knee pain & marathon training

Well I have been training for the Phoenix R&R marathon. I have been having some knee soreness/pain. It is only in my left knee. I did 16 miles the Saturday after thanksgiving and tomorrow I am scheduled for 18 miles. How do I know if the soreness is just part of the process or if I need to back off the training? This week I did 8 on Sunday and 4.5 on Wednesday and swam three days so it was a pretty light week but the knee is still sore.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jon

Jon,

From my experience, it would be hard to say. I had knee pain when I was training for the NYC marathon. For me, it was fairly clear, I couldn't go more than 14 miles without feeling like I was doing damage. It was more important for me to be able to continue running than to participate in the marathon. The best thing might be for you to get to a sports doctor or physical therapist and see what they advise. I hope it is feeling better soon.

Mary

Not sure how old you are, but I have been told that any pains that last longer than 3-days needs to be treated.  This year, I have used both medication (NSAIDS) and a physical therapist to combat the pain in my knees.  I also use compression calf tights.  The only way to find out the problem is to go your doctor, probably get an x-ray, and get a course of action that keeps you in the game.  If you ignore it, it will probably get worse, and you'll probably get shut down before the main event.  Good luck.
Rob

I am 38. My guess is that I have increased milage too quickly and it is simply overuse. But it is the knee that I chipped a bone tore cartledge and pulled ligaments in wrestling in HS. So I have an appointment at sports rehab place on monday morning. The place was recomended by a guy in my run club.

I am not sure if that it the right place to start or if I should start at my Dr. 

Today the knee is feeling a little better so the question becomes should I do my 18 miles tomorrow?

Jon

My suggestion won't help you tomorrow. ICE. It has helped my recovery after long runs. I do the ice bath after a long run and then set with an ice pack on my knee afterwards while watching tv. I will do the ice packs for several days after a long run and it has done wonders for me. I wasn't getting soreness during a run but after.

pan head

Well the xray shows my kneecap being pulled out of allignment up and out. The cause seems to be muscle imbalance. Xray also showed the lower leg to be tweeked a bit. He went as far as to look the wear on my running shoes to point out that my left foot showed a different wear pattern than the right.  The good news seems to be that there is no degenerative joint disease. Due to the fact that this is the knee I blew out wrestling in HS I was concerned it could be something permanent or serious.

Makes perfect sense however I am a bit skeptical because it seems like anyone who walks in with pain could be diagnosed with an a problem with muscular imbalance. I also have a bit of skepticism when it comes to chiropractic.

The Dr really seemed to know his stuff so I figure I will give it a try here. Any reassurance from anyonoe out there.

Additionally he recomended taking ibuprofen for the next 4 days to try and reduce the inflammation. Any good or bad experience wiht Ibuprofen after rny?

Thanks,
Jon

Jon,

Kneecap alignment is generally congenital and pretty common.  I have it, and I've had arthroscopic lateral releases in both knees over 15 years ago.  My husband also has it, and had a more serious surgery.  At one point in time I was getting injections from the orthopedic surgeon (something called hyalgan which is similar to the sinovial fluid in the joints), but it doesn't work for everyone, I don't seem to need them anymore.

As far as ibuprofen goes, I take it.  I don't take it all the time, and I do notice that if I have to take it for several days my tummy gets to hurting.  But then again, the benefits outweigh the risks for me.  It's the only thing that gets rid of my headaches, and I do use it pretty often for joint pain especially after long runs.  I also try not to take it on an empty stomach.  That keeps it from sitting on the stoma before moving into the intestinal tract.

I even need prescription NSAIDS when my back goes out (bad SI joint from many years ago).  For me, the focus lies in what seems to be the biggest problem and how it can be most quickly resolved.

Linn