I’ve had this knee injury for over 4 years now and the longer it goes on, the weirder it gets! It only seems to happen when running and not cycling (i’ve done upto 12hr rides without issue)
Originally it seemed a classic case of overuse, a gripping pain at the back of the knee which would also manifest on walks until the leg was fully rested. Seemed to be related to full extension and the strike onto the ground so assumed it was related to some kind of tendinitis. For context i had an ACL reconstruction on the knee 15 years ago using a hamstring graft and prior to that a couple of arthroscopes.
After over 2 years of rehab without luck, i got a MRI scan that revealed a bit of arthritis but nothing that would explain the symptoms so had surgery last year where they cleaned some slight spurs that were rubbing against the ligaments.
Anyhow, fast forward a year, i’m now running 50-70km a week and this is where it gets weird…
I still get the exact same gripping pain intermittently, usually preceded by either a tightness in the top of the calf or lower hamstring which stops me running and usually happens around 7-8 miles into a longer run. What is different to before is i can either walk it off for 10 minutes or if i stretch out, and then i’m able continue the run as if nothing had happened! Previously it would put me out of action for weeks and the pain is exactly the same? I have noticed this only happens on slower runs but that could be just because i haven’t ran many faster long runs yet. The other scenario it happens in is if i’ve just finished a 5-6 mile slow run, stop to walk and if i try to start running again, i get that exact gripping pain behind the knee.
I’ve been to loads of private physios and had different treatments and rehab plans but nothing seems to resolve it. Has anyone suffered anything similar?
I had a very similar thing in my early running days.
Pain like someone was sticking a knife in the back of my knee after a few km running, but would ease if I kept going. Then would reappear for a short time after rest the same day (would feel like the back of the knee was going to tear when I extended knee after sitting for a while), also flared up walking down hill. I figured it was the popliteus.
I changed from heel strike to forefoot/mid-foot running and now I don’t get it anymore.
any chance of a myofascial trigger point? if so injecting dexamethasone or a non steroidal fluid (I forget what they use) might un-knot it and give you some time to build more strength to stop it from happening.
Yeah, i’ve had a few examinations and scans and nothing like that has shown up. When i had the MRI scan there was a list of things - Hoffas pad impingement, cartilage wear among other things but the knee consultant couldn’t attribute anything to the symptoms i’m having.
It could well be that, something else i’ve noticed is that running up hills slowly really brings it on although i would have thought i’d be striking my heel less than even ground or downhill. I did look to 3d printed insoles and the analysis suggested i’m a midfoot striker, there was a slight impact on the heel but mostly across the foot. I do pronate quite a bit but i’ve ran like that since starting so i can’t think of what has changed to bring on the symptoms.