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April 28, 2005
Advice X3
I called my parents last night (who have a medical background) to ask their opinion on if I can take anti-inflammatories based on all the science/drug info that has recently come out. No one should generalize for themselves, but for me and my health concerns, etc., they think it should be fine. Yeah!! (B/c it really helps! It's amazing how much better my knee feels after I take it.)
Then came a comment from my Mom concerning my knee: "Are you doing your knee exercises?"
The trainer at my gym this morning: "Your knee hurts? What are you doing about it?" [Ice, ibuprofen, knee exercises]. "Yes, make sure you strengthen around the joint."
Third, salesman from Marathon Sports (running store): "Make sure you are strengthening your knee. Do some lunges. Hit the weights. Consider getting your bike position checked out at a bike store."
So...I guess I should do my knee exercises that I stopped doing when I started running again. My knee seemed fine!! I have an ankle weight, hand weights for added resistance, and a whole list of exercises (with tiny people illustrating the different positions) and my aforementioned yoga mat. They are so boring, and hard, and not as fun as running. So, I start again tonight :) Well, I actually started yesterday, but tonight I will do the whole gamut of them.
I was at the running store to pick up a patella strap. Does anyone have any experience with them? I may try it for fun (ok, not fun, but just to see if it works) but I don't want to become dependent on it and I kind of feel like if I need to use it I shouldn't be running. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with them?
I lifted upper body this morning. No, I did not spend ALL day thinking about my knee. Just a significant chunk of it...
Posted by Audrey at April 28, 2005 04:08 PM
Comments
I used a Cho-pat strap for my ITBS. It straps above the knee, but I think yours goes below the knee, is that right? I used the strap to allow me to extend the distance I was running while my ITB healed. Without, I started to feel pain much earlier, and I would have had to cut the running very far back.
You are right on track to not use it in a permanent way but only to help you keep your training up while you build your strength back up. Eventually, you shouldn't need it at all if you have fixed the problem.
For the ITBS, I stopped running as soon as the pain began on each run so I didn't redamage what I had just healed. The runs eventually got longer and longer before pain started. Soon they were long enough (~6 miles for me) that the strap just wouldn't stay on that long and then I knew it was time to stop using it.
Posted by: Jon in Michigan at April 28, 2005 06:51 PM