*Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or physical therapist, nor am I in a position to give medical advice. This post is based solely on my experience. Please consult with a doctor or physical therapist if you are experiencing pain.
For about a month or so, I've been having knee pain. I self-diagnosed my injury as runners knee, blogged about it here, and took two weeks off. Well, it's just getting worse, so I finally went to the doctor. She confirmed it is runners knee and took an x-ray to make sure there is no serious damage -- there isn't, just a stupid, swollen, over-used knee.
Today was my first physical therapy appointment. I'm seeing Brittany Endres at Results Physiotherapy. She comes highly recommended and after today, I see why. She's freaking awesome! This isn't my first rodeo. I've been injured before and I've been in physical therapy before, but I've never had someone like Brittany, who explained why I'm hurt. My last PT "fixed" me, but he never explained what caused my injury and he discouraged me from running in the future. Brittany is a runner (ENFL!), so she gets it.
Brittany examined me, did various strength tests and confirmed I have runners knee. But then she told me something I didn't know was possible.... basically that my butt is broken. Yeah, exactly. Apparently my glute muscles aren't pulling their weight, pun intended, thus the knee injury. This news is particularly shocking since I take sculpt classes THREE TIMES A WEEK!!! Thanks for nothing, group fitness.
Other things I learned today: my injured leg is a lot weaker than I thought; I'm limping (slightly); and my body's chain of command for receiving impact is backwards -- of course it is. When you run, you're supposed to feel it in your butt first, hamstring second and calf last. My body goes in reverse, also contributing to the weak butt/knee injury. Who knew? Oh, also, I'm in the wrong shoes and now have this hilarious prescription for a fitting at Fleet Feet.
This is why you go to physical therapy. My runners knee probably would have eventually gotten better, but I would have never known that I had weak glutes, was receiving impact wrong, was in the wrong shoes, etc. This profession exists for a reason. I highly recommend anyone with joint pain make an appointment, to not only fix what's wrong, but to find out what, if anything, you may be doing wrong.
Brittany showed me some glute strengthening exercises that I've got to do two to three times a day. She also said no running this week, but to swim and try Spin at a low resistance. I'm seeing her again on Friday, so we'll see how much stronger my butt gets in two days. Seriously, ya'll, who knew? I hope I can still fit this butt into my jeans when it's all said and done!
P.S. Hey, this post is five years old! Here's where I am now.
P.P.S. Don't forget, I am NOT a physical therapist. Please consult with a doctor if you are experiencing knee pain.