The one about ..... KNEES!

Go read this link here  it explains the SCIENTIFIC findings about knees and running



Never once in my life have I had reason to believe that running is bad for your knees.  Even when I ran at county level at school and spent most of my time running up hill, down dale and on tarmac roads did I ever think it was bad for my knees.

This is a topic I can get quite annoyed over because most of the people spouting that running is bad for your knees are people who are not runners and to be honest, being overweight is going to screw your knees up more so than running, so okay, if you want to bad mouth running and not do it because it risks messing up your knees but then why don't folks give up eating so bad and thus putting on the weight - which screws up your knees?

Anyways, I am living proof that running has actually helped my knees.

After I left school I stopped running, I got married, had a baby, put on an enormous amount of weight due to depression and other health issues and my knees started slowly falling apart then wham! One day my right knee let out a loud snapping noise and the pain that followed was quite akin to childbirth!

Initially the doctors told me it was just soft tissue damage and at the time I was just starting my weight loss plan and thinking of taking up running again.  Well, the doctors told me I'd be okay to run on my bad knee - you know, it's just soft tissue damage.  I couldn't even walk let alone run, so obviously I didn't proceed with my running plan. I suffered for 18 months before I was sent for an X-Ray and MRI scan.  I saw 2 doctors in 2 different hospitals - because they couldn't believe what they were seeing!

The first doctor had to check the X-Ray belonged to me because he said it showed the knee of someone in their 70's or 80's.  It was bone on bone Osteoarthritis.  Cartilage gone from between the bone space and rough bone on the back of my knee cap.  The doctor told me they wouldn't operate because I was 'too young' to suffer from Osteoarthritis.  He was however nice enough to inform me in a rather rude and blunt manner that I was also too fat to be considered for surgery anyway and that my weight has caused all this damage to my knee.

At which point I burst into tears and went home to cry for hours because I wanted to do the right thing and lose weight and get fit but here was a doctor telling me that I'd be in a wheelchair within 12 months and there's nothing they'd do about it.

So, I went to see a specialist surgeon at an orthopaedic centre.  He got the MRI organised and said yes, I have advanced Osteoarthritis but I had also damaged every ligament in my knee too.

He explained doctors don't normally operate on someone so young (in their 30's) because the knee replacements only last 5 years and you can only do about 2 or 3 replacements.  I told him I would even consider having my lower leg amputated at the knee as I couldn't cope with the pain I was in and the prospect of being stuck in a wheelchair.  I could carry on and learn to run with a prosthetic leg or a blade - I had heard of people doing this, so why couldn't i?  The doctor went on to explain that he would operate and do a knee replacement as he was working on a project studying osteoarthritis in young people.  I had an appointment set when I would see him again to decide once and for all if I was going to go through with it.  I gave myself 6 months to think about it.  I have a major phobia about general anaesthetics too - so it wasn't a decision I was going to take lightly!

Upon doctors permission, I began a C25K plan.  I brought various knee braces and straps and would try them to find out which was most comfortable.

I was prescribed some pretty heavy duty anti-inflammatory and pain killers and so it began - a kind of make or break moment in my life.  I figured if the running didn't work then I had nothing to lose, it would confirm that I needed the operation. 

I researched things on the Internet and found articles saying that cartilage cannot regrow and osteoarthritis is non-reversible.  I really had nothing to lose then did i?

When I started C25K not only did I find it hard from a fitness point of view but my asthma interfered and my knee was suffering badly.  In all honesty, it hurts like hell!  It swelled and I found I needed my medications every day, along with raising my leg and icing. 

I persisted though and when the 6 months were up my decision was made!

No, I would not go for the operation!

You see, after 6 months running, not only could I run for 5k - albeit slowly but the pain was reducing in my knee. Now, I'm not saying I was pain free.  I still needed my meds and I carried on taking them every day for at least a whole year and every time I ran I wore a knee strap and iced my knee afterwards.  I took Glucosamine & Chondroitin supplements and I followed a healthy eating plan.  I did leg exercises to try and strengthen the muscles around my knee.

The doctor said I was always welcome to see him and discuss an operation if things didn't work out. So onward I pushed.

I didn't need to take my knee medications a couple of years later and only used them if my knee flared up after a particularly hard workout.  I continued to ice after hard workouts too but on the whole, I didn't need to.

Then during the latter part of 2011 I ran for the first time without my knee strap!  My knee cap although still slightly unstable, is much better than it was previously and the tracking of it has improved due to me working on strengthening my knee at the gym and the running of course.

I have limited ability to squat down with the knee in a closer angle - it simply won't bend that much and I am aware when I run of being careful downhills and with the camber of roads.  I just am aware of good knee health - which everyone should practise - whether you are a runner who has knee issues prior to running or if you are a 100% healthy specimen of a person.

I still have my knee medication on standby and various Deep Freeze and Deep Heat ointments and sprays but these are things I only use as and when needed, for example, after a hard workout. 

This is also a big consideration as this year I am training for my first Half Marathon, so it's going to entail training and more mileage that I am not used to, so I expect there might be the occasional whinge from my knee but it's going to get stronger from the workouts I do.

I am thinking of asking to have an X-Ray this year once I reach goal weight so that my previous X-Ray can be compared and we can see how my knee looks now.

My knee has slight calcification type growths that can be felt by touching my knee and It has a strange little point on my knee cap and apart from not being able to close the angle greatly to a tight squat, my knee is pretty darn good.  It's better than the wheelchair I was facing!

So, I'm sorry but to all those who think running screws up your knees - I seriously beg to differ! As will my fiance who has been a Marathon runner for over 25 years.

I hasten to add though - that ALL cases of Osteoarthritis do not mean that it IS possible to reverse the effects and achieve what I've achieved. This is my own personal experience and was my own choice to run.  Maybe I am an alien or have a strange gifted body that has enabled me to recover like this.

I strongly advise anyone with Osteoarthritis to seek medical advice before taking up sports and I hasten to add, I made my decision to do so because I was at the end of the road and there were talks of wheelchairs and I was considering having my leg amputated.

I do however think there are other articles out there in support of exercise for people with Osteoarthritis and I strongly advise you to also go seek them out and to make up your own mind.

Just because I recovered to the degree I have, does not mean you might be able to, so please do not go out there and sudden;y start running, thinking I told you it'd help.  I do not accept any liability of such claims.

This is my personal story on my road to recovery.

Now - go read the link posted below the picture above that tells you all about the scientific findings!