and off for over a decade. It all started out as a little 5k called the Sunburst. Soon, they let me organize the corporate team on occasion and I have always had people tell me they couldn't run because of their knees.


Let me just say, I really did not understand and thought saying you have bad knees or knee pain sounds like a good excuse. But, that is exactly what I thought it was, just an excuse.

However, a few week back running outside in the snow and ice I had a misplaced landing with my left foot. It was odd, but I didn't think nothing of it. Over the course of the following week though I had a dull annoying pain show up. First it surrounded my knee. I could press around the knee cap on the inside of my knee and make the pain worse. Now that is all but gone, but I still have dull pain behind my knee cap which only appeared after the pain around the side of the knee cap appeared. So my knee pain may be multiple problems combining all at the same time. Who knows, I am not an expert. I really should probably get a doctors opinion but I haven't seen my regular doctor in almost two years and I call that a victory.

I love paying upwards of $150 for a 30 second diagnosis. That is even my fault, because I usually show up at the office at 7:30 and ask if he can sneak me in while they are doing the labs and drawing blood. So, in part, I am asking for those short visits. When it is an ear infection - in and out is good. Knee pain I think will need a little more time and it will probably take me a week or two to get in. So I will probably schedule a visit this week and he will probably recommend someone in sports medicine or a joint specialist. So... it could be a month before I know. Hopefully my knee pain will be gone by then.

I am usually just a fair weather runner. From Spring thru fall. Take off winter. This probably has assisted me in not having knee pain. What I don't get is when I first started running I was running in tennis shoes which compared to running shoes have no cushion. I was also only running 5k's back then. So we are now up to half marathons and on the start of training for a 25k (15.5 miles). The thought of taking 16 weeks off at this point would give me only a few weeks to train. Not an option.

Another variable is shoes. I have been running in the same ones forever. Well, ok like 440 miles plus another 60 or so walking. Being as large as I am I should have already replaced my shoes (400-450 miles). I have two pair ordered now. Hopefully at least one pair come soon.

In the meantime I picked up a video from Barnes and Noble over the holidays. Strong Knees with Physical Therapist Chantal Donnelly.

So far I have done the full length workout twice. Being a larger set guy I can say the people in this video are far more flexible than I am. However, Chantal does an excellent job of telling you which muscle you are stretching and where you should feel the "burn". For someone like me that can only mimic their form, at least I know I am stretching the right muscle. I have modified some of them because I didn't want to wrench my back out of place.

Also, I refuse to buy special mats, towels, and stretchy bands. I use the floor, a beach towel rolled up and folded in half, and a belt.

So, what is my review on the DVD? While it does not sound like a workout. Wow. It really stretches muscles in my legs I didn't even know I had. The result? Knee pain subsides behind the knee for a short period (5-10 minutes) and then gradually comes back. This is without taking any pain meds, cause if I start taking ibuprofen I have no pain. So my last dose was Friday morning and I wanted to know if the exercises would provide any immediate relief. Well, it has so I think long term my knees will be fine. Yes, I'll probably still make an appointment with the doctor just to be sure, but it will be interesting to see what happens when I add new shoes to the mix.

If you are a walker or runner, try out this video. It really works all the muscles from the hips down. If you need a laugh, just image me trying to do these stretches while you watch the video. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Till next week,
    Otto