Knee pain... need help!!!?

Question

I'm a fifteen year old girl and I'm not new to running. I've been running for three years and I've never had a running-related injury before. I've been training during the summer for cross-country, but yesterday on the second day of practice, we were running 10 X 400 repeats and on the 8th one, my knee started hurting really bad. I had to stop running and jog a few laps instead. It hurt so bad that I could barely walk. My coach told me to put ice on it as soon as i get home. I limped on my 1.5 walk home. When I got home I put an ice pack on it right away. It helped a little. I wrapped up my leg and kept alternating hot and cold. I also kept my leg elevated, because whenever I bent my leg or moved it at all, my knee would hurt. It got worse overnight and I couldn't go to practice the next morning. I'm worried about missing too many days of practice and I don't know if I should go to practice anyway, even with a hurt knee. My knee hurts really bad, especially when going up and down the stairs, so I don't think I can run even if I tried.

I need help please give me any advice that you can.

What do you think is wrong with my knee?

What should I do about the pain?

Should I keep going to practice or should I stay home?

How do I tell my coach and teammates about this without sounding like I'm trying to get out of going to practice?

Answer 1

3 day rule: If the injured area still hurts in 3 days, see a doctor. Tell your coach, absolutely. Does your team have an athletic trainer? You should see someone if 3 days of RICE (Rest, ice, Compression, Elevation) doesn't alleviate the pain. If your knee is injured, which is could be, you could easily do further damage if you continue to run. Your best bet is to see a doctor. If you have torn/pratially torn/strained/sprained/subluxed the knee than it needs to be fixed or given time and support to heal.

What do you think is wrong with my knee? There are tons of options

What should I do about the pain? RICE. See a doctor/trainer

Should I keep going to practice or should I stay home? Talk to your coach

How do I tell my coach and teammates about this without sounding like I'm trying to get out of going to practice? Talk to your coach in private, explain what happened and see a professional.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Kristy made some great suggestions. For healing, do NOT apply heat.

Something else to consider is your running shoes. How long have you had them? What condition are they in? Old shoes are usually the cause of legs problems for runners. Another thing may be that your IT bands are too tight. This can cause terrible knee pain. I know from experience. To remedy that I use a foam roller and roll out my IT bands from my hip down to my knee on each leg.

If you are still in pain get some adequate rest for proper healing.

Answer 3

Don't run on it if it hurts like that.   You may need to see an orthopedic surgeon, or get an MRI if it continues to hurt.   You could have damaged the meniscus, or some cartilage, or even a ligament.   If you are lucky it may heal itself and not require surgery.   I have had 3 arthroscopic surgeries on my left knee, so hope you don't have all that trouble.

Answer 4

I have the same problem... I run about 60kms a week and get knee pain. Try this before you see a doctor and get an MRI. Get knew shoes like Asics then buy a insole for your shoes. This Insole will help prevent the shock to the knee wile running. Just to let you know your not alone..... All runners get this at some point in there lifes but anyway try what I told you and if that doesn't work you'll have to go to the doctors and probs get an MRI... One More thing..... Theres a chnace that you have week bones.