Inner knee pain

Hi.

I'm dealing with what I think is an inner knee injury and I'm not entirely sure when it's ok to go back to running.

About a week and a half ago I...um....did some lunges and squats (just a couple), which I never do EVER. I was just trying to them out. Saw the correct form in video and wanted to try for myself to see how hard it would be. Yep, pretty hard! In fact, terribly hard!

Anway, pretty much right after that I had fairly bad pain in my inner knees when I run (I'm doing a walk/run program so about 50% of my exercise is running). It hardly bothers me when I walk, but even jogging a few steps I can feel the pressure on the inside of my knee and just below.
I did a bit of internetting and it seems as though I may have pulled the tendons that run down the inside of the knee and attach to the tibia. Sounds about right.

I've been icing fairly regularly, especially when it feels quite swollen, and taking ibuprofen. I have been trying to keep off my legs, haven't taken any stairs or gone for a run since the injury. But it almost feels like it's getting stiffer? It really does feel uncomfortable when I take a few jogging steps. Uphill or downhill doesn't seem to make a difference and walking doesn't bother them at all.

So how long do I wait? Can I run on that kind of discomfort (I read a running article that said you can run with a 5 out of 10 pain as long as you ice it and rest it after - doesn't sound right to me, but might as well check)? Is this the kind of thing that heals fairly quickly? Should I be doing some swimming to keep my knees working without the pain from impact?

Of course, I'd see a doctor but I'm in a foreign country without insurance at the moment so I'm trying to see how it goes day by day, but I'm getting anxious to get back at it! I'm on week 3 of the Couch to 5k program and this is seriously putting a damper on my enthusiasm. :(
 
It's very hard to tell what it is over the internet, it's probably impossible. To be on the safe side I'd advise you to not run until you can do so without pain. Without seeing you and getting to know exactly where on the inside of the knee the pain is I can't say if it is just a tendon, a muscle or ligaments of the knee. You probably just overdid it on the exercises and need to take it easy for a while.

how is the mobility in the knee? can you move it through full range of motion without pain or the knee "locking up" (like a point you have to "click" it through)?
 
how is the mobility in the knee? can you move it through full range of motion without pain or the knee "locking up" (like a point you have to "click" it through)?

The mobility is fine. Truly, my knees feel fine unless I start running/jogging/basically doing anything higher impact than walking. Now and then one or the other seems to swell up a bit and feel a bit swollen and stiff (ice and ibuprofen don't really seem to work), but 95% of the time that I'm doing normal daily activities they feel ok.

It maybe feels a bit tender to the touch on the inside and lower part of the knee (basically exactly where the medial ligament is in pictures of knee structure). The pain seems to travel a bit further down the tibia than the ligament appears to be attached, but not much. When running the pain isn't particularly acute, it's more like an aching pressure-type feeling in the specific area with each step I take (not a stabby, joint type pain).
 
Oh lord. I made the mistake of running about 50 feet to catch a bus today. THAT was painful. Now I'm home with ice on the one really bad knee.

It felt like I imagine it must feels to run after having been on strict bed rest for 6 months. There is something really uphappy in those tendons/ligaments/joints/something. I've never had knee problems but this is dragging onnnn and onnnn....

I want to run, darn it!
 
Have you thought that it might not have been those exercises? Pronation of the foot is a very common reason for medial knee pain. Look it up.

Yes, I have looked into the various possibilities. I don't believe I under- or over-pronate, but without a gait analysis I can't be sure. Seemed weird to me that I'd be running for 3 weeks with no problems, taking it nice and slow, never having had knee problems before and then, bang, almost overnight my knees are crap. The timing seemed right with the lunges/squats of death I did. :)

I have a doctor's appointment today, though it's just at a walk-in clinic so I don't imagine they're going to have lots of illuminating information for me. But hopefully I can get referred quickly to someone who will know more about it. *finger crossed*

Also, I just have to add...:love2: <--that is by far the most disturbing "smiley" I've ever seen. There is definitely an ecclectic selection on this forum...
 
Just as an update...

Sucked it up and went to the doctor today, despite the language barrier and the 100$ out of pocket. He said it looked like I probably pulled/strained the medial ligaments in my knees and to use a topical antiinflammatory and have a gait analysis done.

Nothing I didn't already know, really, but good to hear from a professional that I don't have some raging, out of control knee disintegrating disease or something. He said to go swimming and to spend some time in the hottubs there. And basically just see what the gait analysis has to say, whether I have an abnormal running gait or some other locomotion issue that I'm not aware of.

He said not to run until I know more, but do brisk walking to keep my cardio up. Not what I wanted to hear, but I'm not going to argue. I'm taking up weight lifting to keep my muscles doing something and that is going well and is something positive to focus on and feel good about.

:animal3:
 
Sounds Like Bursitis

I had a lot of the same symptoms and found out it was an inflamed bursa (ie bursitis). There's a great website for symptoms / treatment / rehab exercises / and diagrams but I wasn't allowed to post a URL.

If you google "Pes Anserine (Knee) Bursitis" and click on the first link you'll get the info.

Be prepared to rest, ice, and take anti-inflammatory medicine (the usual treatment). I opted for the cortisone shot to expedite recovery and would recommend if you're as inpatient as I am.

Good luck!

Jeff
 
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