Runner's knee basic info:
Official name: patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS)
What is it? The most common overuse injury among runners.
What causes it? A mistracking kneecap (patella) irritates the femoral groove in which it rests on the thighbone (femur). There are also muscular causes. Tight hamstring and calf muscles put pressure on the knee, and weak quadriceps muscles can cause the patella to track out of alignment. Just the repetitive force of a normal running stride alone can be enough to provoke an attack.
Who does it commonly affect? It strikes mostly younger, recreational runners and twice as many women as men. Women tend to have wider hips, resulting in a greater angling of the thighbone to the knee, which puts the kneecap under more stress
How do you recover from it? At the first sign of pain, cut back your mileage. The sooner you lessen the knee's workload, the faster healing begins. Avoid knee-bending activities, canted surfaces, and downward stairs and slopes until the pain subsides. As you rebuild mileage, use a smaller stride on hills.
In summary:
I am 26 days away from getting on a plane to California and running my first marathon. I have not been able to run long distance for two weeks so I have missed my two longest runs: 16 and 18 miles. This week is my longest running week, 39 miles, and I am told that I can not run if I want to get better before the marathon.
I am at a complete loss. The past 3 months my life has been dedicated to running. My weeks at work planned around the run I have to do when I get home and all weekends planned around the infinite long runs. Multiple times a day I could easily cry about it.
I have 26 days until I find out whether I can complete my first marathon in California alongside my athletic boyfriend.
Goal:
Not going to let this happen to me for the marathon in October.
