The Doctor is In….

So I may or may not have diagnosed my knee condition. Now my knee thing isn’t too serious – and it sounds like if this is what I have, it may just take a few weeks in the weight room doing hamstring and quad exercises before my knee is slightly better.

What did I diagnose myself with?? Runner’s Knee of course…

Runners Knee is a condition characterized by pain behind or around the kneecap. Poor kneecap tracking is believed to be the main cause this condition. The kneecap (patella) slides over a groove on the thighbone (femur) as your knee bends and straightens. If, for example, the front thigh muscles (quadriceps) are weak or imbalanced, the resulting muscle imbalance can pull the kneecap to the left or right of the groove, causing pressure, friction, and irritation to the cartilage on the undersurface of the kneecap when the knee is in motion.

Overuse/overload of the quadriceps – especially running, going up and down stairs – can cause this condition to flare up, as can poor exercise techniques, e.g. a poorly fitting bicycle, improper footwear etc.

Makes sense no? Symptoms are all there..

Pain, typically diffuse pain, in front, around or beneath the kneecap. More pain and/or feeling of joint instability after climbing stairs, jumping rope, running, or after a period of sitting.

There is extra pressure between the kneecap and thighbone when the knee is bent at a right angle as when sitting. The kneecap is pressed towards the femur. If there is already irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap, discomfort or pain results. Even sleeping in a curled up position can cause pain when the condition has flared up. Contracting the quadriceps, as when going up or down stairs, also causes increased compression of the knee joint.

Sometimes after activities that have activated the quadriceps, it feels the knee is being pulled to one side. Sometimes a clicking, cracking or crunching sound is heard when the knee is bent or straightened. This is the kneecap slipping back into the groove.

An X-ray or MRI of the knee can show if there is damage to the cartilage or if the patella is displaced or tilted. A tilted patella may be correctable with exercise if the tilt is caused by a muscle imbalance.

So to the doctors I go on Monday at 10am. Hopefully for a referral to a Physical Therapist. I don’t want to have not run because of this…because I’ve got it in my head and damnit…i want to run and train and race and finish those two bad boys in September and October!!

Tagged as: marathons, running, training