Knee pain that doesn't start till after the 3rd mile??

[Threeh]

Hi all! I have just started the Galloway run walk in Feb and should add I am 40 years old and have never run before in my life. I have a nice 4.5 mile loop I like to do on my short days and for about the last 2 weeks I have knee pain starting after the 3rd mile. Thought it was the loop ( partly on gravel) so I tried all on road. Also tried deceasing my intervals down to 2:1. The pain is only when I run, it's in my outer knee cap and shoot thru the knee. It is fine if I stop and walk and doesn't bother me the rest of the day. I can sometimes walk for about 1/2 mile and can finish my run of 4.5 miles but haven't gone any further distance since this started. Also if I do a 3 mile run I am fine the whole run.

Thanks so much for any advice!!!

 

[APrunner]

Hi all! I have just started the Galloway run walk in Feb and should add I am 40 years old and have never run before in my life. I have a nice 4.5 mile loop I like to do on my short days and for about the last 2 weeks I have knee pain starting after the 3rd mile. Thought it was the loop ( partly on gravel) so I tried all on road. Also tried deceasing my intervals down to 2:1. The pain is only when I run, it's in my outer knee cap and shoot thru the knee. It is fine if I stop and walk and doesn't bother me the rest of the day. I can sometimes walk for about 1/2 mile and can finish my run of 4.5 miles but haven't gone any further distance since this started. Also if I do a 3 mile run I am fine the whole run.

Thanks so much for any advice!!!

Not really sure what to say on this one. Your knee cap may track too much to the outside while running. Maybe a little cartiledge damage there as a result. That would be my best guess at this point.

You can try strengthening the VMO muscle in you legs. This may help keep the knee cap from tracking as far out. The best exercise I have found for that is doing squats, with one ball behind your back and against a wall (wall squats), and another ball between your knees. May also want to foam roll your outer legs. A tight IT band can cause you knee cap to track out as well, though you do not mention any other signs of an IT band problem.

If the problem persists, it may be worth visiting an orthopedic doctor.

 

[magicLAL12]

About 3 months ago I was experiencing horrible knee pain similar to the "shooting pain" that you are describing. Unfortunately, I would keep pushing my knee and the pain eventually started occurring not only when I was running but when I was walking as well! Not fun! Since I have started training for the Marathon, I was worried that my knee pain would set me back, but luckily it has yet to occur... Here's what I suggest:

STRENGTH TRAIN!
Building up the muscles surrounding your knee and other leg muscles entirely will help relieve some of the stress which your knee is feeling. As mentioned previously, squats and lunges are great for this! If you belong to a gym, leg lifts/curls are also a great way to build strength around the knee. Whatever you do- don't start biking. I made that mistake, and it only made the pain worse (since I still didn't have the muscle strength). Start off with spending 1 day a week working on strengthening exercises, then gradually increase to 2 days a week. You don't need to use super heavy weights or kill yourself- just the motions of squats/lunges will be different enough to build up alternative muscle.

If this doesn't work, you could try a knee band or IT band to wear while running for more support. I would contact your doctor though, of course, if the pain gets worse or persists!

Good luck!