Hi,

I did my first half marathon on 19th October, about 3 weeks ago. About 9 miles in I got a pain on the outside of my left knee which probably slowed me down a bit, but wasn't bad enough that I had to walk at any point.

2 days afterwards I felt fine, so I went for a gentle run about 4 days after my race. I did a few gentle, short runs (3ish miles) after this which were fine, but when I speeded up a bit, a week and a half after my race, the pain in my knee came back.

I rested for a full week, did one run which was fine, but went out last night and had to cut it short. My knee really hurts today.

My boyfriend has suggested that I go and see a physio, but it seems a bit drastic at this stage (especially with the cost). I was considering running with knee supports but after looking into this, know that wouldn't be the best thing.

It is pretty frustrating as I am doing a full marathon in April and wanted to be building up a good base before I start my training in January.

maybe I should go and see a physio afterall? Or maybe more rest? OK, so of course nobody out there will have any definitive answers for me, but I'd like to hear opinions from more experienced people, please!

oops, miss read this post and thought it said ongoing nippies - how Freudian....

anyway I'm here now....
It's very difficult for anyone to give a diagnosis based on a post. But based on my experience of knee injuries - of which I've had a few - it sounds a bit like mild ITBS (illiotibial band friction syndrome). The ITB is a thick band of tissue, which joins a muscle up in your hip, to just below your knee.
When the muscles and hence band is tight for some reason, it can rub on the knobbly bit of your knee which causes it to inflame over time(it normal glides over the knobbly bit on a bursa i think), I describe it as 'hotting up' as for me it always started as a tingle and got progressively worse the more I ran on it til it was burning.

To treat symptoms, ice the knee after you go running, if it is painful or not to keep the inflammation down, coz until the cause is sorted it won't go away. Ibuprofen are good at keeping the inflammation down if you can take them, always remember to eat something with them.

Causes - common causes are overpronation, leading to twists in the kinetic chain, so yuor itb is having to work super hard to keep your knee straight (I think this is how it goes..).

another reason may be that the ITB muscle (aka TFL) is taking up slack from a weaker muscle group, remember [u]everything[u] is connected, so muscle imbalances elsewhere can cause problems. I'd suspect weak glutes as this is a common problem area for runners.

I can't see your post while I'm typing this so am trying to remember it!!!
I think you asked about physio, yes it is probably worth it for ~£30 you can be evaluated properly, check you local running club website to see if they link to a physio, a reasonable place to start...

also do your shoes fit the way you run? Have you been analysed??? (I have a different belief in shoes, but that's something else..)

anyhoooo... good luck! If I think of anything else I'll stick it on...

right... reread your post...
I'd hope you've got good shoes, you just done a half - well done!

def see a physio. if it is itbs it can take a while to settle down.

if your overpronation is bad, they'll probably suggest a trip to a podiatrist for orthotics (you always get orthotics if yuo go to a pod I don't like this route anymore, but again I am opinionated about some things so aren't always impartial!!!

another course of action for the mean time is plenty og stretchingg.
get nice and warm, stretch hamstrings, ITB, piriformis, quads and calves - need to keep all these areas supple and relaxed google for stretches, look for the 'figure 4' itb stretch the leaning one doesn't really work imo.
also look for myofascial release, itb doesn't stretch (it's tfl that your stetching above, but people use terms interchangeably) so you need to massage the band to try and release it off a bit.

if I get change later I might flesh this out, but i'm running out of time at mo!

I would bet my bottom dollar it is ITBS. Just to add to spuds comments, if the pain comes during exercise\running, stop immediately and do not run through it. ITB pain normally settles very quickly after you stop activity, but it can take a long time to go away from your daily runs. Try and workout what distance it starts to hurt and run just a little less that that amount. It's best to try and stop running before the symptoms come on.

I believe this is highly regarded as a way to get rid of the problem if you have it:

Walt Reynold's ITB Special:
Common knee injuries | iliotibial band syndrome | runners knee

Thanks for the replies.

It definately sounds like ITBS from the description... comes on gradually after a couple of miles and seems to go away if I stop and walk.

I think I am going to see a physio- there is one affiliated with my university that does student rates so it shoudn't be too bad! In the meantime I'll try Walt's exercise and stretching.