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Taximes · July 2007

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Dalboz · July 2007

I have A LOT of experience with knee problems personally. In my case, weak knee joints seems to be hereditary as my father and grandfather both have the same problems.

First, I'll give advice based on personal experience, but if it doesn't go away after a few days, see your doctor, or better yet an orthopeadic surgeon, since any number of things can go wrong with the knee and you really need a professional to take a looking and diagnose.

That being said, some general advice would be to not run and try not to walk that much if you can help it. Don't put a lot of stress on your knee. By your description of it feeling okay if you run, you might have an overly stressed/injured tendon or ligament that loosens up when it warms up a bit. Try to let if rest.

Pay attention to how you are standing, walking, or sitting. Don't lock your knees when you are standing (people tend to subconsciously do this) and don't fold your legs up when sitting. Also, don't throw your legs out in front of you as you walk. A good technique is to keep your weight on your back leg until your front leg is firmly planted on the ground, then shift your weight and repeat, being sure to keep your kneed slightly bent and don't lock it. This is really hard because you are essentially relearning how to walk, but it helps to strengthen the knees and the leg muscle tremendously and it prevents the shock of having your weight essentially falling on your knee while walking. Locking your knees, keeping them folded, or walking the wrong way can put stress on the tendons, loosening them up and weakening them.

Try taking IBUProfen or Advil, as it can help relieve the pain and reduce swelling that could be occurring.

However, I will again reiterate to see a professional if it persists, as this is pretty generic advice and a professional should be able to give more advice or treatment with a proper diagnosis.

alcoholic_engineer · July 2007

How is your footwear? I used to have bed pain in my left knee (and shinsplints from hell), but ever since I switched to GOOD running shoes that pain has gone away, and it is far more comfortable to run.

bluemaggit · July 2007

ya footwear plays a huge roll if you jog regularly, i used to run in my basketball shoes but i started getting lower back pains and hip pains until i switched to crosstrainers or whatever the fancy shmancy running shoes are called, so i suggest that if havent already done that!

AtomBomb · July 2007

Just wanted to second the "it doesn't hurt when I run" thing. Most the injuries I've gotten from running have not felt very bad while running, or felt bad but began to feel better on the run. The real pain comes once the joint/muscle has had time to cool down and stiffen up. When I did something to my Achilles, I felt a bit of pain on the run, but not too bad. I got into my car, drove 15 minutes or so, and when I got out I could barely stand on it.

Mishra · July 2007

I used to play so much soccer that my knee would ache before a storm, this was at 17. It sounds like similar symptoms to what I had. Does the knee feel loose, like there'ss no strength, with a dull ache? I still get it sometimes if I stand for to long in crappy shoes. Turns out it was runners-knee. I took the advice here and now I'm training for a half marathon running close to 20 miles a week with no knee problems at all. Good shoes were vital and I'm trying to stay of concrete, but it's healed remarkably well.

Shmoepong · July 2007

Your knee pain stems from any number of problems. If your pain is getting worse, I'd see an orthopaedist/ podiatrist.

I cycle and practise jujitsu, so my knees are always under pressure. After I dislocated my patella, my knee would be stiff in the mornings until I did some knee exercises. I did leg lifts (lock the knee using your muscles), flutter kicks (again, lock the knee) and crunches, followed by various stretches. Using a neoprene brace really helped too. While it gets sweaty and somewhat smelly, the insulation kept my knee from stiffening up throughout the day.

tl;dr: Knee exercises in the morning and the neoprene brace are good support. Go see a doctor.

p.s. Get good running shoes and jog on the grass. Pavement takes a harder toll on your body. Also, stretch before and after your run.

Penny Arcade

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