Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Knee pain update.....IT band joined the party

I have insomnia so I decided to write a post and hope I will find sleep before getting to the end...

So an update on the knee situation...






















 
This is what I did last week:

I bought a knee strap.
I ran only on the treadmill to be on a softer surface hoping this would help.
Foam rolled.
Stretched.
Iced a few times not every day.
Got a treadmill....what?....yes I did....!

This was me before Sunday:


I want to thank everyone who commented or emailed me with advices and or shared their experience with this kind of problem. About the shoes...my shoes are neutral and I rotate 2 pairs that are both under 100 miles. I usually ran on sidewalks..so that is not helping my problems. I have not increased my mileage in a crazy way...I stay between 25 and 28 miles.

I feel that the knee strap is helping. I ran 5 miles the first time with it Wednesday and I felt no pain so of course Thursday I pushed to 6 miles...it was ok again. Friday I rested and Saturday I only had time for 4 miles.
Sunday was my long run day. I wanted to do 8 miles minimum and hopefully 9. It had to be done before 8:45 am so that Bill could go to his soccer. I wanted to stay on the TM and not run outside. I decided to go to a different gym then the one I usually go to because 1: they open at 6 am and 2: they have TM with TV. I got up at 5:40 am and drove to the gym only to find out that it is now closed for renovations!!! I was livid. I had checked online to make sure they were open at 6 am on Sundays and there is no information saying that this location is closed until end of June....grrrrrrrr. I drove to my regular gym and it was not going to open until 8 am....crap...this day was not starting well.....and I was waiting precious time. Finally I went to the 3rd possible location...a real dive.....it is terrible there....but it was open and they have (crappy) treadmills...so it was my only option at this point. I started running and this run was not 100% pain free even with the strap. :(. I ended up doing just 7 because I ran out of time.

Sunday I did feel the sharp pinching pain a couple of times even with the strap.
I iced when I got back and I did my PT exercises later that day with the help of my special PT Maggie!

I am afraid to feel the pain when I run so I have to hold on to the machine ...just in case...
This is causing me to have really sore shoulders!

Monday...I rested. I rolled an stretched but that's it. I feel burning/pain/soreness on my IT band now.....

I am looking for exercises I can do at home to help me with all that. I do have a fitness ball at home I can use so if you have good ones to share please send them my way...or a link on youtube that you like.

We bought a treadmill on Sunday! I am sooooo happy!
We have to assemble it so it is not ready to be use just yet.
I cannot wait to be able to use it

I am not sure about tomorrow...I think I should rest....

And I went to sleep right after that.......










 This is me today:
Not happy


On the freaking bike at the gym.............. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 
I did not try anything on the treadmill.  I was good.  But I did try the elliptical and that was a no go was actually worst than running.  I stayed on that darn bike for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I came home and did my PT and some core workout.
 
I was supposed to run a 10K this month but now I think I will not sign up for it and just wait for the OC Half Marathon.   I am a little worried about this knee thing...I know I have to be patient...it is not easy...I know you all know this....and it could be a lot worst...
 
If you have good exercises or stretch for me please do share!
We finally have insurance back so I will look for a sports Dr...not sure we have that in my town though.
 
Did you all watch that awesome game last night? I think it was one of the best final I have seen for March Madness.  My pool was a disaster this year but I think this tournament was great...lots of upsets and really good games...Wichita on Saturday that was another great one...they came so close.... 
 
 

15 comments:

Michelle @ www.movinitwithmichelle.com said...

Feel better soon! I too deal with these very issues! Try foam rolling if you haven't already!

Tasha Malcolm said...

Hang in there, it sounds like you are being smart about not pushing yourself. It is a bummer to not be able to use that new TM though! :/

Gracie said...

Yay for the new "toy" and hope your IT band heals quickly!

Boston Bound Brunette said...

Sorry about the whole gym situation. I didn't know it was closed :( Foam rolling that IT Band will help a lot. I foam roll mine all the time to avoid them from flaring up. I know you don't like the R word but it is the only way that knee is going to feel better. Ice it at least 3-4 times a day for 15-20 minutes and that will help a lot too. Hang in there and congratulations on your new treadmill!

kristen said...

Have you tried taking a week off and just walking and resting and foam rolling? In the grand scheme of things - a week is nothing!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I hope your knee is feeling better soon

I am a huge Wolverines fan!!! I loved watching the tournament and actually had a rooting interest all the way to the end, The national championship game was awesome, despite the loss, fast pace, action packed, it was a really good game, I tip my hat to Louisville for the win

Erica Gorman said...

You can look online for a stretch for your IT band so you can see it better but here is what I did when mine was acting up.

First, I stretched my hamstrings. If I can, I like to just prop my leg up on a table to feel the stretch that way.

Second, I stretched my quads. You know this one. Just stand and hold your leg.

Third, I did the standing IT band stretch where you cross your right leg in front of your left and then bend to your right. Imagine a straight line from the foot in front to your head. For me, I felt the stretch more along my hip than the IT band.

I did these stretches multiple times a day, even at work, and it seemed to help loosen things up.

Plus, I did get a massage where the masseuse massaged my IT band with heat and I went to the chiropractor and found out my hips were out of alignment as well as the knee that was bugging me.

Good luck and I completely understanding the fear of running due to fear of pain.

Erica Gorman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coy Martinez said...

I know you def don't want to hear this but probably one of the best things you can do is not to try to run at all for at least 3-5 days. You're not going to lose any fitness at all but you'll get a pretty good idea if you're at least getting better. When I had knee pain, I just DID NOT WANT TO STOP but taking off, for at least a 3 - 5 day window will give all your muscles time to relax. This is where a swimming pool comes in handy :)

I hope you get better. I have been in your shoes a few times and I can totally relate to how frustrating it all is!

Anne said...

Oh non...je vois que les choses ne se sont pas améliorées :( ...continue d'être sage et prend le temps de guérir. Il y a un temps où je me blessais vraiment souvent et j'ai remarqué que quoique je fasse, cela prennait toujours environs 4 à 6 semaines avant de guérir complètement. Suite aux conseils de mon PT, je courrais moins longtemps (avec plus de minutes de marche) mais aussi souvent et j'augmentais graduellement. Je ne fais que te le partager :) Trop fantastique que tu as un tapis chez toi maintenant...c'est vraiment très pratique!! Yay! Courage...ça va passer Caro.

Black Knight said...

I hope that you can find the right solution to heal soon.
The treadmill is a good option because you can run on a soft and flat surface. Boring, I know, but useful at the moment.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE having my own treadmill, so convenient to just go to the basement and run. I hope you are feeling better by now and can enjoy your treadmill!!

Elizabeth said...

Hope you are feeling better! i wish i had the space for a treadmill. That's awesome that you got one. and, i think it's smart that you didn't sign up for the 10K.

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