This morning I got the diagnosis from my MRI last week and the answer is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome or “Runner’s Knee”. Honestly I had never really heard of Runner’s Knee previously, but now doing some reading on it, it makes total sense. Pain going down stairs but not up? Check. Pain after stitting or standing for long periods? Check. Pain around and/or behind the knee cap? Check.
What apparently causes it is either poor running posture/habits (which I’m sure I’m guilty of since I never ran competitively and never had any training) or weak quadrcepts – also very likely because I haven’t been doing much in the way of strength training along with my running like EJ has.
Here’s the real kicker – it’s slow and painful to recover, to the tune of 4-6 weeks with anti-inflamatories and slow, but consitent physical therapy. Sigh. But at least now I know what I’m dealing with, know that it’s pretty common, and have a game plan for getting better.
If you’re having knee pain when you run, definitely check this out. You may be able to save yourself a lot of agony…
