Injury... Knee

[Ben83]

Hi all,

I've looked through some of the exercises listed in the cardio section, prior to making this post... i apologise if i'm repeating anything previously posted.

I used to run in the gym and started to develop lower back pain about 4 minutes in. I switched to running on the road and this didnt hurt, i only stopped due to convenience of combining my CV with my weight session in one location....

I've since been using the cross trainer (elliptical) in my gym after my weights routine.... i started very gently 8-10 minutes and can now quite easily do about 25 minutes/3 miles. I'm not bragging as there are numerous so called 'out of shape people' who are considerably fitter than me - only trying to give an idea of the intensity or lack there of...

Long story short, both my knees hurt on the inside lower part of the my patella (infero medial according my missus who is a MD but not overly familiar with sports injuries) not on the day or during the exercise.... but the day after, when I walk my dogs for example, go up the stairs etc

I wondered if my pain/strain could be from my shoes, weakness of a certain muscle i should strengthen (i dont religiously train my legs), some kind of lack of flexibility issues? Is there anything i can do about it... apart from simply avoiding the exercises which cause pain which is admittedly the most obvious thing to do...


I suppose i want to fix it rather than just avoid it.

Thanks for everyones time!

[xshawnxearthx]

You should definitely train your legs as much if not more then your upper body. Squats, leg press, romanian dead lift, dead lift, etc etc.

My knees hurt a lot during/after using an elliptical. So I switched to the bike and haven't looked back.

[Stephen Johnson]

Long story short, both my knees hurt on the inside lower part of the my patella (infero medial according my missus who is a MD but not overly familiar with sports injuries) not on the day or during the exercise.... but the day after, when I walk my dogs for example, go up the stairs etc

Next day soreness after exercise in the tendons or ligaments is similar to DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) in the muscles. If the condition resolves itself in a couple of days, there is nothing to worry about.

But continued soreness for more than a few days could be tendonitis. Any spurt of physical activity that puts the tendons or ligaments under unaccustomed stress - particularly if you aren't a kid anymore - can cause inflammation. Taking NSAIDs, or supplements like glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM and fish oil can help fight inflammation and pain, but the best control is to moderate activity.

Doing too much too soon is a recipe for overuse conditions like tendonitis. If you're making the transition from a sedentary lifestyle to a more active one, be patient with yourself. Your joints will thank you.

[Jungledoc]

My suggestion is to take a few days off, then start again at half the mileage. If you don't get the soreness, then gradually increase the mileage.

And any of the things you mentioned could contribute, so you might experiment with them--shoes, etc.

I agree with what both Shawn and Stephen say above. I don't understand why anyone would not train their lower body, where most of the muscle is. You get a lot more benefit for the time spent on lower body than on upper.

[stuward]

You should start doing deep squats, starting with body weight. Do them as part of your warmup daily. This will increase your hip and ankle mobility and also stabilize the knee.