MY KNEES HURT!

Nice looking forum,mahalo for letting me drop in.
So I am one of the old ones and aches and pains are just part of the story.However I am really having some major knee pains running the hills mostly down but some on the uphill.The Dr. gave me some pregnasone(that's just a guess at the spelling) a steroid that got the swelling down on the one knee,but now that's back and the other knee is acting up now.It's has got my stride down to a fast shuffle and any real leg extentsion is just not in the cards right now. Up to a few months ago I could rock hop across a stream with the best of them.Not no more.
Any ideas or suggestions?

Sorry about the knee pain. Has anything changed since your post? I recently discovered a solution to my knee pain, but it's pretty simple -- may or may not help you.

I had been getting occasional but intense, sharp pains at various times, especially after pounding down a long hill (several miles) or after I'd been running for 13 miles or so.

So several months ago I was in a running store and the store owner suggested I try some foot inserts. They were about $20 (PowerStep brand). They felt uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it very quickly, and I haven't had serious knee pain since. I just ran a 26.2 trail marathon with no knee pain at all. Amazing. No Ibuprofin needed :-)

I spoke to a separate salesperson at another store and she said my story is pretty common. Foot inserts prevent the foot from rolling too much, which in turn twists the knee. Even if it's slight (ie, you think your feet are fine) over many miles this twisting builds up. Shoe manufacturers purposefully put in minimal inserts because they can't match every type of foot. Sounds like it's actually pretty common for people to benefit from buying inserts than to try to use the default insert in new shoes.

Anyway, this may not apply to you but I thought this was a good topic for to post this.

You know it is working for me too.Got some inserts from rei and down hills are getting better,I think with a little more practice and using gravity on the downs I may make it back to normal.
Nice feedback

Mahalo,
Michael

HILO - So did someone recommend the inserts or did you just decide to try them? Just curious. I had no idea it'd make such a big difference for me.

YEA! Cool...I have an old knee injury...is this something that will keep knee pain in general at bay....my knee tends to swell or slipp when running downhill....???

I think for me it was the help of the inserts in both keeping me from to much shock from downhill impact and also the stability so me knees don't twist.I just came back from a hill run this a.m. and had a pretty good clip going downhill.Nothing like 5 years ago but I'll take what I can get.Every once and awhile I will get the sharp pain,but as soon as I back off it gradually goes away.
It's time to buy a new pair of shoes and I am just going to make buying inserts a habit.

A few months ago I had knee pain above and below the knee cap and a little in the tendon behind the knee. I got it diagnosed as a patella problem (aka "runners knee")where the knee cap doesnt slide in its groove properly and damages the cartilage.
I bought an elastic velcro band to go around my knee just below the cap and have been using it ever since. I also bought shoes that were built more for the road in order to hav more cushion on the trails. I seriously reduced my mileage for awhile and slowed down and ran just flat stuff and it has pretty much gone away.
I dont know if this is your problem but it may help someone.

That's interesting you bought road running shoes! It makes sense they'd have more cushion, as concrete and asphalt are harder surfaces. Do you still wear them? The made-for-road shoes I have are nicely cushioned, but they don't work well on uneven surfaces like trails -- too unstable, which in turn (at least it seems) is worse for my knees.

Well I recently bought brooks cascadias and I love those now but when I was recovering I had Asics GT 2130's. I believe they are still actually considered a trail shoe but the guy I bought them from (Auburn Running Company) said that they were modeled off of a road shoe and had a little more cushion than most trail shoes. While I was recovering I also didnt get a chance to run on much single track. It was mostly fire road.

Ah, I see. My understanding is that the manufacturer has a lot to do with it. Manufacturers who originally made hiking boots (Montrail, Vasque, etc) make their trails shoes a little more sturdy with less padding. Road shoe manufacturers base their trail running shoes on their road shoe designs. I'm wearing the Asics GT-2120 now and I love the extra cushioning for the trails.