Maybe I’m not the ideal commentator on this subject. I have never
suffered a serious knee injury, say, an ACL tear or a hampering meniscus
injury. But the day before Halloween last year I was forced off a fast-moving
treadmill when I felt something “snap” in the muscle group on the outside of my
left kneecap.
What followed was such debilitating pain that kept me away from running
for months. While I never got a firm diagnosis for what happened to me, the
closest I came was what my sports physical therapist said: I had a runaway
IT Band (Iliotibial Band) that messed with nerve endings. (There was minimal
swelling and no bruising.)
My Knee Solution? A combination of lunges, squats and leg lifts, that
zero in on building thigh, knee and butt muscles. Most important, in doing the
lunges and squats, stick with it. Do reps of 30 each. Taking special care that
when you go down on the lunge the forward bent knee does NOT extend beyond the
front foot.
These kinds of exercises helped to restore my running form, in that I
keep my full weight more parallel to the ground so that I cushion the
inevitable pounding of the foot strikes through my newly conditioned thighs,
knees and butt.
The upshot is that I am back to thinking that I could retrain to run long
for my life. Right now, I’m happy to do four miles, five miles, the occasional
six.
If you have sore knees, or don’t want to have them, think about working
out with these simple exercises. They are certainly working for me !
Next: Running for Your Life: Ear Bud Art
