Running = swollen and painful knees! :(

L

lschune

0
Hi everyone, this is my very first post on this board and I'm hoping I can get either a solution or just a few helpful hints to my physical problem.

To start off, I'm 19 years-old, almost 20 come February, and for my whole life I've been overweight; never morbidly obese, but definitely a good 20-25lbs heavier than I should have been. I always exercised half-heartedly throughout my middle and high school years, always making vows every new month to finally lose weight and get a bikini body. And of course, I never ate right or exercised enough, so I never got anywhere ;) However, I did lose some weight - at 14 I was 182lbs, and eventually I whittled down to around 171 or 172 throughout the years, but could NEVER get below that number no matter what I tried.

Until recently, this was my life. However, this past summer things started changing. I came home for the summer after my freshman year at college ended, and my parents ended up selling their house while I was living at home. I don't know if it was the stress of moving or what, but suddenly one day I stepped on the scale after an intense week of working out and packing/moving boxes, and I was 167! I was so astonished, but it made SENSE. I was doing the elliptical at least 1 hour a day, and ate when I was hungry, and didn't eat when I wasn't. This was all happening at the end of July.

By the time I left for a different college at the end of September, I was down to 150lbs and had gone from a size 12 to a 10. However, now I seem to find myself at a plateau. Running on the elliptical, even for longer than an hour and at a high intensity, doesn't give me the good workout it used to. I would love to start running either on the treadmill or in the outdoors (my campus is fantastic for running), but I haven't had the best experiences.

Whenever I have tried running before, the next few days my knees are KILLING me. They feel swollen and hurt so much even to just walk. Part of me wonders that now, since I'm down so much weight than before, if I try running again maybe things will be different. I remember watching a commercial that said losing 1lb of weight takes off 4lbs of impact from your joints, is that right?!

I'm open to any suggestions, stories, questions, comments, tips, etc. etc that could help!
 
Well first, welcome! And secondly, congratulations on your weight loss so far and taking the initiative to make it more permanent.

Sore knees after running have so many possible reasons:
1. You're not warming up before you run.
2. You have inadequate shoes.
3. You should alternate what side of the road you run on, since the roads tend to have a "crown", so if you always run facing traffic, one of your legs must compensate on every step since it has a bit further to make the strike. (often stated as your body thinks one leg is shorter than the other).
4. You're trying to do too much too soon.

Oh there are a bunch of reasons!! So if you want the 10 cent diagnosis, here goes:

Warmup with some stretching and walking. Start jogging slowly and then pick up the pace. Alternate walking with jogging for the first few weeks (jog 400 yards, walk 400 yards).
Invest in some good shoes. These will probably run you no less than $50USD and closer to $100USD.

Good luck, and hang in there! This is definitely doable!
 
Judging from your lack of an impact activity I am going to venture a guess that it's the sudden inclusion of a high impact exercise that is causing you this pain.

You should start running shorter distances at a slow pace on soft surfaces like grass or a rubberized track. that will lessen the impact on your knees.

As doug said there are many reasons that this could be occurring. do as he recomended...stretch and trying mixing walking and running.


as for your plateau...weight loss is easy at first when there is a lot to lose. its a lot harder during the last 10 lbs and diet plays a big big role in helping you get the last 10.
 
Thanks! My university has a great 4 story gym with an indoor track on the top level, so I think I'll start very slow on the treadmill and eventually try running on the track if I feel okay.

Are there significant differences in impact on an actual solid surface than a treadmill?

Also, one of my roomate's runs and I've often seen her taping her arches to help support them. Would wrapping my knees be a good precautionary, or should I just leave them bare and see how it goes?
 
Leave them bare for now. you're roommate is likely taping her arches because she has Plantar Faciitis or has a history of pain in her arch from running. You don't know if the issue is your lack of impact related activities or a bio mechanical problem.

See if running on the rubberized track or treadmill helps you. Both should provide you with a lesser impact than running on a paved surface. Grass would be the best (assuming you are in a warm climate and the ground is soft)...speaking of which...where are you located?

Also do take Doug's advice about investing in good running shoe's seriously. If you have the ability, go to a running store and get your stride examined to see if you are a pronator, supinator or a neutral step and have them recommend the best shoe options for you with you choosing the ones that feel best. They can also recomend shoes based on your complaint of knee pain, recommending a shoe with a higher shock absorption ability to lessen your impact.
 
just google running stores in your zip and see what comes up. you'll want a store thats specific to running, triathletes or the like. The store I go to here on LI is just that and the employees are great. They are all runners and are all long time employees of the store, not some kid making min wage who couldn't give a crap about your foot strike or even know what it means.

Avoid places like footlocker, sports authority, or any regular retailer. The exception would be buying a replacement pair of the same running shoe.

Edit: Here's a link to a few stores in the Columbus area

running store columbus ohio - Google Maps
 
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Depending on your degree of pronation / arch, 1130s may be good or not. I recommend you go to the Asics.com page and go through their wet foot test to see what kind of foot you have. Then, you can look at some Asics models or other brands to see which shoe will be best for you.

But, you might also want to see an orthopedist to make sure there is nothing medically wrong.
 
Since everyone else pretty much covered all the running advice, i thought i'd spit in my 0.02.

Bike riding! not motorized, but a bicycle. This has to be my absolute favorite cardio tool, because it is so easy to control pace and effort. You can push your self to the absolute limit, and if you feel you cant go any more, just back it off slightly and keep going.
 
Smallish update -

So far, so good! I've run twice this past week on the treadmill, Wednesday and Friday, for approximately 2 miles each time; I've alternated 1/4 mile of running and walking each time, and so far the only sore part of me has been my quads and hamstrings, but in a good way ;)

I think I'll keep on running every other day until I really get used to it and build up some stamina, and then hopefully move up to the indoor track of the gym.

:)
 
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