I call it lazy butt syndrome

Before I begin: I am not a doctor. This is just one runner's perspective and not a medical opinion. (Don't want any doctors mad at me or lawyers chasing me!)

I never had knee pain until I picked up running a few years ago, when I was 39, and then only after I had started training for marathons. See, when you start running you get all sorts of advice that newbies are really half-assed about following, like cross-training. OK, maybe just newbies like me. Cross-training means incorporating non-running activities into your weekly workouts to build muscles that don't get worked but that you really, really need when running. Think of activities like yoga, strength-training, spinning, stuff like that.

I got diagnosed with popliteal tendonitis (behind the knee) three weeks before my first marathon in 2007 and went to physical therapy, where I had to do a bunch of exercises to strengthen my core -- hips and legs. Guess what? I started training for another marathon in 2008 and I was back in PT with a different knee pain. I think there were two rounds in all of PT in 2008. I just couldn't get it through my head: I NEED TO CROSS-TRAIN CONSISTENTLY, EVEN OFF-SEASON. (After I ran the St. Louis marathon in spring of 2008 I got an assessment from a personal trainer on my fitness because I was so frustrated with back pain and knee pain. She said I was so out of whack. My top half was extremely weak and bottom half mostly strong. That is not good.)

A big culprit for my knee issues, anyway, (and lots of runners, I understand) were weak gluteus medius muscles -- not the big gluteus maximus muscles most people think of.  They are located under and toward the top of the gluteus maximus (I told you I'm not a doctor, so don't expect a lot of scientific explanation here). Basically, as I understand it, when you have weak muscles in your hips and/or legs your body will rely more heavily on the stronger muscles, which can get overused and lead to injuries. OK, that's as far as my biology lesson goes. I always found it a little amusing that I had a lazy butt.

So The New York Times did a story on gluteus medius tendonosis that's really good and interesting, and a warning for what can happen if you let your core get weak, yikes! The moral of the story is strengthen your core! Keep those muscles strong. I began doing Jillian Michaels' Shred DVD in 2009 and weekly Ashtanga and vinyasa yoga classes this year (now pre-natal yoga and strength workouts appropriate for pregnant chicks) and haven't heard a peep outta my knees in ages. You can try other things besides these -- just make sure you get that cross-training and core work into your week somehow.


Happy running! :-)