I've trying to build up my mileage in running. My left knee and ankle are starting to hurt. What could it be?

Question

Backround: I've done the Philly Marathon in Nov '05, '06. In training for the '05 I did have some ankle pain; I actually didnt train for almost 3 weeks due to that.

Now I'm up to 11 miles. My left knee has started to hurt and my ankle as well. Also, my left leg feels more stiff. I'm not flexible at all. I have VERY tight hamstrings.

Could this actually be due to my sneakers? Overtraining? The treadmill?

I do all my running on a treadmill. My sneakers currently have about 160 miles on them. I was running about 25 miles a week.

Answer 1

Sometimes when you start having pain on one side it is because of an imbalance.

You may have a longer leg or your foot does not contact the ground correctly.

I could be from bad shoes.

If rest, massage and stretching doesn't help then you should have your gait analyzed to see if you have a structural problem.

Answer 2

All that you've listed, but you need new shoes.  Even Forest Grump changed sneakers for new ones.

Answer 3

I ran a marathon in February and developed iliotibial band syndrome (IBS) as a result (thankfully, never had the problem in training!) Sounds like you could be experiencing something similar in your knee... it's a very common runner injury.

You can google it for more info--- if you think that's what you may have, I would suggest getting the "roller"... it helped my pain go away. Good luck!

Answer 4

It sounds like the classic signs of overtraining... perhaps get more sleep to allow your body to recover itself... have more rests in between running

I'm sure your sneakers are well suited for running, that is what they're designed for... just make sure they feel comfortable underfoot

I hope this works out for you

Answer 5

if i were you i would be careful. i was running a lot and then i got some pain in my left knee and sure enough i tore my acl..

maybe a new good pair of sneakers would help

also i suggest a ton of stretching

part of the reason i tore my acl was because i didnt stretch before the game i played in

also try more leg excersizes to build up the muscles around ur knee and ankle

hope this helps!