57 yo painful knees, is it time to hang up my running shoes?

Ask your physio if you can have further investigations and get advice on that basis.

Are you on HRT?

This was my first thought. HRT is like having your joints oiled. I noticed the creakiness creeping in when I forget to change my HRT patch.

Have you seen a sports physio (as opposed to a general physio)? I have found them good at advising on this sort of thing.

I would get MRIs on both knees. You likely have the beginning of arthritis from wear and tear on the knee joints. You might have some damaged cartilage as well. These are all resolvable with knee surgery.

I’d say get a recommendation to a really good physio. Try and find out what is wrong, and then see what you need to do to help. It could be something that you have to manage, like arthritis, but it could be something entirely fixable. I’m older than you and still playing competitive sport, because it gives me a buzz. I spend quite a lot of time staying strong, and I have a good physio. To me, it’s important to do what you love (and to do the things that help you do what you love) but if you don’t really like running, sort your knees out for the rest of your life rather than in order to run now.

I stopped running about 4 years ago and don't regret it. I'm in my 50's I used to wake up and some part of me always hurt, knees, feet or ankles so I decided I'd had enough and don't regret it one bit although I have had a hankering to do GNR one last time but then remember how much my body hurts when running! I now ride my bike and love it.

I believe joints become less lubricated and collagen decreases as you age. I'm nowhere near as dedicated a runner as you but I've given up running on my treadmill at 52. My ankles are too stiff (arthritis?) and my plantar fasciitis is crippling next day, leading to the waddling you describe when I get up. I concentrate on weights and walking now as they are the exercise du jour and supposed to be less inflammatory. Interested to hear what the advice is around whether to quit or continue.

As for exercising with twinges-is there another way? 😂

HRT & including testosterone might help.

creatine & collagen for connective tissue around joints may help.

i don’t want to quit running either so hope to keep it going…

I would contact GP for a diagnosis and from there find out what type and how much exercise is OK, now and going forwards. You can make some conditions worse with the wrong kind of exercise, so I would want to know for sure.

Push your GP to get you referred and get a scan and x-ray. Until you know the underlying cause then you don't know the best way to fix it.

And see if you can find a decent sports physio, not just a generalist

I'm in similar position but hips - beginning of arthritis and some tendon issue due to over doing it. I'm going to go back on HRT and see if that helps. The cowboy walk is just awful - I hate it and there doesn't seem to be any cure for that.

I've been given exercises to do to strengthen it and take it a bit easier till it's stronger - that was GP physio - she was very good.

Collagen taken orally won’t help your joints.

I get stiff knees if I sit for a long time and get twinges in the one that I had an ACL tear in if I don’t warm up properly. Doing regular mobility exercises helps

They are currently talking about osteoarthritis on What’s up Doc on BBC R4.

I’ve stopped now, reluctantly. Was getting knee pain and was referred to physio but had a very long wait. Seemed to improve a bit and so I started to do some running again- but I shouldn’t have. 2 meniscus tears and low % cartilage
revealed in MRI.
so sadly am doing my physio and other cardio work.

I’m 54 and do a mix on very speedy walking, Pilates and barre - my focus is on functional strength - the research I did for myself was an emphatic no for running because of the pressure on knees and injuries leaving you immobile instead of steady regular movement

If it hurts - stop

i would have though tennis more difficult than running due to the twisting but I am sure you can tell what hurts and what doesn’t !

bulld as much strength as possible especially Legs and core

strap your knee up for extra support

My husband had a private mri scan for a running injury - definitely worth doing . Was in a mobile scanner in a supermarket carpark not far away ! At the moment you are just guessing

Have you tried running mostly on grass? That helped me when I had bad knees.

Make sure you wear correct footwear. Visit a specialised shoe shop and ask about gait analysis which will film your stride length, pattern and footfall and biomechanical needs in slo-mo and see if you under or over pronate as well as any other anomalies. They can then find the right shoe for you.

In terms of running, foot balance is the most important factor and paying for a decent pair of running shoes will help protect your knees by realigning your body.

Have you had x rays or scans? I would investigate further before risking doing more damage.

"My big love is tennis and I do pilates and strength because I feel I ought to rather than any great inclination."

What strength training do you actually do? For painful knees, including arthiritis, you really need to work on strengthening your glutes, quads, hamstrings and knees.

@Valleyofthedollymix
I'd really appreciate any advice about this because there seem to be two schools of thought about this sort of thing - carry on exercising to make it stronger or give it up to stop it getting worse.
The van Tullekens did a recent programme on osteoarthritis which covered the carry on / stop question.
What's Up Docs

I’m in the same position - similar age and running g times. I have been referred to a physio.
I’m not prepared to give up running and am managing the pain by:
strapping/ taping up knee and taking Ibuprofen before every run
limiting runs to three a week max with a max distance of 10k each run
adding in swimming sessions (swap out with a run) - 40 mins fast front crawl gives you the same buzz as running
strength training - squats, lunges
eating more protein
trying to be as lean as possible to save weight on knees
cut down a lot on sugar and alcohol - helped