Patellofemoral pain ... injury?

[B Deleted_Beck]

Howdy

 

I did a 12-mile hill run, gaining about 1,200' and descending the same, about 2 weeks ago, and had some decent knee-cap pain during the run, mostly on descent. It hurt a little afterward, but not badly. I then did 7 miles with 700' of gain and descent about a week ago, and had worse knee-cap pain during descents, but also basically went away. I climbed Hood yesterday, and had some slightly worse knee pain on descent- I ran about half way down.. and about an hour after finishing and changing clothes, I had knee cap pain in my left knee so bad I could barely walk, and it just got worse and worse for the rest of the afternoon and night. Last night when I went to bed, it was almost unbearable to even move my leg, let alone hobble around.

 

Today, I woke up with NO pain... but the ache has come back gradually throughout the day, and I can tell it's just one descent away from exploding.

 

Are we talking about a tendon thing that's gonna take a month of no vertical gain to heal? Should I get it x-rayed? Anyone had this before?

 

Thanks

[davidk]

Had this last summer, but it has variations.

 

It's typically a patella tracking issue, which can stem from a tight IT band, muscle imbalances, footfall/stride patterns, etc. Something causes the kneecap to miss-align when your knee bends, and the resulting grinding is felt as pain under the kneecap. The exact location and nature of the pain can help determine the underlying factors.

 

I would stop running and logging serious vertical for now, ice it frequently, and see a physical therapist ASAP. Follow their plan aggressively to correct the issue.

 

Mine came on gradually, and I tried to run and work through it, but it got so painful that I was limping and had serious trouble walking down a grade. Turned out to be a pattern of foot out-turn on my stride, and subsequent tweaking of the lower leg and knee, that was causing mine. But the root cause may have even been a muscle imbalance in my lower back. Aggressive PT solved the issue, and with some good taping I was able to start running again after 5-6 weeks.

[B Deleted_Beck]

That fucking IT band...

 

I was just noticing my ITB was really tight the other day, and couldn't remember the last time I stretched it. Guess I'ma gunna get myself a foam roller.

 

Thanks.. I'll start stretching that sucker out and go super easy on descents for a few weeks. I can't not climb- not with this bright ass orb floating around in the sky for almost 9 hours out of every day lately. Must carpe diem.

[jordansahls]

The other knee pain thread has some good info on the IT band. Here are a few videos from a blog that Matt Kidd posted that have some really great info on IT band problems.

 

[video:youtube]Fw81R9jIAHs

 

[video:youtube]2CLXGkE2Y6s

 

[video:youtube]4zlMVXHBasI