My doctor has diagnosed me with patellofemoral pain syndrome which is more commonly known as “runner’s knee.” Now that almost a week has passed, my wandering knee pain has settled right above my knee.
Patellofemoral pain can be caused by a number of factors including overuse and overload of the patellofemoral joint, biomechanical problems and muscular dysfunction. Quadriceps strengthening is the most commonly prescribed treatment but I believe my quadriceps are pretty strong from doing hundreds of squats each week. In my case, I believe overpronation and tight calves and hamstrings are the culprits. My doctor also said my piriformis muscles are insanely tight.
He said if I wanted, I could use a patella strap just below my knee to help ease the pain when I’m running. I did a little online research and it appears the Pro-Tech Athletics brand Knee Pro-Tec Patellar Tendon Strap is the most popular.
I’m hesitant to go out and buy a patellar strap because this doctor is not a sports medicine specialist (I cannot afford to see an orthopedic surgeon right now because I don’t have any health insurance). When I was seeing an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in sports medicine before, he said he preferred for his patients to correct their knee problems without the help of a brace whenever possible. He felt relying on the brace could do more damage than good if the person became too dependent on the brace.
For now, I’m going to do as much stretching and strength training as possible. I found a set of rehabiliation exercises and I ran across this blog describing some physical therapy procedures for runner’s knee.
While not directly related to my current patellofemoral pain syndrome, I ran across the cutest stretches for runners web page ever. Look at how happy Mr. Stickman is!
Steve Mackel said
I think the strap is a start but I have some other ideas, give me a call 818-414-9181
Steve
Felicia said
Hi, I too have Runner’s Knee. It really sucks. My marathon is this Sunday!!! I have been going to therapy to get my knee back into shape. Last Sunday I ran 4 out of the 6 miles I was trying to complete due to the STABBING pain in my left knee. For me, once it happens, I can not continue to run. Can you??? I did get in my 18 miler before it all began.
This all started just before my 40 mile peak week. I never got to my 20 miler. This is when therapy started. I felt great after a while, and since I never ran my long run, I went out and attempted in a couple of weeks ago. I managed 15 with taping and a brace before it happened, then jumped on the eliptical to get in another 4 miles. That was dumb, but I was sooooo determined. That was the worst pain I ever felt, especially after for 2 days! The weird thing was how fast I recovered the second time around.
I am battling myself now. Should I try to do this marathon on Sunday or not?????? I know it will not be pain free. I can deal with pain, but not the stabbing pain that occurs.
lil 1/2 pint said
Felicia, what did your doctor say? I am truly sorry to hear you are going through this so close to your marathon.
Does the brace help? Is it putting pressure on your patella tendon? Do you feel a big difference in the tracking of your leg?
Felicia said
Hey,
The PT said if I am going to try to run this marathon, to wear the brace and tape it. The brace does put pressure on the patella tendon. I think it helped some. I got in 15 miles before the pain. I have not had much time to play around with any of this. My last run, it was suggested to go with out the brace and tape. I felt it at 4 miles. I did not push it that day, and was fine after it.
What to do???? I have to go get my race pack by tomorrow.
Should I just try in 21′ F weather to run it. If I have to stop, I will just stop???
Thanks.
lil 1/2 pint said
If it starts to hurt really badly do you think you will be able to walk the rest of the way?
If you do go ahead with the race, make sure your feet are super straight when you run. Don’t let yourself run with your toes pointing out or in. If I really focused on keeping my feet in line, in the past I could run with no pain at all even when I was struggling with knee problems.
I think it’s at the point where you will just have to do some soul searching. I know you’ve put everything into this training but there will be more marathons.
Maybe you could tell yourself if it gets unbearable, you will be okay with dropping out?
Green Girl Running Update « The Journey of a Running Green Girl… said
[...] My right knee is doing really well. I’ve been carefully keeping my feet really straight when I’m running and wearing a patellar strap on the weekend when I do my longer runs. And by longer, I mean slightly over a 5k. I guess I’ve been overcompensating for my bad knee and my left calf has been getting extremely tight. I don’t want to push through the pain so I walk when it hurts. [...]
The Green Girl’s Very First Trail Run « The Journey of a Running Green Girl… said
[...] Chirunning lesson, we broke up into the full and half marathon groups to start the run. Since I was diagnosed with runner’s knee, I haven’t been keeping up with my Surf City USA Half Marathon training schedule. I’ve [...]