Restarting running after a long time following injury

[BalladOfBarryAndFreda]

I used to run a few times a week, a couple of 5ks and a 10k at the weekend but had to stop due to runner’s knee. I got started with a c25k app and took it steady, didn’t run back to back days and was never a fast runner but still ended up injured. I went to see a physio who told me it was ITB/weak glute related and v common in runners, hence the name. I did the exercises prescribed but found that running remained problematic and so stopped.

Since then, I’ve started Pilates and have got a dog. I’m a lot more generally active and the Pilates involves a lot of alignment, core and glute work, so I’d hope not to suffer from the knee issue anymore. Not so lucky, I still find that my knee injury flares on anything more than a moderate downhill descent . I’d like to start running again and would use the c25k method but I’m worried about the knee. Am I stupid to even try?

FWIW, my trainers are fine and were matched to my gait by a specialist running shop.

I do have a treadmill which would be more gentle on my joints as I can use it flat and not have to worry about changes in camber, levels, road surface or slipperiness as well as the stopping/direction changes for traffic, people, dogs, prams, bikes, etc. I’d rather run outside though as I find it makes the time pass more quickly and pleasantly, plus the hills etc are much better for my fitness (if not my knees!).

Any advice?

I know you said your trainers are fine, but how much stress have they taken? My Dh who runs probably once or twice a week (5-10k) needs to change his trainers every 6 months or he gets knee problems.

My trainers have done less than 200km and are kept specifically for running. I wear other shoes and boots for walking (Pilates barefoot) and still experience knee pain when I push it too far with down hill work.

Do you have a foam roller?.... Rolling the outside of my thigh along the it band really helps with my runner’s knee.

Unfortunately I now suffer with plantar fasciitis. It seems running and injuries go hand in hand

I do have a roller and don’t find it particularly helps, unfortunately. I’m prone to PF too but find the old ‘rolling a tennis ball’ helps to alleviate it, as well as avoiding flip flop type footwear. Perhaps I should listen to my body and avoid the running?!

You need to see a podiatrist who does gait analysis. I did when I had PF even though I had already seen a sports physio.

I got drilled on what surfaces I ran on, I got told what shoes to wear both sports and normal, told what shoes to avoid, given more exercises and given inserts for my running shoes.

I know other people who have seen a podiatrist for gait analysis who were given custom inserts for all their shoes and others who were given no inserts at all.

You don't need gait analysis - you know what the problem is here, and it's an extremely common one. Weak glutes lead to all sorts of ITB and knee issues, but what most people tend to do is do clam shells and bridges for a bit, cut down on running, think they're "better", stop doing the exercises - and then the whole cycle starts again.

As a minimum, you want to be doing the clam shells and glute bridges 3/4 times a week, always, especially if you work in a desk job where your glutes aren't firing much during the day. Add in some squats and some work with a resistance band, and even better. It only means 5-10 mins a day of glute strengthening work, but makes all the difference to being able to run injury-free.

I know a couple of people have asked about your running shoes already, but... My running shoes probably hadn't done 100s of km, but they were about 4 years old. I just replaced them with updated version and OMG, it's like I'm wearing clouds. So, it's not just mileage, but also age that you need to consider. Brooks say that running shoes should last 3 to 6 months 😱.

Brooks say that running shoes should last 3 to 6 months 😱

Yeah, I wonder why Brooks would say that?!

That's what I thought 😄🤣

I have the same issues with you with running. I found doing lots of consistent HIIT (at least a few times a week) and walking a lot during lockdown prevented any problems from ITB. I am pregnant so not running at the moment and have not been doing HIIT either so I am dreading restarting!!