Stiff legs / knees

[Indecisivelurcher]

Does anyone else suffer from stiff legs particularly knees? I run once a week but it's not just from running, it's generally. I am not sure whether to run or not this morning as I feel like it's taken me all week to recover, and I don't know if I can handle a run on top of family activities this afternoon. It's naffing me off! I do have a back injury prolapsed discs that I've been managing for 3yrs, so it might be related to that, not sure. I do pilates once a week that helps hugely. I am worried this is just me forever now, at nearly 40.

I suspect you’re not doing enough. A run once a week means your body never quite gets used to it. Could you do a slow short run 3 times a week? Or do something else in between your weekly runs?

I have to stretch after every run, or I really know about it the following day.
Are you walking for the last few minuites, and then stretching? Worth a try if not.

Oh thanks just seen replies! At the moment I do a run on a Sunday and pilates on a Monday, then it tails off. I think I need to get back to the pool as that always does me good... Stretching I do yes, I need to watch what I do as too much hamstring stretching gives me sciatica due to prolapsed discs. I feel better after my run today than I did last week so that's good news, took me until Saturday to recover last week.

It sounds like this is ordinary muscle soreness from unaccustomed exertion. People give it the fancy acronym- DONS but really it’s normal.

You can deal with it by stretching after exercise - the basic simple runner’s stretches, but also by doing more exercise - maybe not running two days in a row, but the say after you run, do some yoga or Pilates, or swim, or go for a long and energetic walk.

One thing we all have to learn is the difference between discomfort (because you’re exerting your body in unaccustomed or challenging ways) and actual pain.

If you’re getting pain while exercising, not just afterwards, then you need to see a physio.

DOMS I meant!

Thanks @KaycePollard I don't think it's DOMS, but i could be wrong. It's under both knees so patella tendon area plus just stiff in general. Seems like funny place to have doms. I haven't run this regularly for a while so perhaps I do just need to adjust though!

Maybe check your hip and ankle mobility. I read somewhere problems there will affect the knees.

Or maybe you have tight quads? Foam rolling would help if so.

I've started getting something that sounds similar & I run regularly. It's not DOMS either.

In my case it's as if the fluid in my knees needs to warm up & do its job? So I get up from the table & hobble a few paces while it all slides back into place. Not particularly painful but it is annoying.

Does yours sound similar OP? If so maybe we can search for answers together 😂

I think I'm putting mine down to my back. I've started doing my original physio exercises again and it's not as bad. It is an issue I have to live with and has better spells and worse spells.

Sounds like my knees ! I used to get sore knees and going upstairs even when I was running 3 times a week meant they got really hot and sore. I cured it by doing kettle bell workouts (starting slowly)/ and knee strengthening exercises like squats. The problem was that although my leg muscles were strong they were doing the work of weak knee muscles and my knee just wasn’t being held in place by the surrounding structure. Once I strengthened that structure things got so much better. I have hyper flexible knees and years of sitting at a desk had made the problem worse.

Yes if I don't exercise and stretch enough. I run three times a week and walk in between. I've just got back into it this past week after three weeks off and I am really stiff in my knees and hips.

Excellent tip re strengthening especially squats - which seem to me to be a magic exercise- they’re good for building abs, as well as legs, glutes and back.

On 'rest' days from grueling multi-day races, professional cyclists still ride their bikes for an easy 2-3 hours just to keep their muscles loose. Else they'd stiffen up awful. I'm suspecting what others said, you may be stiff from doing too little, and more regular exercise would reduce the stiffness.

If you're not sure, could chat to a personal trainer, maybe. Seem like they should recognise when what I'm describing is true.

Also, try a sports massage. During the winter lockdown, I was training outside with a fair bit of running (yes, in 2 degrees and rain and wind - I’ve earned my abs ) on the gym car park tarmac. I got sore knees, saw a physio, and she assessed my knees, suggested I held off doing quite so much running, and add in a lot more quad stretching. She also did a strong massage of my quads down and over my knees. This really released everything! And interestingly, I could feel the difference of before and after.