A trip to the chiropractor

For the past couple of weeks or so I've been having an "issue" with my knee. Anyone who runs is used to putting up with certain aches and pains... most of us know the difference between an ache that feels "wrong" and an ache that is "normal". At first this pain under my kneecap didn't bother me too much... I figured it was something that would go away soon and since it didn't bother me while I was running I wasn't worried. But now 2 weeks later, that "ache" is more of a pain. I'm still okay while running but anytime my knee is bent for any amount of time, and then straightened, it hurts-- sitting at work, sitting on the potty, sitting in the car, sitting in the couch and even sleeping. Time to see the doctor-- I don't mess around with my sleep!

I made an appointment to see Dr. Morganstein, who was at Marathon University at the beginning of the season. I had heard wonderful things about him and he seems to really be in tune to what runners put their bodies through (plus, he gives a discount to TNT people :D). I went in to see him yesterday after work and of course it was one of those times when my knee wasn't really bothering me too much :( I told him what the problem was, he asked me some questions and then had me walk back and forth to check out my gait. Unlike what I've heard from other people Dr. Morganstein says that I supinate (which means my arch is rigid and my feet roll out when I walk). Hmmm, I always though I over-pronated. He says this is why I've never really needed to get special inserts and after thinking about it, I'm thinking that's probably why I can wear flip flops so much without being bothered by the lack of arch support. The problem is that not very many people supinate, so it's not something he's used to dealing with.

He also manipulated my knee and leg a little bit to see if there were any areas of tenderness. My knee was fine since the pain is more UNDER my kneecap, not around it, but I did have tenderness along the outside of my quads where my IT band is. He also discovered that one of my legs is shorter-- not like the bone is shorter, but some muscle higher up in the glute area is tight, pulling my left leg up and making it a little shorter than the right. Dr. Morganstein says that while my knee seems to be fine, there is probably a problem somewhere else that's just showing up in my knee. I'm happy about that I guess... I don't have to stop running, and it seems my knee is not deteriorating in some way, but this also makes it harder to figure out HOW to make the pain go away :( Next week, after Dr. Morganstein does a little research, I should be able to start some treatments so we can deal with whatever is going on. I'll probably end up needing to improve my stretching and strengthen my legs up a little. He says that while I've been really lucky so far not having any problems but that all this running may just be catching up with me. I hate getting older :(