I've been having a pretty good gym run lately - I'm aiming for 28 days straight. I was doing great (9 days in a row), but took a day off because my knees were hurting, and that "day off" turned in to a "week off" because I just wasn't motivated to go.
My question is; can you train through (and out train?) sore knees? Does the knee pain go away as you get more fit? Or do I just have bad knees, and am pushing harder than they can handle?
I guess my answer depends on what your exercise routine looks like.
Generally, I'd say there's a difference between exercise causing soreness and exercise causing pain. If it's pain, you probably need to heal first or change up your routine so you're not stressing whatever's hurt. Doesn't (usually) mean you have to go full-on couch potato, though.
Last edited by Blueberries; 08-28-2012 at 07:54 PM.
I get knee pain/discomfort quite a bit, but never anything that would keep me from exercising. it's not 'that' kind of pain. It really depends on the pain!
I'd finally gotten to the point that my legs were getting tired before my lungs wore out - which is a huge, huge improvement for me (my lung capacity has been embarassingly horrible - esp. considering I'm in my early 20's and have never been a smoker). So it was really disheartening to deal with the knee pain, after reaching such a great cardio milestone. Now I'm scared to "saddle back up".
Can knee pain/discomfort improve like lung function as you keep training?
Last edited by GradPhase; 08-28-2012 at 10:15 PM.
Reason: spelling
I've had an ACL repair, so my experience may not be relevant to you. I've started running, and my doc's advice is ibuprofen before, ice after, back off for sharp pain or swelling. He said it's OK to keep going through soreness.
If it is not tolerable during your run and you have to stop and take something for it and its painful afterwards for quite awhile, i would say you are pushing yourself too hard..
If it is painful but that pain backs off within a few hours of your exercise...then you could push through...
Couple thoughts: 1) wear a brace to give extra support to the knees and 2) make sure to stretch AFTER you workout when your muscles are all warmed up and then make sure to ice it and even elevate it.
I train for triathlons and I tweaked my knee after the last 10k I did. It hurt to the point of calling an orthopedist. (who couldnt see me for 3 months, so I canceled) I kept icing and taking advil for 6 weeks on a daily basis. 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. Ultimately, I ended up doing more low impart training - swimming and cycling more since I still had a tri in 6 weeks. I actually stopped running for 6 weeks before my last triathlon to let it fully heal. That seemed to work, but allowed me to continue exercising.
My advice? Find a low impact sport to take the pressure off your knee while it heals!
I used to get knee pain when I first started running. What helped me is to do more weight training for my legs but more specifically my quads, front of thigh, I did leg extensions, this helped to stregthen the muscles and ligaments surrounding the knee cap. My daughter had patela fermoral syndrom (sp) and the doc had recommend leg extensions to strengthen the quad. There are two muscles there, one small one large, as the larger one gets stronger it pulls on the smaller one which in turn pulls on the patella or knee cap and that gives you the pain...Maybe this would help you too...
Thanks so much for the replies! Really helpful information. I'm going to try the ibuprofen before hitting the gym, and research weight training options - as well as pacing myself better.
The pain is like a really really strong "dull ache", and it feels like it's right inside my knee. Sometimes it goes away by the time I get home, but other times it lasts through the night. I think I am pushing too hard, I just want to improve and work through it so it doesn't hurt anymore! I think the time off will help me more in the long run.
I'm gonna try again on Monday! Thanks ladies, I really appreciate your insight!
i can get sore knees from running, but nothing that rest doesnt help...however i have also gotten PAIN behind my knee, where it connects to my back upper calf area...i'm fairly certain i did that by over-reaching a forward step while running faster than i should be running...i have a bad habit of that...i could not run At All when i hurt my knee so i changed to walking at an incline on the treadmill while it healed and then graduallyyyyy got back into running...i still dont run at that high speed where i got injured, i just dont want to chance it...i keep it at a slower speed
Knee pain - push through or back off?
