Runner's Knee/Jumper's Knee

[neodyn55]

If you have, can you tell me what you did to cause the problem? Does anyone know what the difference between these are? From what I read online, they sound very similar.

I've been doing some leg exercises (squats/leg extensions/leg curls, etc) and about 30 min of reasonably high intensity cardio recently. I ran 2 miles at about 10min/mile rate .. and have been noticing some knee pain and soreness. From the description, it seems like I have runner's knee .. but it sounds similar to Jumper's knee too.

If anyone would share their experiences, such as how it happened, and what they had to do to get around it, I'd be grateful. The pain isn't excruciating (just mildly sore.) I'm probably going to get it checked out soon, but I was hoping to get some personal experiences before.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: neodyn55
If you have, can you tell me what you did to cause the problem? Does anyone know what the difference between these are? From what I read online, they sound very similar.

I've been doing some leg exercises (squats/leg extensions/leg curls, etc) and about 30 min of reasonably high intensity cardio recently. I ran 2 miles at about 10min/mile rate .. and have been noticing some knee pain and soreness. From the description, it seems like I have runner's knee .. but it sounds similar to Jumper's knee too.

If anyone would share their experiences, such as how it happened, and what they had to do to get around it, I'd be grateful. The pain isn't excruciating (just mildly sore.) I'm probably going to get it checked out soon, but I was hoping to get some personal experiences before.

Well, first of all, how old are you? That'll have something to do with any type of judgment. Also, they are very similar, but since you haven't been doing much jumping, I'm gonna stick with Runner's Knee. What exactly are the pains that you're feeling? Throbbing? Soreness? Shooting? When does the pain occur? During, before, after, both? Does the knee pop? Have you tweaked it recently? Do you take anything for joints (glucosamine, etc)?

 

[ggnl]

Not sure exactly what you're asking so I'll just describe my experiences with knee pain.

I've pretty much given up on running because of pain in my right knee. It's a sharp pain on the outside of the knee that begins about 1 mile into a run and continues to worsen until I have to stop 2-3 miles in. Stiffness and swelling ensue over the next few days. If I try to run again within that timeframe the pain begins immediately.

I've tried all the usual steps to alleviate it (good shoes, gradual steps up in mileage, ITB stretching, lower body strength training, NSAIDs and icing), and I've been able to moderately increaase the mileage I can do, but I've never been able to even get close to my goal of 15-20 miles per week over 3-4 days.

So now I do cycling and elliptical machines for cardio.

 

[neodyn55]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: neodyn55
If you have, can you tell me what you did to cause the problem? Does anyone know what the difference between these are? From what I read online, they sound very similar.

I've been doing some leg exercises (squats/leg extensions/leg curls, etc) and about 30 min of reasonably high intensity cardio recently. I ran 2 miles at about 10min/mile rate .. and have been noticing some knee pain and soreness. From the description, it seems like I have runner's knee .. but it sounds similar to Jumper's knee too.

If anyone would share their experiences, such as how it happened, and what they had to do to get around it, I'd be grateful. The pain isn't excruciating (just mildly sore.) I'm probably going to get it checked out soon, but I was hoping to get some personal experiences before.

Well, first of all, how old are you? That'll have something to do with any type of judgment. Also, they are very similar, but since you haven't been doing much jumping, I'm gonna stick with Runner's Knee. What exactly are the pains that you're feeling? Throbbing? Soreness? Shooting? When does the pain occur? During, before, after, both? Does the knee pop? Have you tweaked it recently? Do you take anything for joints (glucosamine, etc)?

I feel like I'm a Doctor's office, especially, given your avatar

I *was* rather vague in my original post. Anyway, here goes:

I'm 24 - yep, not much jumping. It's soreness and occasional shooting pain. It was only occuring during, now it's happening after too. I don't believe it "pops". No, I haven't taken any supplements.

Thanks for the help!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: neodyn55

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged

Originally posted by: neodyn55
If you have, can you tell me what you did to cause the problem? Does anyone know what the difference between these are? From what I read online, they sound very similar.

I've been doing some leg exercises (squats/leg extensions/leg curls, etc) and about 30 min of reasonably high intensity cardio recently. I ran 2 miles at about 10min/mile rate .. and have been noticing some knee pain and soreness. From the description, it seems like I have runner's knee .. but it sounds similar to Jumper's knee too.

If anyone would share their experiences, such as how it happened, and what they had to do to get around it, I'd be grateful. The pain isn't excruciating (just mildly sore.) I'm probably going to get it checked out soon, but I was hoping to get some personal experiences before.

Well, first of all, how old are you? That'll have something to do with any type of judgment. Also, they are very similar, but since you haven't been doing much jumping, I'm gonna stick with Runner's Knee. What exactly are the pains that you're feeling? Throbbing? Soreness? Shooting? When does the pain occur? During, before, after, both? Does the knee pop? Have you tweaked it recently? Do you take anything for joints (glucosamine, etc)?

I feel like I'm a Doctor's office, especially, given your avatar

I *was* rather vague in my original post. Anyway, here goes:

I'm 24 - yep, not much jumping. It's soreness and occasional shooting pain. It was only occuring during, now it's happening after too. I don't believe it "pops". No, I haven't taken any supplements.

Thanks for the help!

Hm, I'm wondering if it's the impact that's continually doing that to ya. I'm sure it is, but just to make sure, why don't you try running on an elliptical machine a couple of times and tell me how that feels? The best thing you can do it ice it (15 min on, 15 off, 15 on, 15 off) and take some ibuprofen to reduce swelling. That's what most doctors will tell you. I'm thinking if there are any exercises that will benefit that. I had knee problems for a couple of years during track in high school, but they went away. I would say go see a doctor and see what they tell you. They'll probably send you to an orthopedist to get you checked out a bit further just to conclude there's no ligament damage and such. So try the elliptical, see the doctor, ice it and try to put off running until you can see the doctor and hear what he/she says. Sorry I couldn't be more help, but joints are lame injuries Good luck with it, man, and I hope you can get back to running comfortably ASAP.

 

[imported_Imp]

I'm not sure if I have runners knee, but I got some very light knee pain, and it MAY be caused by footwear. I've been wearing shit $25 shoes, cheapo boots and a worn out pair for the past year. I recently noticed the pain a month back, and went to the doctor. Turns out I may have flat feet. I just bought a pair of running shoes at a running shoe shop, and the salesperson immediately said I had flat feet. If you google the condition, it's suppose to contribute to knee/leg pain. I'm going to an orthotics place to get it assessed further next week.

If you had a previous injury, maybe it got aggravated. I dumped a bike, tripped and nailed my ailing knee really hard in the past year, so these may be contributing factors. However, I remember it healing pretty nicely after each incident.

 

[gramboh]

Get real shoes if you don't have them, think about orthotics as well (helped me a ton with shin splints). Also look up ITB stretching, try a foam roller, it also helps with your knees a lot.

 

[GenHoth]

Watch your posture. Mine gave me knee pains for a couple years till I realized what was causing it.

 

[coreyb]

This is far more likely to happen if you are carrying any extra weight.

 

[StageLeft]

The terms are interchangeable. Having suffered from this for three years I'm fairly well read on it. Some consider this a form of cartilage degeneration (chondromalacia), which it is not. It is patellar tendon pain. It starts as tendonitis and if left unchecked/activity of offense continued degenerates into a chronic condition known as tendinosis, which is the lovely combination of damage and lack of inflammation; essentially, your tendon is hurt but your body isn't bothering to try and repair it. The tendon is quite avascular (lacks blood supply) and thus healing is exceptionally slow.

Anyway, general treatment for this is cessation or great reduction of offending activity along with ensuring musculuar and flexibility balance. Most times people will get this in one knee, which is indicative of an imbalance in stress on that side, be it from running on the same side of the road always or, more likely, something like a particularly tight hip. A decent PT should be able to identify any imbalance like tight hips and recommend a course of treatment. Otherwise, leg strengthening is advised, particularly one-legged squats. In the case of tendinosis, eccentric one-legged squats on a decline board have been proven to help a lot of cases. I am one of them. I've been diligently stretching/doing eccentric work since October and my knee is in much better shape than it has been in the past.

ggnlI find it very likely that, assuming no underlying damage with your knee, you just need to find the reason that knee is causing the problem. I'd bet good money you have an imbalance in one hip or hamstring or something similar, which is throwing off your stride.

This is far more likely to happen if you are carrying any extra weight.

Yep extra weight exacerbates any running injury.