skysooner

I have been riding a recumbant bike over the last 3 months (up to an hour a day) and recently switched to jogging. I was hoping to work up to 3 miles a day using the couch to 5k program (slow buildup over 9 weeks). I'm currently 5'10", 203 lbs (down from 249 lbs since June). I did my first run on the street (cement) and did okay. I did my next 2 runs on a treadmill. These runs advocate 60 seconds running followed by 90 seconds walking. I did another road run stepping up to 90 seconds running, 2 minutes walking. This workout was much harder than the others as I started getting leg pain a few minutes in. The pain was in my inner knee and has been getting better. I switched back to the bike while I had this pain. A trainer in a gym in our building is pretty sure it is an MCL strain and advocates waiting at least a week after the pain is gone before running again. I intend to do my running on the treadmill since it seems to give less strain to my legs.

My questions are these. Do I need to wait to lose a bit more weight before I start jogging? If not, do I just need to run on the treadmill until I build up more strength? Are there any particular stretches that might have helped avoid this? I use the stretches located here Stretching .

I hated this happening now as I was just starting and just want to avoid it in the future if possible.

Mael

okay, and this is coming from another formerly really heavy guy.
keep running. most likely, in my opinion and based only on what you've posted, you don't have an mcl strain. in fact, if i'm remembering my anatomy class right, you're really have to be doing something with my quick turning to really hurt it (if i remember right, can't check it right now though, the mcl and acl help to hold you knee in place the way it is against sideways forces, someone correct me if i'm wrong, it's been awhile). my best guess is that you've got <b>normal aches and pains</b> of body adjustment. why did i just bold that? i don't know. :-)

at one point, i weighed 282 lbs, and i'm only about 5'11" or barely 6' tall. so i was a big son of a b... anyways, especially if you havent' been running before this, it takes your body, especially your joints a little while to become accustomed to the strain of running. i found that the first week or two of running on a track or treadmill would hurt my knees and sometimes ankles when i did it for more than 10 minutes. but after a couple of weeks, it stopped. now i'm 220, and there's not pain when i run.

if you want to take a week off to rest it, fine, but i doubt it's what your trainer said. the best thing to do would probably be to make sure you've got good running shoes (new, preferably) that fit right for you (go to a store that specializes in them, they'll know how to take care of you) and stay off the pavement. either run on a treadmill or the track at a local highschool. both of those will absorb some of the shock and be much better on your knees than pavement will be.

my $0.02.

skysooner

I think it was the pavement that did it. I was also up and down some slight inclines. The treadmill didn't do this to me. At the moment, I'm slightly limping around. The pain is just below my knee cap and on the inside. It hurts when I touch it (almost feels like a bone bruise), but it is in the muscle or a ligament as it hurts when I stretch. I do have a new pair of Sauchony shoes that I got specifically at a running store that watched me run, etc. You bring up a good point, and I'll try it again tonight on a treadmill and see what happens. There is no pain when I twist the knee (only a little dull ache), so it feels more like a muscle strain to me.

burntmonkey

I heard about some type of experimental pre-surgery rehab for ACL injuries. Supposedly, it might speed up the post-op recovery.

skysooner

Well I tried to run on it on Tuesday and made it about 0.75 miles before I was in complete pain. I managed to rest it and do the bike. I went to the doctor and he thinks I have a small cartilage tear in my meniscus cartilage. Rest is all I can do and try to run on a treadmill in the future to minimize the strain.

gophtc

Does the pain start immediately or only after you run for a while? I'm no expert but I was slightly heavy and out of shape when I started running. The pain I had was in my inner and a bit outer lower leg, but I guess its common because another heavy kid had the same problem. I think its mostly because I had bad shoes. I got adidas trail/running shoes(not cross-training, that sounds stupid to me) and they worked great even when they are a little old now. I got a pair of nike running shoes and I've only tried running in them once and they gave me ankle pains for the first time. My older ones are better than my new nikes even though the adidas were less expensive or at least I think, I should try running in them again but I dont like how they feel. Anyways trying new shoes is a good thing to do.

I run on cement and grass, I dont run as much as I like, I was doing really good until school started and got in the way and I let myself get kinda fat again. So I'm still trying to shape up and be able to run long distances. I didnt consult any training advice except doing high school track whose advice I didnt pay attention to and I usually run non-stop slowing down at times, cuz I'm not good at controlling my energy points, then speeding up because I realize I still have a lot of energy. I havent tried running then walking, I thought it was bad to let yourself stop cuz it seems to really affect your sweating and fool your body.

skysooner

This is definitely in the knee. He tested it pretty thoroughly. He says I can run again in a couple of weeks once it is healed but to stick to the treadmill for awhile. I had that same pain you were talking about in my lower leg. Getting arch supports for my shoes and losing weight made it go away.