Knee Issue from Jogging

[GoNiners!]

Folks,

I started jogging last week. Been doing a very basic conditioning routine of jog walks 3 times a week (M-W-F) of 30 minutes plus a 10 minute warmup and 20 minute cool down. I went through my first week without any joint issues whatsoever.

Long story short, I started my second week by hitting the track on Monday and after my first jog interval, when I slowed back down to a walk, I experienced pain in my right knee behind the patela. I walked for 3:30 and the pain went away so I chalked it up to being sore although I had not felt this the week before. After my second jog interval when I resumed walking the pain was back and more intense.

I decided to walk for the rest of the time. I continued to experience pain aftwerwards and as of this morning, 2 days later, the knee pain will inexplicably return randomly. I am supposed to go jogging tonight but walking seems to be painful let alone jogging itself. I find myself limping which seems to exasperate the situation. Sitting in a chair and bending my knee seems to alleviate the pain a little.

I have been doing deep heavy squats for 10+ years without knee issues and now here I am working on a beginners running routine and falling apart.

Anyone know what the deal is? Any suggestions on what I could do to fix this?

Age 30, Height 5'9", Weight 222

I appreciate any info you can toss my way.

**Edit**

Just wanted to add that I am using Saucony running shoes, which have been awesome so far. I never wore running shoes before and these shoes are super comfortable and I haven't experienced the discomfort I normally did in the past when I jogged/ran/hiked in regards to fatigue and pain. Also according to the running shop where I got my shoes I am an over-pronator and the shoes I have are motion control to help with that.

 

[QueBert]

I'm no expert here, but I starting doing c25k a few months ago and week 3 1 of my knees started to kill me. The advice I got here was my weight was making it harder for me. I'm 5'11 and was about 225'ish back then. What I did was get some good socks from Sports Authority. They have some Nike Dri-Fit ones which have extra padding in the heel, and they seemed to help. I took about a month off, even after my knee felt fine I still took another few week off. Also I had been jogging on cement, when I got back into it I started jogging on asphalt, it made a huge difference. The day after a job my legs felt much less soar and my knees didn't bother me much at all. Just some tightness, but that was probably due to me not being in great shape. I just started back up *again* about a week ago, and knock on wood everything's going good. You could look into c25k that's suppose to be the best program to take a person who doesn't jog and get them into it properly. I'm re-starting week 2 of it today.

The overwhelming advice I got here was to take it very easy for a good chunk of time, even if I felt okay and thought I was ready to start jogging again. I'm sure you'll get better advice from one of the runners here. Your situation sounds almost exactly like mine, good luck man. Question, when you sit down you say the pain goes away, this was the same with me. But when you stand up again after having been sitting for a good while did it hurt even more than usual? I noticed when I'd stand up it would be super tight and I'd have real trouble walking for 15-20 seconds.

 

[GoNiners!]

I'm no expert here, but I starting doing c25k a few months ago and week 3 1 of my knees started to kill me. The advice I got here was my weight was making it harder for me. I'm 5'11 and was about 225'ish back then. What I did was get some good socks from Sports Authority. They have some Nike Dri-Fit ones which have extra padding in the heel, and they seemed to help. I took about a month off, even after my knee felt fine I still took another few week off. Also I had been jogging on cement, when I got back into it I started jogging on asphalt, it made a huge difference. The day after a job my legs felt much less soar and my knees didn't bother me much at all. Just some tightness, but that was probably due to me not being in great shape. I just started back up *again* about a week ago, and knock on wood everything's going good. You could look into c25k that's suppose to be the best program to take a person who doesn't jog and get them into it properly. I'm re-starting week 2 of it today.

The overwhelming advice I got here was to take it very easy for a good chunk of time, even if I felt okay and thought I was ready to start jogging again. I'm sure you'll get better advice from one of the runners here. Your situation sounds almost exactly like mine, good luck man. Question, when you sit down you say the pain goes away, this was the same with me. But when you stand up again after having been sitting for a good while did it hurt even more than usual? I noticed when I'd stand up it would be super tight and I'd have real trouble walking for 15-20 seconds.

Yes, it seems to hurt when I first stand up. The pain seems to go back forth without any real rhyme or reason. I guess I will do the smart thing and rest it. It's a bit of a bummer as I have not gone to the gym to rest my shoulder.

I may have to change my routine up and follow the couch to 2k routine when I start back up again.

 

[gar655]

"I experienced pain in my right knee behind the patela" = runner's knee. Google it.

 

[GoNiners!]

Going to see a doctor this morning. The knee feels the same and it has been a week since the injury. I have been taking NSAIDS and resting it with no change.

I'm hoping I get more info than the useful bs topical exam.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Going to see a doctor this morning. The knee feels the same and it has been a week since the injury. I have been taking NSAIDS and resting it with no change.

I'm hoping I get more info than the useful bs topical exam.

Pain directly beneath the kneecap is frequently associated with patellofemoral dysfunction. After you see your doctor, request physical therapy. Unless you're seeing an orthopedist, they typically won't be able to give you that much insight into the pathology. Also, avoid an MRI at this stage. Just request conservative care - a prescription for PT. From there, PT can figure out what's going on and why (frequently, patellofemoral dysfunction or lateral tracking is caused by a weak hip, weak ankle stabilizers, possible foot deformities, and tightness of the lateral structures of the knee - all are pretty easy to fix).

 

[brad310]

30 minutes of jogging is too much to start with IMHO. Run harder for less time or just run for less time with the same intensity to let the little nooks and crannies get used to the stress. Your body isnt used to it yet.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

30 minutes of jogging is too much to start with IMHO. Run harder for less time or just run for less time with the same intensity to let the little nooks and crannies get used to the stress. Your body isnt used to it yet.

With anterior knee pain, it tends to come on no matter what distance or speed. Patellofemoral maltracking doesn't just go away as you begin to experience exercise adaptations.

 

[GoNiners!]

I went to the doctor, got the initial consultation and was referred to a sports medicine specialist and had x-rays performed.

After meeting with the sports medicine specialist, who reviewed my x-rays, the diagnosis was patellar-tendonitis. Apparently when I was a kid I had Osgood-Schlatter in my right knee and according to the doctor that caused my knee-cap to drift to the side a little. The act of jogging after having not jogged for years caused the inflammation in the knee.

I was told to use insoles for my dress shoes I wear to work because I am very flat footed and to rest the leg for 2-3 weeks and once the pain was gone to very slowly resume my jogging routine, with a couple of weeks of walking first and then doubling the walking intervals between the jogging intervals to reduce the stress on the knee until it was properly conditioned.

On another note, I have dropped 20 lbs from diet alone and am averaging about 10lbs-15lbs of weight loss a month. So I am thinking that when I am back to the jogging I should be another 10 lbs lighter which will hopefully reduce the impact on the knee further.