Knee pain from day 3 now day 11

[Chrissycs]

I’m on day 11 Camino Frances and started fit and injury free. On day 3 I all but crawled the last 5 km and since then I’ve managed all my walking with lots of stops icing each time with leg elevated as I managed the pain. Yesterday arriving into Belorado I could barely walk my knee was so sore, I have a patella band which helps slightly. My question is if I continue my Camino am I really damaging my knee? Or have others persevered til Santiago and their knees have ended up healing well? It is quite amazing: Every third person walking has a knee something on : tough stuff this walking
Thanks

 

[andycohn]

See a doctor! The people on this forum can't help you.

 

[TMcA]

See a doctor! The people on this forum can't help you.

andy cohn is right!

Sorry to say this, but I don't think forum members can really advise you on your knee. Whether it has troubled you before, whether you have had Xrays or MRIs done on it, whether it is arthritic, whether you've had to resort to injections to ease any previous discomfort with it, etc. All this is part of your knee's medical history.

 

[Chrissycs]

Thanks

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

A possible cause is a fallen arch. This causes your foot to pronate and cause a twist to the knee. Bring this up with the doctor.

 

[Dani7]

I agree with with other forum members. Seek a medical consultation. You can always go back to finish anything with good health. Why limit your future. Get the low down on what’s going on.

 

[David Tallan]

See a doctor. What I experienced on the Camino has no necessary bearing on what you experience. The cause of one person's knee pain is not the same as another's. Nor are the effects - both short term and long term.

That said, I started the Camino with no knee concerns and after a few days started really feeling pain in my knees. I first got a couple of those elastic sleeves for the knees. That wasn't sufficient so I got a stronger knee brace with metal rods on the sides. About a week into my Camino I got a walking staff. But what really made the difference was getting a pair of hiking poles in Viana on day 8. From that point on, with the knee brace, the hiking poles, and regular daily ibuprofen, I was able to complete my Camino to Finisterre.

Then the ibuprofen gave me chronic urticaria, but that's another story.

A couple of years later, I was able to walk the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago without ibuprofen and without any sort of knee support (no brace or sleeve). But that time, I took my hiking poles from the beginning.

So people have completed the Camino despite acquiring knee problems a few days in. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't see a doctor.

 

[trecile]

Another possibly cause is IT band syndrome. I started to have knee pain on the outside of my knee during the descent into Zubiri. I had never had knee issues in my life, and had no idea what had caused it. I happened to tell a fellow peregrina at my albergue, and she mentioned that she had had the same kind of pain after a half marathon, and that it was due to the IT band. I googled it, and found some stretches and self massage techniques for the problem. Fortunately, it was gone within a couple of days.
I did end up having some pain in my other knee, but it was the kind that felt better after I warmed up, and was better every day. That was a few weeks ago, and now that knee is feeling okay.

 

[Corinne Lombardi]

See a doctor. For those who are starting a Camino, I have observed that most pilgrims who start and can not finish due to knee/shin/foot issues have started walking too fast, too long and/or too heavy (pack). Even if you have been walking 20+ days, walking too fast/long/heavy will get you shin splints.
I digress. As to knee pain- prevention is possible. Strengthen your feet, ankles and glutes. Do not make your knee, a hinge joint, work as a ball and socket joint. That is the job of the ankle and the hip. Make them work. If you have the opportunity, go see a biomechanist for help on making these important parts do their jobs.
Also, use poles to help stabilize so that not all your weight is taken by the poor old knee. Just sayin’.

 

[BiggBlue]

I have witnessed pilgrims continue through injuries, that at home would have seen them go immediately to a doctors office. There is a big difference between aches and injury. Yours I suspect is the latter. I fully appreciate the time and emotion that we pilgrims put into this journey but risking a long term and possibly permanent injury is simply not worth it. I had leg pain which was according to the doctors in Leon simply tendonitis and told me to rest for 4 days. I did this and then continued by the time I got to Ponferrada my leg was still swollen and very painful. So the next day I flew back to London. where I was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the shin and told to rest for three months. Four months later I went back and picked up from where I finished. The camino is not going anywhere,
Get well.

 

[scruffy1]

See a doctor, "Be kind to your knees, you will miss them when they're gone" as the song says - I know I do!

 

[John H.]

My wife who is a nurse coached me through 3 Caminos of knee pain. I took 400 mg of Advil (Ibuprofen) to reduce swelling and a Tylenol extra strength to reduce pain. Took both at the same time twice a day at 9 am and 1 pm. This really helped me.