BEHIND the SCENES....or knees.

So last night, after the 12 mile (or more) run, I was definitely having some pain and some swelling behind my knees, primarily on the right.   I did some "rolling" to massage my muscles, took an anti-inflammatory, downed some joint-support EmergenC and got a really long night's sleep!  Feeling better today.

 I have notice some weakness in my knees the last two weeks when getting up and down but it was minor;  not painful, just slow in getting their bearings.  But the back of the knee was something new and the fact that the right leg was predominant got my attention.  So of course I googled!

So here are the two muscles behind the knee.  They are supposed to be weaker and unassuming muscles because their primary function is to connect the top and bottom muscles of the leg and to facilitate the movement. I don't understand all of their functions but I did find out that there are two factors that can cause their pain.

 First, your feet have the most affect on these muscles.  How you land on your foot and how you turn your foot to power off again.   It is said that flat feet or shoes without good arch support can be a factor.  (Oh Lord, do not tell my husband who just helped me buy a new pair of shoes!!) Secondly, any swelling in this area might not have to do with these muscles at all but is a leakage of fluid from the knee into this area.

It is said that treatment for this area includes the following:
      - icing
      - massaging trigger points which are the OTHER muscles above and below this specific area.
         It is encouraged NOT to do vigorous massage directly on this area as there
          are very delicate tissues and blood vessels there that can be easily damaged.  (Oh Lord, I read that
           AFTER I used my roller there with some vigor to "work it out"!  Always read first, do later!)
     -  specific exercises/stretches that target the "trigger muscles".

With all that being said I can say a couple of things about how this happened to me.  I truly believe on the last mile I pushed myself too hard.  The fact that I was running like an "old man", shuffling, was the alert that my muscles were NOT wanting to run anymore and I was making my legs a slave to my determination.   I should have walked that last bit and listened to my body.      I think it may not be wise to do a "weird" form just to get through the discomfort.



I also think that with my new shoes I do have to watch my landing and powering off.   I did notice that my left foot got out of control and kept absurdly hitting my other foot on the side periodically how this would make my right knee have more pain I don't understand, but it does tell me I was wacky in my control of my feet!  I do know that my knees have been compromised and I need to pay way more attention to my landing and adjusting all that.  Doing that stuff can make a huge difference.

These are NOT my legs by the way....

Sometimes we put too much emphasis on our shoes and expect our shoes to do all the correcting.  They aren't BRACES - they are shoes and can only do mild correction.  The rest is up to us in our training to correct in form and make it a habit.  SO I have a lot of work to still do on that.   My thoughts are that I had just gotten it right and got new shoes which have literally shifted me and making me do new corrections.  Perhaps I will look into some taping or compressions that give a little bit of support in trigger areas.

The truth is just being "off" by a little in your spine alignment, the way you land on your foot, and which side of your body you are working harder can put tremendous undue pressure on joints and muscles and if repeated over and over brings injury.  That's a lot to pay attention to as you run, but it is ultimately incredibly beneficial - specially being in the post-mid-life category.  This group is working against a life-time of body shifting because of spinal compromises and the habitual joint and stance accommodations the body has already settled into.

Just some thought "the morning after"!

Oh and this...just a little Saturday laugh...