Gammy Knee

In some ways I guess that its not actually all that surprising. During the last three runs (all of them 10 k’s plus) I’ve noticed that my right knee has been feeling a little sore (or rather the outside of the knee, right on top of the femur as it runs down to the knee). I pretty much ignored it the first time, as it wasn’t really all that bad and generally little aches and pains go away as I warm up. The second time was a bigger run and the knee got quite sore, to the point where it still hurt to walk the next day. So I took a week off running before going for another big(ish) run last Tuesday (I was in Christchurch for work, so ran out to see my brother and his family one night). The run started off really well and I felt really strong (as a result of a weeks running rest), then after about 2 – 3 k’s the knee started hurting again. It got a little better as I warmed up, but was pretty sore by the time I got to my brothers house.

After I’d had dinner it was down right painful to walk. It was much better by the next morning, and back to normal the following day. Anyway it turns out I’ve managed to develop Iliotibial Band Syndrome.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome is basically pain and inflammation on the outside of the knee, where the iliotibial band (a muscle on the outside of the thigh) becomes tendinous, and results in a friction syndrome by rubbing against the femur (thigh bone) as it runs alongside the knee joint. My old exercise physiology notes tell me that it’s usually caused by overtraining, worn out shoes, excessive hill running and running on a cambered surface. I’m guilty of a lot of these things. I run a lot on hills (as it gives you the best bang for your buck time wise), and I generally just run a lot (as the cardiovascular work out of running is far superior to just about everything else – again giving more bang for your buck time wise), meaning that my shoes have logged a lot of k’s and are no doubt a bit worn.

So its at least three weeks off running for me. Which actually isn’t too inconvenient at the moment, as it gives me the incentive to really focus on my swimming and log in some more rides in place of my weekend long runs (which will mean 1.5 – 2 hour TT or hill rides rather than the usually run). In some ways it’s probably better that this as happened now rather than two months down the track – which would have put a major spanner in the works and messed up my schedules.

In saying that, if anyone has a magic cure, let me know!