Knee Pain - advice needed

[keyed]

Stats:
33 year old male
5' 6" 175-180 lbs
weight-lift 2x a week (starting strength program)
cardio 3x a week (elliptical 20-25 mins, 1 hr workout afterwards)

Last week I experienced pain in my left knee while running across a street. It was a burning pain on the inside of my left knee that subsided after I stopped. This is the first time I've experienced this. I don't feel pain bending my knee, jumping, using the elliptical, or walking up a stair. There doesn't appear to be any swelling, although I can there's a slight numbing feeling and tenderness when I touch it.

I tried running today and had the same pain. I normally go to the gym five times a week, two of them weightlifting, but I haven't gone for 10 days because of family visiting, work, and the holidays.

I suspect I might have hit the knee with a dumbbell while doing weighted decline situps the last time I went to the gym. Otherwise, I don't have any explanation for why it suddenly occurred.

Any advice on what could be causing the pain, how can I treat it, and can I exercise through it or not. I was planning on adding a mile run to my regimen after the new year, but that's probably going to be put off for a bit. Or is this something that ibuprofen would get me through?

 

[HNNstyle]

Here's a copy and paste from one of my older posts. How far you want to go to protect your knees is up to you.

1) Stick to the indoor track. They are made especially for joggers to protect your feet. I am assuming that you might be overweight since you mentioned that you are coming from a couch and going to a 5k program? Being overweight and jogging on pavement can really hurt your feet and knees to the point that you just can't walk comfortably anymore. Even if you're not overweight, you can still hurt your knees so I really wouldn't recommend it. If you still want to go outside then try and find gravel, dirt, sand, or soft grass like a golf course. Neighborhood grass does not work so well and your neighbors would probably get mad.


2) Buy the right type of jogging shoes made specifically for your feet determined by your arch. If you do a quick google search then look up pronation to find out what type of feet you have. I like Asics since they make shoes specifically for an arch. Having the right shoes will protect you from pain.

3) Build muscles in your legs to reduce strain on your knees. I do squats and leg lifts. This also reduces pain in your knees.


4) One thing you learn from jogging long distances is the ability to jog through pain. You can jog through both knee and feet pain with an expectation that you will live but you can not jog through chest pain. Jogging through chest pain could result in you collapsing and even death. If there are any signs of chest pain, stop immediately and if it continues for more then 3 mins, call 911. (That's what my doctor told me when it happened to me)


Here's the type of machine I use to do leg lifts. BTW, this isn't me. hah

Another thing that I do is walk around in Nike Solar Softs when I'm at home, even if I'm on carpet. They are very comfortable and better then Crocs. (I'm Asian, so walking around the house in sandals is a bit strange)

Edit: I made the post assuming that you jog a lot but it seems like you only do elliptical? In that case I don't really know but if i had to guess, it's your shoes.

Edit2: Did a quick google search on burning knee sensation and it seems like it might be caused by running so taking the measures to protect your knees can be found in the quote above.


Edit3:

Any advice on what could be causing the pain, how can I treat it, and can I exercise through it or not. I was planning on adding a mile run to my regimen after the new year, but that's probably going to be put off for a bit. Or is this something that ibuprofen would get me through?

If the pain is caused by the type of physical activity such as jogging, then you can not jog through it. Technically, you can jog through the pain but it will get worse with every step you take to the point that the pain will be unbearable to walk comfortably.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Can you get a picture of a knee and circle the area that you feel pain? There are a ton of structures around and affecting the knee so with more precision, the more help I can give.

 

[keyed]

Edit: I made the post assuming that you jog a lot but it seems like you only do elliptical? In that case I don't really know but if i had to guess, it's your shoes.

I'm not sure if it's the shoes. When I ran across the street. I was wearing SAS walking shoes. The gym shoes I use are crap for running because the air cushions are compromised. I didn't jog nor run in them, so never bothered to replace them.

I got a pair of lunarglides that I bought recently that I can give a try to see if it's better. I tried jogging for 30 meters and didn't feel any pain doing it.

I talked to the personal trainer at the gym, but he wasn't much help. Admitted that he didn't know much about knee pain but said that what I had could be caused by the fact that I hadn't run in a long time. Like I said, not helpful.

Here's a photo of where I feel the pain.

The area feels a little numb rather than tender. I guess it might have been tender last night because I was probing around it trying to see what was going on and where it hurt.

 

[spinejam]

You circled the lateral aspect of the knee in the top pic. (that's a right knee photo)

I suspect you meant the medial (inner) aspect of the knee from the history and other pics correct?

 

[keyed]

You circled the lateral aspect of the knee in the top pic. (that's a right knee photo)

I suspect you meant the medial (inner) aspect of the knee from the history and other pics correct?

Yeah, I didn't realize that was a right knee photo. It's on the left knee.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

If the knee is actually numb, it could be L3 spinal nerve root referral. However, that would tend to be less focal and a more diffuse feeling of numbness/tingling. You'd likely also experience some weakness in your adductors and quads.

To me, it sounds like you may have lateral patellar maltracking, which puts all the medial structures on excessive stress. Essentially, a lot of people have weak hip musculature (abductors, external rotators) or ankle musculature (posterior tibialis in particular) that allow the knee to fall inward. When the knee falls inward, the quad pulls on the knee cap more toward the outside of the knee. A lot of the time, that can cause lateral knee pain due to the compression, but sometimes it can also cause medial knee pain due to excessive tension. You could start foam rolling the lateral aspect of your quad and IT band (both parallel and perpendicular to each) to see if that helps. If it's bothering you a fair amount though, you should see a doc to get a prescription for physical therapy. A PT could clear that up pretty easily with some simple treatment.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I have the same problem.

Rest makes it go away. 1-2 weeks of rest that is.

Problems that caused it:
1) Hack Squat form
2) ill fitting running shoes

I've resolved (1) and need to resolve (2). My running shoes seems to cause more load to be placed on the outside edge of the shoe. the uneven loading effects my knees.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I have the same problem.

Rest makes it go away. 1-2 weeks of rest that is.

Problems that caused it:
1) Hack Squat form
2) ill fitting running shoes

I've resolved (1) and need to resolve (2). My running shoes seems to cause more load to be placed on the outside edge of the shoe. the uneven loading effects my knees.

What was wrong with your hack squat? Were your knees caving inward? Was the arch of your foot collapsing?

Bad running shoes will definitely do it, especially if you have any sort of foot deformity or deviation that predisposes you to collapsing at your arch too much.

Both of these sound like patellar maltracking as well (potentially).

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Social,

I should clarify that this is barbell hack squat:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBHackSquat.html

I had my feet to close together and near parallel. Simply adding a few more inches in spacing and placing my feet at maybe a 20 degree angle or so helped. Previously, my knees would naturally bow out during the squat (caving out). Now the leg movement is much more linear (no caving either way).

And ya .. shoes. I guess someone new to running shouldn't worry about shoes. But I like to think that i have advanced and understand my body more. So I now realize why good running shoes are important.