newmie01

I need some quick feedback, please :) As the high school running season comes to an end, I'd like to take some time away from running to cross train a little bit. I have some fears of injury, in particular, one being achilles tendonitis, so I'd like to gear my weekly workout routine towards prevention of that. Here's what I'm thinking:

Monday- swim

Tuesday- 25 minute elliptical, 20 minute bike

Wednesday- 25 minute bike, 20 minute rowing machine

Thursday- 25 minute elliptical, 20 minute bike

Friday- swim

Saturday- 25 minute bike, 20 minutes of either rowing or elliptical

Sunday- complete rest

I also do strengthening for a weak hip/hamstring on a daily basis per the advice of my physical therapist and I stretch my calves, hamstrings, upper body, quads, hips, and back twice a day (before and after exercise).

Do I have a good plan to stay injury free (particularly from achilles tendonitis and other overuse injuries)?

I started having some minor pain in the top of my foot after playing racquetball the other day. The next day, I went to the gym and did the elliptical and had no pain during it or afterward, but about 2 hours after finishing it started to hurt. I kept prodding and rubbing it out of habit and that seemed to make it worse to the point that I didn't want to walk completely normally on it. I went dancing last night and that didn't seem to make it worse...if anything, the pain is better today.

Should I worry about it being a stress fracture? The only cardio activities that I do are the elliptical and swimming. The racquetball was just a one time thing. Any suggestions?

Last night, my friend and I were trying on high heeled shoes and walking up and down our dorm hallway in them for about 30 minutes. Then I went and played racquetball with a couple of friends for about 45 minutes (we didn't really run around; it was mostly just standing and hitting the ball). When I came back from playing racquetball, the top of my foot hurt over my 2nd toe. This morning, I woke up and went to the gym and did the elliptical and then came back to my dorm, pain free. Then about 1 hour later, it started to hurt me again. If I press along the bone of my second toe, I can't really pinpoint a tender spot. Sometimes it hurts to palpate it and sometimes it doesn't. I can jump on it without reproducing pain. I'm still concerned that walking in the high heels might have caused a stress fracture or something. What do you think this is? Is it likely that it's a stress fracture?

Just as an aside, I don't do high impact cardio. I do 2 days on the elliptical, 1 swimming, and then 3 more days on the elliptical, followed by a day off.

Any thoughts?

My goal is to stay in shape, while also staying injury free. I used to run for 60-70 minutes everyday without a break, and I ended up with a lot of overuse injuries, understandably. Now that I know a bit more about recovery time and such, I'm trying to figure out a way to get satisfying workouts on a daily basis without causing myself injury. Here's what I plan to do:

Monday- 45 minutes of deep water running with a flotation belt (interval workout where I go 5 minutes of warmup, and then repeats of three minutes hard and one minute easy, then warmdown)

Tuesday- 50 minutes at a moderate tempo on the elliptical

Wednesday- same deep water running

Thursday- same elliptical

Friday- same deep water running

Saturday- lap swimming

Sunday- same elliptical

Is that okay? I look at the Saturday as a day to train something other than my legs and that way I can still get a workout in while giving my legs time to heal. Is this is a good routine for staying in shape while also staying injury free? I'm trying to focus on low impact cardio.

I started having some pain in my right shin about two days ago. Considering the fact that I exercise regularly and was still having pain yesterday, I went to get an MRI and the MRI was completely normal. No stress fracture, no stress reaction that would indicate shin splints, etc. I'm still having some pain in it today. There is one spot along the side of my tibia that is a little bit tender. Should I be concerned at all about bearing weight on it, provided that the MRI didn't show any bone, muscle, or tissue damage/stress?

Basically, I alternate my workouts...a day of deep water running for 45 minutes, and a day of walking at 4MPH at a 9% incline on the treadmill for 70 minutes.

On Sunday, I did my treadmill workout pain free. Monday morning, I went water running and was a little tight afterward, but stretched and was fine. I went through the whole day, still a bit tight in my quads and calves, but otherwise, nothing else. At around 3 in the afternoon, I drove to my physical therapist's office for my regular appointment to help me keep my hips loose, because she believes that a lot of the little aches and pains that I get in my legs are from my sciatic nerve being pinched due to my hips being tight, and therefore causing peripheral nerve irritation in my legs, ankles, calves, etc.

Anyway, when I got out of the car at her office, I noticed that there was a very very dull pain in my lower shin, hardly anything really. I think it became more prominent the more I noticed it because I tend to freak out about injuries. It wasn't point tender at all along the tibial bone at that point. I talked to my PT about it and she thought it was just a peripheral nerve being irritated along my shin bone.

I did my treadmill routine this morning, and it started to bother me toward the end a bit, but it DOESN'T hurt constantly. I get a little twinge of pain maybe every 50 steps or so.

It is a little point tender this morning, but that is most likely because I kept rubbing it yesterday and I probably caused a little bruising. I also CAN'T reproduce the pain with the hop test.

Any thoughts here? Is this something that I should be concerned about? I wouldn't think that my walking routine every other day would cause something like this, but am I incorrect? I just want some other opinions because I can't stop freaking out.

Is it okay to do cardio everyday? I typically alternate doing a day of 70 minutes on the treadmill at a 8% incline, and then a day of deep water running for 45 minutes (no impact). Is it okay not to take a break? I'm paranoid about injuries, but I feel awful if I don't exercise everyday. When I get back to school, I'll be doing a three day rotation, with an additional variation of 50 minutes on the elliptical.

About two weeks ago, I went and got weighed in at my doctor and found out that I needed to put on about ten pounds. Due to a past history of an eating disorder, this was a concern for me. I felt that when I went off to college this past fall, I was slipping back into my old habits. I wasn't wavering at the point of eating 800 calories, but I was running about 65 minutes a day and eating only about 1700 calories. So my nutritionist started me on eating about 2700 calories a day. I've been doing slightly less exercise (45 minutes of cardio and weights for my arms every other day). For some reason, whenever I look in the mirror, it looks like the weight is going straight to my lower abdomen (which didn't happen when I had to gain weight before after my eating disorder). On the other hand, I just noticed this about three days ago and for lack of a better word, I haven't taken a very large poop in the past three days, just small ones. Is this what could be making my lower abdomen stick out, or is it just in my head, or what?

Plus, the foods that I'm eating to gain weight are healthy: peanut butter, granola bars, lean meat, etc.

I'm 18, 5'5" and about 115 pounds. I'd like to be around 120. I usually ride the stationary bike for thirty minutes and then lift weights for 30 on a daily basis.

I am a freshman in college this year. I used to run 6 miles a day on a treadmill, everyday. I know this isn't good, and of course, I developed runner's knee, probably as a result of overuse. I rehabbed that in my right knee, and several months later it appeared with a vengeance, this time in my left knee. After taking a month off of running with my left knee, I've started myself on a new routine where I walk on an incline 1 day, and then the next day I do 20 minutes of running and then the rest of the hour walking on an incline. I figure that the walking is a lot lower impact and it still is able to give me a great workout. My aim is to stay in shape, and with a few minor calorie adjustments, this has kept me at a healthy weight.

However, lately I seem to be developing aches and pains here and there, particularly in my joint area. My knees ache, my ankles ache in the evenings, etc. Because I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, I always tend to assume the worst (stress fractures, strained tendons, etc.) and it usually ends up being a big nothing. It did, however, occur to me that I have been drinking a TREMENDOUS amount of diet soda since starting college (please, no one shoot me, but I probably drink around 4 BOTTLES a day). I'm curious if this is contributing to some of the pain I'm having, considering I eat an otherwise balanced diet, stretch plenty, etc.

Any thoughts?

Starting last night, my right ankle was aching. I iced it, took some motrin, and elevated it when I went to bed last night. It was fine all day until this afternoon. I went to the gym this morning and had no pain while exercising. Now it's aching again, but less so than last night. What could be causing this? I never twisted it or fell at any point and it doesn't hurt to bear weight, so I'm ruling out any sort of serious injury like a sprain or break. Any other ideas? :/ Should I be concerned?

I don't regularly wear flip flops. I almost always wear more supportive shoes like sneakers. I only wore them because I was at a friend's house, we were going to a dance party, and I didn't think my sneakers were appropriate.

Here's my story:

I've been out with runner's knee for about a month now. I've gotten the go-ahead from my physical therapist to start running again (or building up to full runs again). On Friday morning, I did 20 minutes of running, broken up into 10 minute intervals, and then I walked for about 50 minutes. Saturday I went back to just walking and everything was fine. It was absolutely nothing debilitating, just a dull feeling. Saturday night, I went out with some friends and was walking around and dancing in flip flops for about 5 hours. I haven't worn flip flops in over 2 months, since I started having problems with my knees. Sunday, I walked again but about 20 minutes after getting off of the treadmill, I noticed a very dull pain in the top of my right foot. It kind of came and went all day. When I woke up this morning, it wasn't any worse. I did the 20 minutes of running this morning, followed by the walking and it's a little sore in that area now, but nothing bad. Sometimes, I feel it when I walk, but other times I don't at all.

I should also mention that if I rub that spot where it hurts, I can feel a sore area, but there's no HORRIBLE pain if I press on it or anything. Does this sound like a stress fracture? I can't imagine that running for 20 minutes at a relatively low speed would give me that problem, but I'm going to be completely devastated if I'm out AGAIN after runner's knee and everything. A little help here? I can't see a doctor because I'm off at school and the student medical center is closing for holiday break.

I have a cold and my head is stuffy. I took a nasal decongestant and I've been blowing my nose, but I'm still having trouble tasting foods. Is there any way to allow me to taste?

I haven't run for three weeks due to runner's knee. I've gotten to the point that I can start doing some uphill walking on the treadmill, but still no running. I am seeing a physical therapist and the exercises are definitely helping...three weeks ago I could barely walk. I am doing leg lifts with weights, IT band massages, and stretching and icing. I saw the medical trainer at my college and he said that it will probably be an ongoing problem for me.

Will I ever be able to run again? I'm just concerned because I feel like I can't really run yet and it's been three weeks.

Also, is it normal for the knee to flare up some days and be fine other days, without any changes in shoe or exercise routine?

I'm 17, 5'6" and I weigh 118 pounds ( I want to maintain my weight).

I walk at 4 MPH on a treadmill at an 8% incline for 70 minutes everyday. I also lift weights for my arms and do abs.

On top of that, I do a tremendous amount of walking throughout the day considering that I have to walk to all my classes on my college campus.

I have a quick question regarding injuries. I've been rehabbing a knee injury for a few weeks now (runner's knee...if anyone knows what that is). I've been doing uphill walking per the permission of my physical therapist instead. Overall, my knees have gotten better, but here and there I have days where they seem to hurt more than they did the day before, despite the fact that I haven't missed doing my strengthening exercises, icing, etc. Is this normal, to have days where they DON'T seem to get better?

It's just that everytime I have a day where it hurts slightly more than the previous day, I feel like I'm never going to be able to run again. Am I being irrational here?

I have a quick question regarding injuries. I've been rehabbing a knee injury for a few weeks now (runner's knee...if anyone knows what that is). I've been doing uphill walking per the permission of my physical therapist instead. Overall, my knees have gotten better, but here and there I have days where they seem to hurt more than they did the day before, despite the fact that I haven't missed doing my strengthening exercises, icing, etc. Is this normal, to have days where they DON'T seem to get better?

It's just that everytime I have a day where it hurts slightly more than the previous day, I feel like I'm never going to be able to run again. Am I being irrational here?

I have a quick question regarding injuries. I've been rehabbing a knee injury for a few weeks now (runner's knee...if anyone knows what that is). I've been doing uphill walking per the permission of my physical therapist instead. Overall, my knees have gotten better, but here and there I have days where they seem to hurt more than they did the day before, despite the fact that I haven't missed doing my strengthening exercises, icing, etc. Is this normal, to have days where they DON'T seem to get better?

I've been having some knee problems that have prevented me from running for about a week now. I keep reading things online about other people that have a similar problem that haven't been able to run for years, and for some reason, I just keep thinking that that's going to be me, despite the fact that it has gotten incredibly better in a week's time (last weekend, I could barely walk and I've been walking on an incline on a treadmill for 70 minutes the past few days). The whole knee thing has been getting me down already, but I did NOT need to be reading around online about all the negative things that COULD happen (it's a tracking problem in my knee). I have some physical therapy exercises to do, I'm seeing an athletic trainer on Wednesday, and a physical therapist in mid-November.

I HAVE TO STOP READING ONLINE. Gah, it gets me so afraid of things that I don't even know are going to happen.

Is it possible to recover from runners knee?