The Foot and the Knee
My first half marathon was in 2013. That means I've been running for over six years at this point. I've had shin splints, sports bra chafing, bikini area chafing, sore muscles, sunburns, scabs from tripping, black toenails, and just about anything else you could imagine.
Thankfully, I've never had any serious or lasting issues with my body. No sprains or breaks. Some minor illnesses. (I was sick for most of my marathon training, but I've already written about that.)
But since training for my full marathon in October 2017, I had major foot pain right above the arch of my foot. It was mostly my right foot, but my left a little bit too.
After hurting for over a year and a half, I finally had a brief chat with a foot doctor at FitCon this past April. His suggestion? Get some good arch supports. Expensive ones. If those don't help, come in and get an ultrasound.
So, I went to Good Feet in Sandy and paid a pretty penny (like literally almost $500) for some lifetime guarantee arch supports. They have been absolute game changers. Guys, after having foot pain after every single run over over a year and a half, to having maybe 10% of what it used to be, runs feel so much better now! For $500 and no X rays or other complicated medical things, I'll take it!
Up until now, thanks to those supports, my training season has been really good.
Unfortunately, last Wednesday, I started having issues with my knee. I was running for the third time in my new pair of Altra Intuitions, and did six hill sprints. That's a one minute uphill dash, and then another minute back down, repeat five more times.
I felt fine, but then trying to come downstairs at work, I felt pain in the left side of my left knee.
I had a massage that night, which helped. Thursday is my rest day, thank the heavens, and my knee felt much better.
Friday, I ran again. Sadly, the same issues followed. Downstairs especially was painful. I iced my knee, used Icy Hot, and tried to foam roll.
I was nervous for my long run on Saturday--an 8 miler on Jordan River Parkway. I started to feel my knee irritation at around 2-2.5 miles in. By 4.5 miles, on my way back, my knee was finished. Like, if it could have spoken, it would've said, "Nope. No more." And it would have been a child pouting on the sidewalk, refusing to move. That's what happened. It just stopped. My whole body stopped. It wasn't even a conscious decision. It was a halting stop.
I stretched it, rubbed it, talked to it, and did all the things I could think of. I still had 3.5 miles to go to get back to my car. With a bit of a struggle, I got going again. I made it another 2 miles or so until it once again made its position known: "I will not."
My friend Kristen texted me at this time. She has a history of knee issues from IT band irritation. She was asking me if that's what it was. I just told her as I kept trying to go, it was like I had a limp, or one leg shorter than the other leg. It was that severe. I tried walking, then jogging. I had to stop. I started and stopped so many times, trying to stretch, rub my leg, be patient. I finally talked it into moving again. I had a bit of a pain threshold to push through and a slow start, but made it the other 1.5 miles without major issues. I really appreciated her just texting me and understanding the pain I was in, and the frustration I was experiencing that my body would not cooperate. The support meant a lot in that moment.
I was so grateful to make it back to my car.
That night was ROUGH. My knee was tender to the touch and was angry about any stairs.
Sunday was a rest day, of course. I went on a walk and foam rolled that day. Icy Hot, of course. And it felt better.
But per everyone's insisting, I skipped my run on Monday. I did Insanity instead, and felt no pain or issue. That day it felt generally fine.
Tuesday, I did 15 minutes of elliptical and leg day, which consists of
2x15:
Squats
Side lunges
Front lunge twists
Single Leg Deadlifts
Fire hydrants
Bridges
It felt good, and I was incredibly sore the next day, like I hadn't done those exercises in years. It had only been a week. Boo hiss.
Wednesday was supposed to be a six miles hills run. I was opting out of hills for my knee's sake, and promised to listen to my body if it was done. So I made it about two miles into my run before I felt some minor irritation, nothing major.
By mile 3.5 I had a TINY give in my knee for like a second, but kept going. I wasn't in pain, and my body wasn't telling me to stop.
I took the time to foam roll after that run, but once again, going downstairs at my work hurt my knee. I was feeling really discouraged at this point. After icing, stretching, lacrosse balling my hamstrings, using Icy Hot, and foam rolling, and not running for three days, I was sure that things were better.
Being that my race is on August 3, I needed an appointment fast. I called, and the first place couldn't see me until July 27. I went ahead and booked it just in case. But I called a different place and got in for Friday. I also reached out on Facebook for connections and suggestions. My boyfriend's roommate is a receptionist at the In Motion physical therapy office just a half a mile away on the same street as my work. It was like a miracle.
She texted me this morning, got my insurance info (which isn't accepted at this office), and asked me to come in at 2:00. So I jumped on a Lime scooter and headed to the appointment.
The doctors and therapists there were really nice. A few key points:
It's an IT band friction issue.
Dr. Hanson was surprised that I haven't had issues before now, because it's common in runners.
He believes that it was a combination of newish shoes (third run) and hills that may have done it.
He said my rotated pelvis could also be a contributing factor.
He believes that my IT band is actually probably loose/limber, not tight.
Dr. Hanson put a heating pad on my IT band for a few minutes and sent a different physical therapist in to do the treatment. I actually enjoyed the heating pad. It was nice to lie down during my work day and stare outside at trees.
The therapist who treated me had me do some exercises and challenges to assess hip strength and such.
He showed me the four moves that he wants me to do, and had me practice some of them. We made small talk the whole time.
He did scraping on my IT band around my knee (gua sha). It was super tender and unpleasant. Because sensitive, low circulation areas of fascia just love to be scraped.
He did direct ice treatment for a few minutes as well (which obviously felt great, because who doesn't like to have sections of their bodies frozen solid?).
He told me to still try to do my runs as scheduled. He said the goal is basically to do stretches and treatments and tricks to get me to my race. If they had more time to treat me, they'd probably have me run on the treadmill, assess my gait, and address my form. But he said it's not helpful to do that this late in the game, and I agree.
This was EXACTLY what I was hoping for! Just tell me what to do, help me fix it, tell me if I can and should do my race, and do it as cheaply as possible.
So with the exercises he gave me, and my return visit scheduled on Monday, I guess we will see what the next 2.5 weeks bring for my knee and my race.
I'm going to try to be diligent about my exercises and will stop training if my knee absolutely isn't having it. But I'm confident we can get this thing fixed, and they seemed to be confident too.
This Saturday's run is the longest of the training season: 11 miles. I think to be safe I will do the first six miles on the treadmill in my clubhouse, and the other five miles outside, just my normal route from my house. I don't want to be 5.5 miles out on the Jordan River Parkway calling someone to come get me while I hobble to the closest main road (11400 south, 10600 south, or wherever I'd happen to be).
Anyway, I'm so grateful Melissa was able to get me in at her office, that they gave me a friends/family discount since they don't take my insurance, that I have some HSA money left, that I didn't need expensive X-rays or anything major, and that they treated me immediately! I just want to run this race, and hope that with some diligence I can make it happen.
Think good thoughts for me, friends!
Thankfully, I've never had any serious or lasting issues with my body. No sprains or breaks. Some minor illnesses. (I was sick for most of my marathon training, but I've already written about that.)
But since training for my full marathon in October 2017, I had major foot pain right above the arch of my foot. It was mostly my right foot, but my left a little bit too.
After hurting for over a year and a half, I finally had a brief chat with a foot doctor at FitCon this past April. His suggestion? Get some good arch supports. Expensive ones. If those don't help, come in and get an ultrasound.
So, I went to Good Feet in Sandy and paid a pretty penny (like literally almost $500) for some lifetime guarantee arch supports. They have been absolute game changers. Guys, after having foot pain after every single run over over a year and a half, to having maybe 10% of what it used to be, runs feel so much better now! For $500 and no X rays or other complicated medical things, I'll take it!
Up until now, thanks to those supports, my training season has been really good.
Unfortunately, last Wednesday, I started having issues with my knee. I was running for the third time in my new pair of Altra Intuitions, and did six hill sprints. That's a one minute uphill dash, and then another minute back down, repeat five more times.
I felt fine, but then trying to come downstairs at work, I felt pain in the left side of my left knee.
I had a massage that night, which helped. Thursday is my rest day, thank the heavens, and my knee felt much better.
Friday, I ran again. Sadly, the same issues followed. Downstairs especially was painful. I iced my knee, used Icy Hot, and tried to foam roll.
I was nervous for my long run on Saturday--an 8 miler on Jordan River Parkway. I started to feel my knee irritation at around 2-2.5 miles in. By 4.5 miles, on my way back, my knee was finished. Like, if it could have spoken, it would've said, "Nope. No more." And it would have been a child pouting on the sidewalk, refusing to move. That's what happened. It just stopped. My whole body stopped. It wasn't even a conscious decision. It was a halting stop.
I stretched it, rubbed it, talked to it, and did all the things I could think of. I still had 3.5 miles to go to get back to my car. With a bit of a struggle, I got going again. I made it another 2 miles or so until it once again made its position known: "I will not."
My friend Kristen texted me at this time. She has a history of knee issues from IT band irritation. She was asking me if that's what it was. I just told her as I kept trying to go, it was like I had a limp, or one leg shorter than the other leg. It was that severe. I tried walking, then jogging. I had to stop. I started and stopped so many times, trying to stretch, rub my leg, be patient. I finally talked it into moving again. I had a bit of a pain threshold to push through and a slow start, but made it the other 1.5 miles without major issues. I really appreciated her just texting me and understanding the pain I was in, and the frustration I was experiencing that my body would not cooperate. The support meant a lot in that moment.
I was so grateful to make it back to my car.
That night was ROUGH. My knee was tender to the touch and was angry about any stairs.
Sunday was a rest day, of course. I went on a walk and foam rolled that day. Icy Hot, of course. And it felt better.
But per everyone's insisting, I skipped my run on Monday. I did Insanity instead, and felt no pain or issue. That day it felt generally fine.
Tuesday, I did 15 minutes of elliptical and leg day, which consists of
2x15:
Squats
Side lunges
Front lunge twists
Single Leg Deadlifts
Fire hydrants
Bridges
It felt good, and I was incredibly sore the next day, like I hadn't done those exercises in years. It had only been a week. Boo hiss.
Wednesday was supposed to be a six miles hills run. I was opting out of hills for my knee's sake, and promised to listen to my body if it was done. So I made it about two miles into my run before I felt some minor irritation, nothing major.
By mile 3.5 I had a TINY give in my knee for like a second, but kept going. I wasn't in pain, and my body wasn't telling me to stop.
I took the time to foam roll after that run, but once again, going downstairs at my work hurt my knee. I was feeling really discouraged at this point. After icing, stretching, lacrosse balling my hamstrings, using Icy Hot, and foam rolling, and not running for three days, I was sure that things were better.
Being that my race is on August 3, I needed an appointment fast. I called, and the first place couldn't see me until July 27. I went ahead and booked it just in case. But I called a different place and got in for Friday. I also reached out on Facebook for connections and suggestions. My boyfriend's roommate is a receptionist at the In Motion physical therapy office just a half a mile away on the same street as my work. It was like a miracle.
She texted me this morning, got my insurance info (which isn't accepted at this office), and asked me to come in at 2:00. So I jumped on a Lime scooter and headed to the appointment.
The doctors and therapists there were really nice. A few key points:
It's an IT band friction issue.
Dr. Hanson was surprised that I haven't had issues before now, because it's common in runners.
He believes that it was a combination of newish shoes (third run) and hills that may have done it.
He said my rotated pelvis could also be a contributing factor.
He believes that my IT band is actually probably loose/limber, not tight.
Dr. Hanson put a heating pad on my IT band for a few minutes and sent a different physical therapist in to do the treatment. I actually enjoyed the heating pad. It was nice to lie down during my work day and stare outside at trees.
The therapist who treated me had me do some exercises and challenges to assess hip strength and such.
He showed me the four moves that he wants me to do, and had me practice some of them. We made small talk the whole time.
He did scraping on my IT band around my knee (gua sha). It was super tender and unpleasant. Because sensitive, low circulation areas of fascia just love to be scraped.
He did direct ice treatment for a few minutes as well (which obviously felt great, because who doesn't like to have sections of their bodies frozen solid?).
He told me to still try to do my runs as scheduled. He said the goal is basically to do stretches and treatments and tricks to get me to my race. If they had more time to treat me, they'd probably have me run on the treadmill, assess my gait, and address my form. But he said it's not helpful to do that this late in the game, and I agree.
This was EXACTLY what I was hoping for! Just tell me what to do, help me fix it, tell me if I can and should do my race, and do it as cheaply as possible.
So with the exercises he gave me, and my return visit scheduled on Monday, I guess we will see what the next 2.5 weeks bring for my knee and my race.
I'm going to try to be diligent about my exercises and will stop training if my knee absolutely isn't having it. But I'm confident we can get this thing fixed, and they seemed to be confident too.
This Saturday's run is the longest of the training season: 11 miles. I think to be safe I will do the first six miles on the treadmill in my clubhouse, and the other five miles outside, just my normal route from my house. I don't want to be 5.5 miles out on the Jordan River Parkway calling someone to come get me while I hobble to the closest main road (11400 south, 10600 south, or wherever I'd happen to be).
Anyway, I'm so grateful Melissa was able to get me in at her office, that they gave me a friends/family discount since they don't take my insurance, that I have some HSA money left, that I didn't need expensive X-rays or anything major, and that they treated me immediately! I just want to run this race, and hope that with some diligence I can make it happen.
Think good thoughts for me, friends!
Comments
AND don’t need surgery! You are always diligent
about exercising, so I’m sure you’ll do all you can
to get better and make the right decision on race
day. ❤️��