After some vigorous tugging, pulling, twisting, pushing and turning of my left leg and knee, the doctor said I have a knee injury common to runners, known as patella femoral. This is also sometimes referred to as runner’s knee (though he said there are a few other similar things that are sometimes classified as runner’s knees as well).  For me, probably weak quads caused the knee to misalign and track outside of the area where the knee bone should be.   I also got an x-ray done and it came back showing the knee cap is tilted.  Ouch.

It just happens I guess since most runners eventually get it at some point. I guess it was an increase in the running (due to the half-marathon training) and not having done too many frequent long runs in June and July — maybe this was a bit too much for my knee to endure. Or maybe my body isn’t built for running — well, I would like to not think that but it is a fact that some people’s legs and bodies make them more prone to injury if they do certain sports (like running) — think about it: people who are genetically bow legged, or have flat feet or have gaits like a duck’s waddle — it’s very hard on the knees if your feet kick outward or inward when you move.

The doctor recommended that I also see the physical therapist he referred me to for a second opinion and get some feedback about whether I should even run the half.  I hope to walk-run it and complete under the time limit! He suggested some quad exercises for me so I am going to start that. I also looked up some more quad exercises and hip exercises too.  I think one of my major mistakes is doing the standing quad stretch incorrectly. I would pull my leg out to the side, or pull it all the way back pushing my hips backwards instead of forward when increasing the stretch. Duh, stupid! (and now, painful!) He also suggested that I get a knee brace with the little cutout for the knee bone — something else to look into as there are so many knee braces out there!

How do you know if you may have patella femoral? Well, I’m not a doctor but here’s what I felt — you be your own judge. Best thing to do? Always go see a doctor when you feel pain in your joints. You never know what is out of place! These are vague but this is what I reported to the doctor:

• Tightness in the knee and around the knee, especially when standing, walking, running.
• Pressure on the top of the knee when bending the knee, almost as if there is something hard in there, pushing down on your knee bone.
• Strange, uncomfortable “grinding” feeling when you walk, bend your knees,  or sit.
• Discomfort lying down, as if your knee bone will fall through your knee; feeling as if your knee is hyperextended (i sleep with a pillow under that knee to keep it elevated).
• Some numbness and pain when walking, standing, sitting, lying down

And Jason of StrengthRunner has some great tips on how to prevent injuries.  I will definitely have to start cross-training to avoid repetitive and cumulative stress on the joints — there’s something to the theory of muscle confusion, after all!

So anyway,  time to go stretch and do my little quad exercises in hopes that this pain will all go away in 5 weeks!!

With a race coming up and knee pain, I had to find alternatives to training.  I didn’t want to do anything that would hurt my knee more or get myself to the point where I end up with chronic pain or do damage that may give me arthritis in the knees when I get older.

So I scheduled an appointment with my primary care doc and I’m hoping he will tell me good news like “just ice it, wear a knee brace, cut back on the mileage or do some of these other exercises to strengthen your core and quads and you will be good to go.” I don’t want to hear anything along the lines of injections, pills or surgery….or infinite rest!

I don’t know how this knee pain happened. The only switch I did was go from pavement to treadmill. I have been running on the streets since 2009 all the way till this winter, when I switched to the treadmill and haven’t really hit the streets much. I usually set the treadmill for a slight incline to mimic street conditions but I thought treadmill running was suppose to be better for the knees! Maybe it is something out of sync with my hip and knee and ankle alignment, which can cause a whole host of issues.  Often, experts say that weak muscles in other parts of the leg can cause knee pain too (not giving the knee the right support, etc).  Time to cross-train!

So while I wait for the doctor’s appointment to arrive, I’ve switched to trying alternatives for cardio. Stationary biking was waaaaay too boring (5-minutes felt like an eternity).  I tried the rollerblading machine for about 25 minutes and that was ok except my knees still felt kinda sore. From past experience, the act of rollerblading (or ice skating) does put pressure on the knees so I stopped using that (though great for the glutes).  Then I tried this Precor AMT100i machine today and it was good. I was able to “jog” 5k in slightly better time with less strain on the knee and it was still a brutal workout. (I have to figure out how to belly breathe because this shallow chest breathing I’m doing is horrible for my body and doesn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs — I’m constantly gasping.)   The knee still feels tight and there are some twinges of pain but much better than pounding the treadmill.  I think I will give this another go until the doctor gives me some advice.

I can’t even pronounce this word, chondromalacia, but based on the symptoms I’ve been feeling for months now, I have a bad feeling that’s what I have.  It is otherwise known as “runner’s knee” and one of the most common injuries experience by young adult runners, and especially female runners.

For the past months, I’ve felt this tightness and pressure on my left knee, around the knee cap area but couldn’t figure out what it is. I feel it when I’m walking, when I’m standing, and even when I’m lying down. I probably should have stopped running when I first felt it but I didn’t. I kept pushing on. Ironically, my knee feels ok for the first 1.5-2 miles that I run. Then somewhere before mile 3 is when I start to feel that twinge of pain and discomfort and that feeling of something hard grinding up on another hard thing (possibly patella grinding on bone because the cartilage has worn away due to the patella being misaligned).

Anyway, this morning, I did a 5000meter but had to slow to a walk about 2.5 miles into it because the grinding felt very “loud” in my body. You can’t hear it but I felt it more so than any other time. It wasn’t good. I thought something was going to pop out of my leg. That was what prompted me to do the research. Granted, I’ve self-diagnosed this to avoid going to the doctor and there is a slim chance maybe it is nothing at all but given the constant tightness and pressure and discomfort I’ve been feeling, this seems like the closest bet when given the wide range of knee injuries one can get.

I’m icing now and will be daily, in case there is some internal swelling.  I guess I am suppose to work on different exercises and maybe get some knee wraps and not run for 6-8 weeks or however long it takes for this to correct itself. (Rest was the #1 action recommended on a bunch of running sites.)  That’s disappointing because I’ve grown to like running (it is a nice, minimal sport that pushes me to my limits, takes my mind off everything and lets me meditate and focus on the moment..or on the agony of running heh) and also because I have a destination race next month.  All tickets and hotels have been booked — what now??  I guess I will crosstrain, rest the knee and hope to be able to cover 6 miles running and walk the rest and still come under the time limit without further injuring myself or getting a “DNF”?  That’s the hope. (Though I was really hoping to not get injured at all!) I can’t very well not run it because I’ve been looking forward to this race!  Good thing I didn’t sign up for any other races yet — and trust me, there are a handful I definitely want to do from Oct through January!