I have a sharp pain that is progressively getting worse on the lower outside of my right knee (just below and to the right of my knee cap). It does not hurt while running, at least not after a warm up. I feel it most If I put pressure on the knee by squatting, or standing from a sitting position. There is no noticeable swelling.
I am not a runner. My background is in swimming, but I’ve done a fair amount of cycling over the last 7 years. I am training for a 1/2 Ironman, my first. Since January, I have slowly built up to a 9 mile long run from fairly consistent 3 mile runs 3x a week. I still run three times a week. I am told that I am neutral to mild overpronator (slightly worse on the right). I have done my entire build up in Newton Terra Motus and Newton Gravity. I have not had any problems until the last two long runs (8.5 and 9 miles one week apart).
The pain is mild at this point but seems to be getting progressively worse and more frequent. My race is May 7.
I have never had a knee injury, but I’ve never run this far either. Any thoughts on what my problem is and/or how to manage it? Thanks!
Doesn’t sound like IT band…IT band is usually fine until a few miles in and then it hits you. Also, does it hurt to walk up and down stairs after a run? If not then you can strike IT off the list
What shoes are you currently wearing and were you fit at a running store? Since the pain is on the inside of the knee it sounds like it could be a support issue to me, and that you might need more support than your current shoes have.
Pain is usually not right after a run, but the next day. There is some pain going up or down stairs/squatting, rising from sitting. This is part of what confuses me when I read about both problems. It seems too low on the knee to be ITB, but I do have a tight ITB on that side. It doesn’t bother me while running either. So I lean towards runners knee, but just don’t know.
Doesn’t sound like IT band…IT band is usually fine until a few miles in and then it hits you. Also, does it hurt to walk up and down stairs after a run? If not then you can strike IT off the list
Not always–my IT band bugs me less during a run than it does before, at the beginning, and after.
Iam in the same boat. My pain is also on my right knee, low, on the outside part of the knee. And i too have my first HIM in june. Anyway, i thought it was is the it band, bought the roller, stretches, etc. Brought down the running miles but no cigar. Also i believe that my bike could have something to do with aggravating the situation. A pro bike fit is 350$ so i might try to raise my car seat. Also i have a road bike with aero bars attached, imight stay off the bars and see what happens. Finally i have an appointment on mon withan orthopedic
I have you been riding your trainer alot and really hard all winter? I usually get that type of pain from doing that. It also goes away when I start riding on the road again.
I would go down the IT band path for now and see if that’s it. I had a really bad IT band flare last summer that I swore was something worse. A little foam rolling and time and it went away.
My knee pain sounds exactly like yours (sharp pain on outside of right knee when squatting), except it was sustained during cycling instead of running. I’ve had the pain for about a week already and I think I may have done too much too soon, and with a race coming up I’m also wondering what to do. No swelling and I’m otherwise fine as long as I’m not squatting but it still scares me. Sometimes my knee will “click” when I do the leg extension motion. I’m worried it might be a meniscus issue so I’m thinking about getting it checked out if it worsens after this weekend’s training.
Just go see someone…self diagnosis can be very dangerous…Chances are since you are new to running and have a pretty solid background with swimming/cycling, it is probably just a durability issue…Go see someone…get healty…doesn’t mean you can’t run/train, just make sure you get full range of motion back and you aren’t doing anything wierd with running gait etc…Take it easy for a while reevaluate your run build, get healthy and then come back stronger.
Two things I have learned…
If you can’t do a body weight squat and/or lunge pain free, you are asking for trouble if you are trying to build significant amount of run volume and/or intensity…Now don’t get me wrong, if I am close to a race and in the biggest part of my build, maybe pushing the envelope a little there are certain aches/pains I will deal with for a short time, but I don’t stay there very long!
This is the same for lower extremity pain calf/achillies…I am shocked at the number of people that can’t do 2x20 single leg calf raises, and are tying to run 30+ miles per week…
Lot of good info on the this forum on building run fitness/durabiltiy properly…
Go and see a physio. I have had a couple of knee then achilles problems. Unless there is an actual physical anomaly a lot of problems arise from muscular imbalances. This then leads to subconsciously favouring a leg or adjusting running gait, and the problem worsens; left leg weaker than right and so on.
A physio will be able to recognise any imbalances and then give you some exercises to readjust (a variety of squats, hamstring curls, glute and hip abductor work) which will take a few minutes a day to do. In my experience the results were fairly quick (3-4 weeks), as long as I was diligent with the exercises. Second visit should confirm it, or worse identify that you need further assistance with ortho etc.
Long and the short of it, unless you actually have a structural difference physio is likely to work. Orthotics just support a problem, they don’t necessarily fix it, and of course they can cost a lot of money and potentially take a couple of weeks to be fitted, by which time you could be on the way to recovery with a physio.
This is from my personal experience with different physios over time; they all worked. Perhaps worth a few bucks to see if there is a ‘natural’ solution. My 2c.