I’m an almost-40 male, and I’ve been back running about 3 weeks. I’ve been doing like 60-70 mins around 6:30-40/km pace (even slower initially). I’m also pretty heavy right now; about 240-245 lbs and 6’1 height.
Anyway I was really making progress, and now I have some really bad pain in my left knee (medial pain). Went to PT yesterday and he did tests to rule out any tears, etc.
What’s the best thing to do right now? Total rest? Elliptical? Thanks so much in advance
Injured man wrote:
I’m an almost-40 male, and I’ve been back running about 3 weeks. I’ve been doing like 60-70 mins around 6:30-40/km pace (even slower initially). I’m also pretty heavy right now; about 240-245 lbs and 6’1 height.
Anyway I was really making progress, and now I have some really bad pain in my left knee (medial pain). Went to PT yesterday and he did tests to rule out any tears, etc.
What’s the best thing to do right now? Total rest? Elliptical? Thanks so much in advance
You say you’ve been back 3 weeks. What were you doing before that? If you’ve been off for a while then 60 mins is way too much to start
I had been doing elliptical inconsistently for months.
I agree I definitely did too much too soon
Bump
on days with flare up, do something like stationary bike instead. Less impact but still some active recovery, some cardio, and some leg exercise/workout.
You definitely need to strength train. The PT should be able to figure out where your imbalances are (usually knee pain originates in either the ankle or hip) and give you proper exercises. Squats, single leg dead lifts, and lunges are often a good place to start. First with no weight, then adding weight. No amount of rest will make knee pain go away. Obviously starting our slower and not ramping up mileage too quick will help too, but strength training is the golden ticket to pain free running.
Injured man wrote:
I’m an almost-40 male, and I’ve been back running about 3 weeks. I’ve been doing like 60-70 mins around 6:30-40/km pace (even slower initially). I’m also pretty heavy right now; about 240-245 lbs and 6’1 height.
Anyway I was really making progress, and now I have some really bad pain in my left knee (medial pain). Went to PT yesterday and he did tests to rule out any tears, etc.
What’s the best thing to do right now? Total rest? Elliptical? Thanks so much in advance
Obviously, you've identified two problems: too much too soon, and overweight. Other potential culprits are:
Poor form: Are you pronating? Severe or heavy heel striking? Overstriding?
Wrong shoes: The right show for your weight and form can make a lot of difference. You should go to a knowledgeable shoe store and get an assessment on a treadmill, but it's critical that the salesperson know about running form.
Wrong running surface: Much less likely, but are you running a road with a lot of camber? Are you running on concrete?
Walk Breaks: As a beginner, even if your form is good at the start, as you quickly get tired, your running form breaks down. Adding some 1 minute walk breaks every 3 minutes should help. Over time, you can increase running time to 7 minutes run, 1 minute walk. From there, you can either eliminate the walk breaks entirely or keep doing them forever. It's not like you're training to win Boston or get a shoe contract. Enjoy yourself!
Thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies!!