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Hi folks. I wonder if anyone can work out what is going on with my left leg (and what to do about it). I've seen a couple of different physios but not really found a solution.
The basic symptom is a sharp pain in my left upper leg whenever my heel hits the ground. I feel it if I try to run or just walking downhill (or going down stairs). The pain is not always the same. Sometimes it is like a band around the knee, sometimes more mid thigh and sometimes up nearer the hip, but generally along the ITB line. So, ITB sort of makes sense. Only it isn't an over-use thing or caused by rubbing, only by impact between my heel and the ground. I can walk uphill just fine, but not downhill and it came on suddenly not gradually.
A bit of background in case it helps:
After years where my only exercise was cycling I decided to mix in a bit of trail running and hiking. On around my second or third run there was a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. I ran through it for a mile or so to get home and it just got progressively worse. The next day walking down stairs was agony. That was about three months ago and it is still an issue. It gets a bit better then I'll throw in a run or longish (say 20 mile) hike and it's bad again for the next week.
I've entered the Lakeland 50 next July (50 miles in a hopefully sedate 24 hours, but with a few lumpy bits) so I'd kind of like to get some training in.
After years where my only exercise was cycling I decided to mix in a bit of trail running and hiking. On around my second or third run there was a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. I ran through it for a mile or so to get home and it just got progressively worse. The next day walking down stairs was agony. That was about three months ago and it is still an issue. It gets a bit better then I’ll throw in a run or longish (say 20 mile) hike and it’s bad again for the next week.
It's often the first thing I think of, but this does sound like ITB.
Nothing but cycling: check, that definitely makes it worse.
Painful in the kneecap: check. The bottom end of the ITB attaches to the kneecap, so when the ITB tightens up, it can pull the kneecap out of position.
Relaxes during long walk or run: makes sense, the muscle loosens up while you're exercising it, then tightens up badly afterwards.
It's not the only possibility, but definitely where I'd be looking. Exercises involving rolling on a tennis ball (to loosen it), and kneebends while standing on one leg (to strengthen it) would be worth considering.
It's not unusual for 3 months to be the minimum amount of time it takes to rehab an injury. If it's been 3 months since the injury started, and in that time you've seen two different physios, then it's possible that you haven't seen them long enough to see any rehab gains. Some injuries can be complex, and aren't easy to fix, so can take a bit perseverance and patience while you either work out what the problem is, or give the injured tissue time to heal and then be strengthened up, or a combination of both
Thanks both.
Isn't ITB usually just friction of the band as it passes over the knee rather than impact though. This is a sharp pain on impact (heel hitting the ground) and came on suddenly, so more like a tear/strain than a repetitive strain type thing.
20miles seems a long way to walk if you're just coming out of an injury. Physios in the past have always said to me do a few weeks at a third of your ususal distance, then a few weeks at two thirds then start to work up to your max distance.