I couldn’t believe I actually finished the half marathon she thought as she crossed the finish lineI am training to complete a half marathon but my knees are killing me she explained a few weeks ago. I have been following a training schedule and I am concerned about the pain but I just run through it. The problem is, the pain is beginning to worsen and I am starting to have knee pain just walking up stairs.
Within a few short visits, she was running better, her times had improved and the pain level had markedly decreased. She said she was feeling great when she stepped wrong during the last run and something felt like it pulled by the knee, and she could no longer run. She was devastated.
I evaluated what she was feeling and the muscles in the back of the right knee were swollen and painful to the touch. Over the next few visits, with the race just a couple of weeks away, she could run for a short time and then the pain came back. Since she was the last patient of the night in the home office, I decided to put her on the treadmill and see if we could notice something my other diagnostics was not finding. On the treadmill, her legs looked good but the arms were not swinging properly. After treating a restriction in her mid back found by using the treadmill as a diagnostic tool, her arms moved much better and she noticed she was running with reduced effort.
The following week, she said she could run about two miles and then she began to feel pain but overall, she could see the problem was improving. The race was this week. The last visit before the race, I was able to feel a restriction in the right ankle on the side of the knee pain. After mobilizing the ankle and the foot, she could no longer stress the ankle and bring out the pain in the lateral knee. I wished her luck, knowing she worked so hard to get to this point.
On race day, she was nervous and her family was there in full support. During our phone call, she explained that she was able to continue running, even though there was still some discomfort but it did not prevent her from completing the race. She fought her way through the last part of the race, knowing that this could qualify her for the NY Marathon this year, something she really wanted to do. Then she stepped over the line, completing the race.
During the phone call, I could hear the excitement, the relief. It was nice to hear this great news from someone who was so dedicated to her goal of finishing and it made my day. Congratulations I told her. She then told me that after a brief rest, be prepared, I am to begin training for the NY Marathon.
