Healthy Catholic #13: Runner’s Knee
In this episode I explain how I got ‘Runner’s Knee’ (Chondromalacia Patellae/Illiotibial Band Syndrome), a common injury with runners. How you get it, how you prevent it, and how you heal from it.
N.B.: there’s a short audio drop-out of a few seconds at 1′26”.
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Nice cap …
Hey Father Roderick, I enjoyed your update. From the stretch you described, it sounds like your illiotibial band was inflamed. I had the same problem back when I was a new runner. Runners abbreviate this problem as ITBS (illiotibial band syndrome). That is a really great stretch for it. Another thing that might help is icing the hip right after running. I used to get hip pain quite often, so I would take those “blue ice” packs in a cooler in the car. After my run, I would sit on on one and place the others all around my hip (held in place by the seatbelt) while I drove home (about 15 minutes).
Icing immediately after running will help keep inflammation down. (don’t forget to stretch before you ice!)
Another thing… have you ever heard of ice baths? They’re tough, but nothing works better. After all my long runs, I take a bag of ice and dump it in the tub. Turn on the cold water and fill the tub to the level where you think it will cover your legs. Then… GET IN. Sit in there for 10 minutes. The first 2-3 minutes are brutal, let me tell you… but after that, it’s not so bad.
Oh, and another thing… be sure to wear a long-sleeved shirt while you’re doing this. You don’t want to be sitting in an ice bath “au naturel”! It is unbearable that way! (speaking from an unfortunate experience)
Some people even bring a warm beverage to sip while they sit in the ice bath.
Anyway, this is just a friendly tip from one runner to another. We all hate taking ice baths but we all agree that nothing works better for post-long-run recovery. I think you will find you are much less sore the next day.
Good luck with your continued training and God bless!
Greetings from Florida! Fr, the iTunes store does _not_ have this episode yet, and it’s been out for at least two days. How can it be fixed? Pax et bonum!
Love the sweatshirt. GO FROGS!