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I have been running 4.5 miles a day for years, since I was in college (I am nearly 37 now). However, I think this level of use is taking it's toll on my knees.
About 5 years ago, I injured my left knee, suffing from a lot of "runner's knee" pain. It took me about 2 years to fully rehab that injury and build back up to the point where I could run my 4.5 miles again. Even then, I have never regained the full pace I could do back then. I am now limited to nothing faster than about 9 minute mile, otherwise the longer strides and quicker pace begin to bring the pain back on.
Well, about a month and a half ago I began getting severe pain in my right knee. After a month of rehab work and strenghtening, and reaching a point of being pain free, a very slow, short run begins to bring the knee pain back.
I can tell this one is going to be a long process too. It is very frustrating.
As such, I am thinking of giving up on running and trying to find other, lower impact cardio workouts which will cut down on the strain and abuse on my knees.
So far, while the weather is still nice, I have been doing a lot more biking. I was advised if it doesn't cause pain (which it doesn't) to stick with it for now. That said, in another month or two the weather is going to be such that biking will be a virtual impossibility until spring.
So I am not sure what to look towards. I will have to either get something for my house (recumbent bike maybe), or start to take up something like lap swimming.
Regardless, I need a winter cardio routine! What do you do or like?
I never had knee problems until age 50. I was an avid runner throughout my 40s and ran a lot of races including three marathons.
The knee problem turned out to be a torn meniscus and I've been told I also have some arthritis. I did not injure it, that I'm aware of, it just started hurting one day. I've had the hyaluronic acid injections and eventually had arthroscopic surgery. The surgery did nothing to help the problem. I've also tried every supplement on the market that might help with knee pain. I've also done weightlifting exercies to strengthen the muscles around my knee.
I've tried to continue to run through the pain. I'll be running a 10K this weekend for the 20th consecutive year and hope to do a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot for the 21st consecutive year. My pain comes and goes. There have been times where I had trouble walking down steps. I'm currently doing well right now and have been putting in 6 mile training runs with lots of hills.
My advice is to find the best sports medicine doctor in your area and find out exactly what is wrong with your knee. Keep in mind that doctors tend to be very conservative with their advice and will tell you to find some low impact activity instead of running. They also tend to find fault with many forms of exercise. I have had orthopedic surgeions tell me that running on treadmills, leg extensions and squats are all bad for my knees.
Don't think that running has taken a toll on your knees. My unscientific survey of people tells me that excess weight and lack of exercise results in more knee problems than running. I've seen too many guys who are running in their 70s and 80s.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vbmartin
Running can start to take a toll on your body's joints, especially the knees. An alternative to running that I like, is the elliptical machine at the gym. You could always incorporate taking brisk walks outside to keep form getting bored looking at the same scenery at the gym. I like this exercise because it mimics running just without the heavy impact on the joints.
I just love how people quote stuff like it is scientific fact. I'm 59, when do you think I should start worrying about this toll on my body's joints? I think I still have a few sub-50 minute 10Ks left in me, but maybe it is time to start thinking about "brisk walks" instead of training runs.
Swimming, or doing faster more circuit based weight lifting really gets the heart rate up. Also if you can pivot and bend knees a bit, try a boxing work out...could be at a legit boxing gym or a LA Boxing type fitness place. Either are great for cardio.
There are some clinics springing up around the country that specialize in rehabbing injured runners and have achieved impressive results. This one is in VA, and IIRC there is one in SF, CA too. Why not try that before giving up on running? They use pressure sensitive treadmills to analyze your biomechanics and come up with a rehab program to fix your problem.
By giving up running for cycling, elliptical, etc. you are treating the symptom not the underlying cause. Imagine yourself at 80 and no longer able to walk because at 37, you decided to treat the symptoms and not the cause...
Depending on your age, there may or may not be a reason to put the bike down during winter. I ride through the winter in Western, NY but I'm in my 20s.
I started cycling in my late 20s because of knee pain. Kept it up into my mid-50s. I'd probably still be cycling if I were still in Hawaii and could do it year-round.
One point about cycling: You must get a professional fitting done. Get a bike that fits (yes, you need a bike with the right size frame for your size) and get it fitted properly. When you get up to three hours, you begin to discover all the places a bike isn't quite properly adjusted, but in fact, those problems have been affecting you all along.
But as I aged in the mid-west, no matter how hard I tried to stay in shape indoors during the winter, it took longer and longer each year to get back into shape during the riding season, more and more difficult to deal with the cold (knees again), and that made the riding season effectively even shorter.
So now in my 60s, it's my ellliptical for 45 minutes to an hour a day. It was easy to do three or four hours on the bike, but I can't stand more than an hour on an indoor machine. I kept wearing out even the highest end consumer machines and finally got a lower-end professional machine in the same price range that seems to last.
The roads are clear the following day after a snow. Bare ground is not uncommon in winter anywhere in the US. Bare roads are quite common... due to... salt!
Bikes are easier to handle in the winter than cars. But like we always say... it's the other guy (the one in the 4,000 lb cage with poor tires).
Worst problem there is that drivers use poor weather as more excuse not to see you.
Also, no matter what cardio you do, I strongly advocate using a heart rate monitor. Get the cheapest Polar with a chest strap that shows continuous output. That's the most accurate and many professional gym cardio machines are calibrated for the Polar radio output.
Knowing how my heart reacts to exercise at various intensities provides a wealth of knowledge and gives you the ability to tailor your exercise precisely to your true capabilities. What I work on is increasing my "lactase threshold." Back in the early 90s, I could do a century on a bicycle keeping my heart rate at 155 bpm with short periods up to 170. Right now, I'm concentrating on being able to maintain 170 bpm on the elliptical for at least 45 minutes.
According to "common wisdom," my maximum heart rate should be in the 150 range. I should be blowing chunks at that point...but in fact, I'm still breathing through my nose right up to 170, and my true maximum is 203.
Just as important is how heart rate increases as I exercise at a constant rate (hard enough to require me to pay attention to maintaining intensity). When I'm fit, my heart rate increases steadily and evenly for the first ten minutes, then plateaus for another ten minutes. I think that's when adrenaline kicks in.
At about the 20-25 minute point, my heart rate actually drops three beats. It's very predictable. I suspect that's when the serotonin kicks in. Then it begins to rise evenly a bit farther to what I consider my "cruise rate."
If I'm even a little bit ill, all that goes out the window even before I begin feeling sick. The heart doesn't lie.
I gave up running in my late 30's for some of the same issues. Got into weight lifting and hiking instead. Then 10 years later a friend of mine convinced me that if I can hike a mile in 15 minutes up and down rough terrain I should be able to trail run and enter an ultra-marathon. Plus when I'm out hiking it was often for 6-10 hours. Started running again last year at age 46, slowly built up my running miles and now I can do 3-4 hour trail runs. Only major injuries have been self induced by tripping over a rock on a trail. Now I do all of my running in the dirt, have no problems with my knees, shin splints or foot issues.
The thing that really helped me was to start doing a 10 minute mobility routine every morning and do it religiously. Since I started my mobility program almost 8 years ago my knees no longer crunch and my back is not as stiff.
I know this is an old thread, but I'm curious what this is. Anyone know? Never heard of it (mobility routine). I'm mid-50s, run 4-6 miles every other day (have been running since I was 18, mostly low mileage). I'm concerned that the day will come when I'm no longer able to run and I'm looking at ways to prevent it without quitting it.
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