Frustrated With Runner’s Knee - The Pain That Didn’t Go Away



Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2011

by S. Jalonen
http://bodycapable.com

You’d never know how much trouble can a simple knee pain cause in a person’s life. Over 2,5 years ago I certainly didn’t realize  what was ahead of me.

It started innocently enough. My left knee started behaving funky, but not funky enough for me to pay much attention. I just assumed it would go away on it’s own. But then I sprained my left ankle, my knee pain got worse and stubbornly refused to go away.

Before I knew it, I started avoiding the long brisk Nordic walks that were my favourite form of physical activity back then. Not being able to exercise, I got angry and frustrated. I also  started putting on weight (I believe I’ve gained 10-15 pounds because of the my runner’s knee).

Months went by and I had to admit I had to find a way to deal with it.

What Is Runner’s Knee?

Runner’s knee is also called patella femoral pain syndrome. It’s a form of (non-traumatic) overuse injury that causes pain in front of and/or around the knee cap.  There are many theories about what causes patella femoral pain syndrome, of which perhaps the most common is that it’s caused by a faulty alignment of patella on the patella femoral groove.

Like the name suggests, runner’s knee is most common in runners and athletes, but also sedentary people suffer from it (I’m certainly no athlete or runner). The good news is that runner’s knee is not malignant, the bad news is that you can get a companion for life.

Trying To Find a Cure For Runner’s Knee

I have tried many things since my pain started. First I tried rest and occasional ice. That didn’t seem to help, because after resting periods the pain seemed to get worse and I gloomily concluded that my condition must have deteriorated even further. (I now think that resting was probably a wrong move: it just made my core, thigh and leg muscles weaker which lead to worse pain than before.)

At this point I was becoming pretty desperate. Someone might have resigned herself and accepted the easy explanation: “our bodies start breaking down as we age, you just have to accept it”. But I couldn’t just accept that at age 40, my left knee and my life would be going downhill. I had a terrible vision of myself as a surly 200-pound balloon walking with a cane at 50. And what about my plans for dancing salsa all night when I turn 50?

Besides, I had rehabilitated my chronic tension neck practically all by myself (with the help of Feldenkrais Method), so why would I give up now? I decided I would rehabilitate my knee myself.

What Has Helped And What Has Not

My first “rehab program” was basically based on exercises and instructions I found on the Internet. Below is a list of things I have tried so far. I have rated things I have tried based on my personal results.

Today my legs are stronger than they were before my condition and I can do more than I could do before my knee pain started. Still, my knee pain hasn’t vanished completely. I can't imagine I could start running yet - though I never wanted to run before my knee problems.

But I’m optimistic and convinced I’m going to find that last piece of a puzzle that banishes my knee pain completely. I’m currently experimenting with treating trigger points in my buttock and thigh muscles.

I think the lesson of my story is to not give up and not accept the easy explanation.

Are you sedentary and interested in starting an active lifestyle? Come read my active lifestyle blog for office workers and also check the Patella Femoral Solutions review.
This Article has been viewed 333 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.