A bump in the road

[Raverlaw]

I've been running/walking a 5K course I laid out for about a week now. Friday I did the 5K in the morning and walked (fast) another 4.5 miles in the evening.

Saturday, I discovered that my left knee is a little swollen and tight - won't bend as far as normal. Not painful, just stiff and tight. I walked on it Saturday and Sunday, but no running. Sunday night I did 5K on the NordicTrack just to get my aerobic time in.

The knee is still swollen today. Walking on it seems to help loosen it up, but whenever I sit, like at work, it tightens up again.

Any suggestions? Did I just overdo it? Or maybe stepped a little wrong while running on an uneven trail?

I'm taking tylenol for it today and may try a little ice later on if it's still swollen.

The good news is that last night's time for the 5K on the Nordic Track was 27:19.

 

[tobagotwo]

Suggestions/nosey comments:

- Tylenol only blocks pain, and will not reduce swelling and inflammation. It will help you to ignore the pain, but will not help the joint.

- Personal opinion is that pain is not gain when it involves joints. While you don't want to go to no movement, I would urge you to think of your joint in the long term, and take things easier on it until it is happier. Unlike muscles, cartiledge and ligaments don't "work through" strains.

- It can be frustrating to sideline the work you have been doing to build yourself up to wait for this to heal. Consider working to maintain, rather than build your legs for a little while, or concentrating more on your upper body for a bit.

Your training has been remarkable, and your energy shows in your posts. Good luck in getting past this knee issue.

 

[Tom F.]

I second the comment about Tylenol. I would suggest ice packs 3 times a day for 20 minutes at a time, until you are better. If needed, maybe some aspirin. But understand that when a joint gets sore its not like soft muscle tissue that you can continue to work. With joint pain you simply must back down and let it rest or else you risk significant degenerative changes over time.

 

[MelissaM]

The formula the doc seems to give me for these types of things is RICE:

R - Rest
I - Ice
C - Compression
E - Elevation

And if it gets worse/doesn't get better - go bug the doc some more!

 

[tommy]

Bill,

You have been a poster child for speedy recovery .

I agree with everything that Bob posted, except that I suggest a more conservative approach - laying off for a few days . Working the upper body would be great, but give the knee a break. In the long run, it may be the best approach.

Get rid of the swelling. Since we don't do Ibuprofen or Aspirin, we need to let time reduce the swelling naturally. I know that's a bummer, but it goes with the "terrritory". Then walk for a few days to see how it feels. When the knee tolerates walking, then add short jogs without pushing the speed. It may feel like you are starting over (that's because you are ). Increment more slowly this time.

You could have an injury . Hope this is not the case. An injury is not likely to go away by itself, so laying off for a few days won't provide much relief, but will confirm a more serious problem. If so, see a doctor.

Also, I'm not a big fan of running consecutive days. It takes longer to build the mileage, but for me - so far, so good. Just a thought. Hope you get that knee better quickly.

 

[Les]

REST is as equally important as running! Great program you've got going, but rest in between! I suggest getting a copy of: "Runner's World - Complete Book of Running" Covers everything from beginner to marathons...Go easy on that knee!

 

[Abbanabba]

BUGGER!!!

Hope your back on your feet real soon!! (..yes, dreadful pun intended!..).

Cheers
Anna : )

 

[Mark Wagner]

The lack of pain, tells me you may have just over did it a little. When you are beginning a program, you will have minor setbacks. The above anti-inflamatory advice is very good. When my knees get sore I use a lot of ice. After 24 hours I go ice 20 minutes, heat 20, ice 20, heat 20. If it does not get better in a few day. See a SPORTS physician. They deal with this on a daily basis, and will not give you the sedentary advice unless they absoulutley feel it is in your best interest.

"Quitting is not an option."

Mark

 

[Raverlaw]

My knee was swollen, and a little tender on the outside, and I could stand and walk on it just fine; it only hurt when I tried to bend it all the way, like for kneeling. I was off of it all day, and worked from home because my daughter was home ill from school.

I didn't get my usual morning exercise, and when my wife got home, she wanted to walk, so I went with her. We agreed to keep the pace down to take it easy on the knee.

We have some steep hills to negotiate here- we're up at the top of the ridge, and you start off downhill no matter where you go. About a mile out, on a really steep street, my knee gave me a sharp pain, on the inside this time, and I had trouble putting all my weight on it. We finished our walk by choosing a more moderate up hill route to return, but I could feel the twinge each time I stepped on the right foot.

At home, I elevated the leg and iced the knee on and off until bedtime. I couldn't lay in bed with my leg straight, and was uncomfortable all night. This morning, the knee was swollen and tight, and I can barely put weight on it. I've got ice on it right now, and will see if I can drive to the office in a few minutes. I'm pretty sure that I just overdid it, since there wasn't any overt incident that might have caused an injury; but I sure wish I hadn't gone for that 2 mile walk last night! I think this process is going to be longer than I thought... I'll probably follow Tom's advice about not running on consecutive days, and it looks like I'm going to have to take it REAL easy on those steep downhill sections.

Now my biggest problem is going to be how to exercise the heart everyday if I can't run or even walk fast....

 

[Mary]

Bill,
You wonder how you're going to exercise your heart? Get in the swimming pool! Athletes who hurt themselves running use a pool to keep their cardio capacity intact while they recuperate. You can jog in the deep end of the pool and get as good a workout as if you were on land. You don't have to worry about injury if you're in the water.
I started swimming 19 years ago following an accident that broke my ankle. I had limited motion in the joint and I was afraid I would never recover from the injury. It took only a short time before my ankle was fine, and actually was much stronger
Mary

 

[Raverlaw]

Mary,

We don't have a pool. The community pool is only open a few hours a day during summer (it's outdoors). There isn't a college pool nearby that's open for rec or lap swimming. Thanks for the suggestion, but it's not practical for me.

I'm hoping this knee thing will pass shortly. If not, looks like I'll be getting a rowing machine sooner than I thought.

 

[tobagotwo]

Bill, won't the rowing machine flex your knee a lot? Rowing involves the legs heavily. Unless there's something about the machine that specifically protects the knee...?

I grew up with rowboats. If you want to get anywhere, it's a whole body experience, and a lot of testing and learning about how the length, angle, depth, and pitch of the oars change the characteristics of the boat movement.

A rowing machine's different, but the ones I've seen do require that semi-deep knee bend on each stroke. Just be sure any new equipment doesn't finish the job the road started.

Very best wishes,

 

[Mary]

Ok, Bill.
Here's my next suggestion. Put a pool in! Then when you talk about a left coast reunion I will feel obligated to attend!
Problem solved
Mary