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Question:

sound like a typical tendonitis injury, ice it. Doug Lynch/CalPoly SLO    | Home & Fax: 805-756-0944

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I thought I’d had them all but my latest knee injury is something I can’t identify (and neither can anyone else I know). It’s a pain just below the kneecap and toward the outer (lateral) side and it hurts only during the part of my stride during which my foot is NOT on the ground. Sort of like the chondromalacia/patello-femoral syndrome I had in the other knee but with a few notable differences: 1 – New injury is almost unnoticeable except when running. 2 – New injury does not effect ability to do leg extentions on Nautilus. 3 – Pain goes away totally with a couple of miles warm-up. Any treatment, attempted diagnosis, sympathy, etc. most appreciated! I had a similar problem with my knee about one year ago.  It was diagnosed as patellar-tendinitis.  I was give a list of exercises and was told to ice the knee for 20 minutes two times a day.  The most important exercise (which I still continue today) is a slow leg curl (name might be incorrect).   You must be sure to use a light weight but do 3×10 for each knee. Make sure each repetition takes about ten seconds and make sure you keep the knee extended straight for at least a second or two.   You are attempting to strengthen the tendons / muscles surrounding the knee so as to prevent it from slipping out and aggravaitng your patellar tendon.  I was back in no time and ended up beating all my previous pr’s. Good luck Michael

Mark: I  had a similar problem as yours until I looked back in my running log for the past 2 years and realized that I should fix the problem of overuse particularly after marathons, most recently after one in May. I have solved the problem with preventative maintenance (i.e. stretching) and have completed marathons in September and October without any further complications or hint of a problem. (Incidentally, I qualified for Boston in 3:09).  The solution is described  in a re-post of an article that I have posted on numberous occaisions for others: I’ve had knee problems which became most obvious after long periods of overuse.  I keep a training log which tracks my injuries which I realized indicated knee problems right after a marathon (weakened by many months of training without adequate strengthening for the knee). SOLUTION:  After I was diagnosed as having tendonitus in my left knee as a result of overuse, my sports medicine doctor prescribed the following to control and eliminate the problem: minutes per application) 2.  Treat also for 3 or 4 days by taking ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory. 3.  Stretch from now on, before and after every run  to strengthen and support the knees, as recommended by my doctor, as follows: a.   with caution not to overstretch, from a standing position, elevate your left or right foot straight in front and place on a bench or chair.  Slowly bend forward, while grasping your ankle or toes, keeping the leg straight, hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat with other leg.  (although not recommended as a general exercise by Galloway, cautious use of this stretching is invaluable for knee support strengthening). b.  while sitting on the floor, starting with both feet extended out in front of you, move one foot over the other while you bending same leg. Place your hands on  your bent knee and pull the knee towards your body.  Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat from the starting position for the other leg. c.  from the upgright standing postion, hold onto the wall with one hand while pulling the leg up behind you with your other hand.  Press your hip forward to straighten the quad (of the leg you’re pulling up behind) in line with your upper body.  Hold for 30 seconds.  Repeat for other leg. d.  while sitting on a chair or bench, extend one leg straight out and elevate slowly up from the floor and down.  Repeat 5 times and continue with other leg.  (This can be done anytime also during the day). 4.  Apply ice as required after future strenuous runs. I also recommend buying a good stretching book (e.g. Stretching by Bob Anderson) and apply for general running fitness before and after every run.   By the way, for runners, knee problems are most common followed by achilles (another subject). Good luck with your knee(s) and running. -regards, Kerry

Response:

Well, I thought I’d had them all but my latest knee injury is something I can’t identify (and neither can anyone else I know). It’s a pain just below the kneecap and toward the outer (lateral) side and it hurts only during the part of my stride during which my foot is NOT on the ground. Sort of like the chondromalacia/patello-femoral syndrome I had in the other knee but with a few notable differences: 1 – New injury is almost unnoticeable except when running. 2 – New injury does not effect ability to do leg extentions on Nautilus. 3 – Pain goes away totally with a couple of miles warm-up. Any treatment, attempted diagnosis, sympathy, etc. most appreciated!

I’m going to guess inflamation of the lateral retinaculum — most likely to hurt in the mid and last part of swing phase.  Simple cure:  transverse friction massage over the area i.e. deep short strokes perpindicular to the orientation of the fibers with a fingertip for 1-2 min. before and after running…..at first it hurts but should be ok after 10-20 sec. Check Cyriax’s Textbook of Orthopedic Medicine for specifics of technique. By the way, this is not so unusual. Dean Farwood, P.T. physical therapist

Response:

Well, I thought I’d had them all but my latest knee injury is something I can’t identify (and neither can anyone else I know). It’s a pain just below the kneecap and toward the outer (lateral) side and it hurts only during the part of my stride during which my foot is NOT on the ground. Sort of like the chondromalacia/patello-femoral syndrome I had in the other knee but with a few notable differences: 1 – New injury is almost unnoticeable except when running. 2 – New injury does not effect ability to do leg extentions on Nautilus. 3 – Pain goes away totally with a couple of miles warm-up. Any treatment, attempted diagnosis, sympathy, etc. most appreciated!

I had a similar problem with my knee about one year ago.  It was diagnosed as patellar-tendinitis.  I was give a list of exercises and was told to ice the knee for 20 minutes two times a day.  The most important exercise (which I still continue today) is a slow leg curl (name might be incorrect).   You must be sure to use a light weight but do 3×10 for each knee. Make sure each repetition takes about ten seconds and make sure you keep the knee extended straight for at least a second or two.   You are attempting to strengthen the tendons / muscles surrounding the knee so as to prevent it from slipping out and aggravaitng your patellar tendon.  I was back in no time and ended up beating all my previous pr’s. Good luck Michael

Response:

Well, I thought I’d had them all but my latest knee injury is something I can’t identify (and neither can anyone else I know). It’s a pain just below the kneecap and toward the outer (lateral) side and it hurts only during the part of my stride during which my foot is NOT on the ground. Sort of like the chondromalacia/patello-femoral syndrome I had in the other knee but with a few notable differences: 1 – New injury is almost unnoticeable except when running. 2 – New injury does not effect ability to do leg extentions on Nautilus. 3 – Pain goes away totally with a couple of miles warm-up. Any treatment, attempted diagnosis, sympathy, etc. most appreciated!

Response: