Has anyone else been diagnosed with this problem? I saw one of the top orthopod's in the DC area yesterday and thankfully I haven't any tares or anything requiring surgery with my knee but he said I had runners knee and no jumping or spinning for 3 weeks!!! I am just getting the salchow down to where it flows and has some height!! I am bummed but I guess this is the smart thing to do, head off serious damage to my knee. I think I'll ask my coach if we can work on figures in my lessons. Actually I can do the loop and the lutz since I don't pick in with my left leg nor do I land on my left leg...goody that's encouraging and they need some work since I can't land either on one foot. :-) And I can do backspins...better hurry and get the knee pad for my right knee as I keep falling on it!!

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

I haven't seen a doctor about it yet, but I think this is what I have had for years. It's very intermittant, which is one reason I haven't seen a doctor yet. Here's a good source of info on it and other sports related problems: Sprots Medicine Advisor: Runner's Knee

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I haven't had that problem personally, but my girlfriend's daughter has been having knee troubles since she started learning doubles.

Did your ortho suggest any exercises?

Yes he gave me a whole slew of excercises and a pretty specific regimen to be on for the next 3 weeks. My knee is even more sore today. Thank god I have good health insurance and enough leave to check these things out. I didn't actually think it was too serious but I wanted to avoid having something horrible happen and then having to have surgery, I am totally about preventive medicine. :-)

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

Interesting but most of my pain is in my meniscus and not the back of my leg. Maybe he just called it runners knee because my pain is from general over use but not actually any trauma? I'll have to ask him more questions when I see him again.

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

If your girlfriend's daughter has recently had a growth spurt, she should be on the lookout for Osgood-Schlatter Disease. The major symptom is that the bump on the shin just below the knee becomes tender, painful, and swollen. There is no injury associated with this, it's purely developmental. It hit my daughter when she was starting doubles and took her off the ice for a season.

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JDC1, I have the same problem. There’s a little piece of my quad (Yazmeen and our other doc pals will cringe at my spelling attempt, but I think it’s the vastus medialus) on the inner part of my leg just above the kneecap that’s not pulling its weight, resulting in the kneecap jumping its track somewhat, and the resulting grinding is painful.

Sounds like your MD is telling you the right things. PT helped me tremendously (the first doctor I went to didn’t believe in it, unfortunately, and I ended up with a chronic problem). I still do my exercises at home and have gotten better about them now that I’ve started skating. I get less knee pain from strenuous activity, and the recovery time (which I measure by when I stop getting a twinge going up my stairs at home) is significantly improved. BTW, icing also helps alleviate post-workout soreness.

So rest up, keep up the exercises, and hopefully you’ll be back out there in no time!

-- wannask8