| There are obviously a thousand reasons that a | | | | what remain warm. Both of those things did the trick |
| triathlete may be having a knee problem that impacts | | | | as far as allowing me to continue running while |
| their triathlon training and a short article on knee | | | | training. However, the problem wasn't going away |
| issues couldn't possibly cover all of them. Having said | | | | and I didn't want to continue along that path. Most |
| that I can discuss my own knee problem which was | | | | importantly I didn't want to have to rely on the knee |
| occurring on runs where 10-15 minutes into the run | | | | sleeve for the rest of my life. Luckily for me |
| the outside of my knees would start to hurt A LOT. | | | | Christmas rolled around. My new training plan hadn't |
| I had guessed at the time that it was an IT band | | | | kicked in yet with a Jan. 1 start date. I had a ton of |
| problem. Basically the iliotibial band, or IT Band, is a | | | | family obligations and my motivation for the couple |
| fibrous band, kind of like a rubber band, that | | | | of weeks surrounding Christmas was low. I didn't run |
| stretches from your hip to your knee on the outside | | | | once for 3 weeks. The New Year rolled around and |
| of your leg. As a quick side note, I have heard | | | | off I went for a run incorporating a new minimal |
| conflicting reports on whether it is a "thick" or "thin" | | | | warm-up plan (walking for a few minutes before the |
| band. This is important because if you ice it when it | | | | run) and I planned on a good stretch after. Waddya |
| hurts and it is in fact a thin band then you could be | | | | know… no pain. It's obvious I needed the |
| increasing the likelihood it could freeze and | | | | recovery. Now that I have had the rest and trained |
| subsequently rupture when you move after freezing. | | | | correctly I have been knee pain free for over a year |
| Therefore, just be careful when taking care of it | | | | now. |
| unless you are certain of its ability to handle the | | | | I have since learned a couple of reasons beyond |
| freezing. I know using terms such as thick or thin is | | | | stretching that may have contributed to my knee |
| relative but it's important for you to be aware of the | | | | problem. One is that I ran on a track 1-2 times per |
| potential issue. | | | | week almost always in the same direction. The other |
| Triathlon training provides some alternatives within | | | | is that when I ran outside I would always run in the |
| the training that allows for a variety in training for | | | | same direction over the same route. The problem is |
| Triathletes. This training variety allowed me some | | | | that on a track the corners place added pressure on |
| options that allowed for continued training while | | | | the outside knee. That continued pressure will strain |
| avoiding pain. The first step to recovery was to bike | | | | the muscles and eventually cause a muscle imbalance. |
| and swim more. I began to focus on stretching as | | | | Running outdoors causes a similar problem. Roads and |
| well and having a better warm-up that did NOT | | | | sidewalks are marginally slanted for drainage. You |
| include walking or jogging. For example, I would hop | | | | don't really notice it but if you run for an hour along a |
| on a bike for 30 minutes, and then go for a run, if | | | | subtle sideways slant you will create muscle problems |
| that wasn't an option then I would wear a tensor | | | | and imbalances. The answer? Go slowly around track |
| style flexible knee brace (sleeve) during the run so | | | | corners and change directions whether inside or out. |
| that my tendons and ligaments around my knee | | | | |