6 replies to this topic

[SlakPak]

Hey all

My wife has recently (6 weeks ago) taken up running - no prior running experience, and is training for a 10k event in a months time.

She has been getting a sore knee over the last week, which seems to be mainly at the top of the knee, however she said it is sore to touch below the knee cap also.  She has been training 3 days a week and has been slowly building kms each week with a max distance so far of 6km.

Advice?  She doesn't want to rest it with the event coming up that she has been working hard towards, but i don't know what to tell her.  Could it be just joint soreness because she is a new runner? or something more serious?

Cheers

[KiwiShazza]

I experience similar when I first started running.  Went to a physio and had them show me how to tape my knees correctly and worked a treat.  After awhile of running I found my knees had strengthened up so didn't need to tape them and no problems.

Started getting a sore knee again when I ramped up my training too much before Willy2Billy and had forgotten how to tape correctly.  So back to a physio to show me and then no more problems.  Still tape on long runs just to be cautious.

Taping stops the knee cap tracking which causes rubbing.  Hope this is your problem, though I'm no expert.

[NeillS]

Get her to a physio to diagnose and correct it before it blows up and gets worse. Could be a few different things but most likely patello-femoral stuff and is easy to fix.

[SlakPak]

Thanks guys...she ended up seeing a physio yesterday and yes sounds just like you describe it kiwishazza - the kneecap is out of alignment and he has taped her knee to hold it in place.  Pretty common in new runners he reckons. Has also given her the go ahead to keep running, so good news...hopefully.

[Hurricane]

I'm a new runner too, had 1st appointment with physio due to terrible sensation when walking down stairs & additional clicking of the knees, and the answer is the same, learn how to tape up the knees so they glide properly.

I'm a new runner too, had 1st appointment with physio due to terrible sensation when walking down stairs & additional clicking of the knees, and the answer is the same, learn how to tape up the knees so they glide properly.

[NeillS]

The classic symptoms of pain worse when going down stairs, deep sharp pains with dull ache at rest, and additional crepitus in the kneecap are all indicative of patello-femoral pain. Taping is a temporary fix to address the worst of the pain and inflammation, the physio should suggest a long-term approach to fixing the issue so that the pain does not return.

[FitToRunPhysio]

Definitely get yourself to a physio sooner rather then later.  Pain inhibits your muscles (in particular VMO) from working, which results in poor tracking of the knee cap and a feeling of instability in the knee.  A physio will use various techinques, including taping to decrease pain and improve your biomechanics.