Should I stop running?

[Scottishthreeberry16]

Recently returned to running (in last few weeks). Try to do 3 miles x 3 a week but .... my knees are hurting. They were hurting before I started, creaking and twinging as I hot up from floor etc. Suspect this is because I'm 2 stone overweight and I was hoping to use running to try and shift this as this has worked in the past. So:

1. Do I run through this then in the hope that some weight will shift and the impact on my knees will lessen?

1. Shift the weight first through diet and then resume running?

1. Find another form of exercise - which I don't really want to do. There's very little else I enjoy.

Do you warm up and stretch before and after running? Like properly warm up, a good 10 mins of stretching and something like star jumps to get warmed up?

Makes a world of difference, even for short runs. I used to never warm up and had lots of niggles, now I barely feel a thing.

No, I have to confess I'm not brilliant at warming up/down. A few knee stretches beforehand but that's it. My calves feel tight and I don't think that helps impact and absorption re the knee. Really don't want to stop though - or even break as it took alot of psychological effort to start running again

when you say recently returned, like how long did you have off?
3 miles from nowhere is a big ask. DD is skinny & mildly active, she took 2 weeks to get up to 3 miles just once a week.

View other stuff as complementary/support. I get bingo wings if I don't go swimming, other things have their own benefits.

Do you have good shoes?

Put more walk breaks into your routine until your knees level up.

How old/ worn are your shoes?

I'd do walk/ run intervals. Actually that's what I inevitably do when I'm not in a race!

Shoes are 4 years old (yes, I know...) break before running was 8 months and I' m a bit rubbish at other exercises, including swimming. Dd1 is getting a spinning bike for xmas - perhaps I could use that for knee strengthening

It might be better to follow a beginner training plan for a few weeks- 0-5k or something as they are tailored to make sure it's not too much too soon. And get some new shoes! Sounds a little like your knees have gone off track a bit....practising squats in front of a mirror (to make sure knees go over toes) might help. Stretching after running might help (not before). Don't give up though!

An orthopedist once told me that each extra kg of weight equals to 8kg extra pressure on the knee, no idea if it's true but I certainly felt it when i had put on a lot of weight post knee op. I used swimming & cycling to reduce my weight and both are non impact sports so very little risk of injury. Added bonus was that swimming really helped to alleviate my knee pain.

Stationary bike caused more knee pain - I later found out it was due to bike set up so had a professional fitting session on a road bike and was fine after that, even managed a 5 hr ride. Climbing stairs is also very good way of strengthening muscles around your knee.

You should be careful about stretching too much before you're properly warmed up. The latest movement science is that you should do big body mi events for about 10 minutes before you do stretches beyond your normal use. Do a brisk walk taking bug steps and really swinging your arms, or you can stand still and swing your legs (one at a time, hang onto something - a wall, a rail) and swing your arms. Just big gross motor mount event to get the blood pumping to the big muscle groups - quads, hammies, calves, shoulders etc.

If it's your knees creaking, you probably need to build up slowly, say alternating walking and running. And running slowly. Get everything looser and moving again rather than thinking about distance.

As a PP said, 3 miles after 8 months off is a big ask. You don't need to stop running but you need to go right back to basics and build up your physical capacity for it again. I know that after running 3 miles a couch to 5k programme will seem a bit tame, but it will keep you safe and allow you to slowly work back up to your previous level.

I go to pilates once a week and it really helps with my running - haven't been this week because of Christmas and I noticed a few more aches. I'd definitely suggest it as a plan, it seems to help strengthen all my joints.

Can you run off-road at all? My knees hurt a bit when road running, but they don't hurt at all off-road.