Woes of the Pigeon Toed Runner

In the past, when I tried to get back into running, I had problems with my knees. I could run on a regular schedule for a couple of weeks with no issues, and then I would experience excruciating pain in my knees. Mostly right under my knee caps and it was so bad that I couldn't even walk, not to mention run, without pain. So this time I decided I was going to run with a purpose; not to get hurt. I got off on the right foot and set an easy schedule with lots of stretching and a 3 day a week walk/run that built into more of a run/walk over time with the end goal of being able to just “run”. I even changed my foot strike to try to put less pressure and shock on my body. I also set up a weight training program for the off days. On paper it looked good; don’t over extend myself, stick to the plan, be running like an old pro in no time! Right?

Wrong! It’s been 4 days since my last run and my knees are KILLING me. I tried to run 3 miles on Thursday and only made it a little over 2 miles and most of that was walking. So I came home and tapped into my best fitness resource, the Internet, to find out what was happening. I believe I have Runners Knee caused by three things.

1) I’m a knucklehead, because of 2 and 3.

2) I didn’t stick to my plan. I was feeling good and ran farther than I should have too soon in my program.

3) My plan was flawed! I was doing some weight training, but nothing for my legs. My thought was my legs were getting more of a workout than the rest of my body, so why punish them even more?

Runners Knee is a pain around and behind the kneecap. It is a common injury for new runners and even after taking a few days off it seems to come right back with a vengeance. And, as is the case with most sports injuries, the pain in my knees is just a symptom of other problems I am having. Runners Knee is not the Knees fault! It is usually caused by issues with the feet and thighs.

Your knee moves up and down in a groove in your thigh bone and you start to experience problems when your kneecap moves out of that groove or rubs along the side of the groove. So how did my knee get off track? The most likely cause; weak thigh muscles and a lack of foot support. It's your thigh muscles that hold your kneecap in place. Running develops the back thigh muscles (hamstrings) more than those in the front (the quadriceps), and the imbalance is sometimes enough to allow the kneecap to pull and twist to the side.

Your foot provides stability and it's likely that my feet are making a wrong movement every time they hit the ground. Given my past, it’s really likely, because when I was a kid I was pigeon toed. I don’t mean my toes turned in a little, I’m talking about being able to turn my feet inward so much that my toes were actually pointing behind me! When I walked the ends of my feet and toes actually passed over one another. I had a grade school friend that had the same problem and he had to have surgery to correct it. That surgery happened over two summers (one for each leg) and involved cutting his leg open, sawing the bones in half, twisting them until his feet were straight, and screwing the bone back together. I was told that I would probably have to have this same surgery if my legs didn’t straighten out. The last thing an 8 year old wants to hear is that he will be down for 2 whole summers, so I made a conscious effort to start forcing my feet to be straight while walking. It worked (kind of), because I was able to teach myself to walk toes forward and best of all, avoid summer ending surgery. The down side is that when I walk I pick my foot up, swing my legs out and then forward instead of just a forward motion (go to my January, 2nd post and watch the end of the video where me and my sister are walking up the street).

My Remedy:

First; to start including my legs in the weight training, lay off the running for another week (although, once my knees quit hurting I will start walking again), and follow my schedule even if I do feel like a super star.

Second; I am due for a new pair of shoes so this time instead of going to the Super-Mega-Every-Sport-Under-The-Sun-Store, I will purchase them from a “Running” store with a knowledgeable staff that can put me in the shoes I need, not just the ones they are pushing this month.

Wish Me Luck!