Lateral Meniscus Pain

[neurospast]

I fully aggree with Marj. To me the chance that it is the ITB which rubs over the epicondyl lateralis (small elevation of the bone on the outside) seems rather reasonable. One of the main reasons is that you did not describe an injury mechanism (which would be plausible with a meniscal injury, you would have known.... well most of the time). Do a self assessment on this:a 1 leg squat: Can you keep your pelvis horizontal and not rotating towards the knee or away from the knee. Can you squat (as deep as possible) with the knee in a straight line in between 1st and 2nd toe (or goes it with a wobble?).b Do a clamp exs (lying on your side with effected side up) How far can you part your knees without moving your pelvis (keep a hand on the pelvis and tighten your core muscles). c Lie on your front. Tighten your core, put hands under the hips (some bones will stick into your hands), bend the knee 90 dgrs and lift knee up: does one side pushes into your hand?d Do a bridge (shoulders and feet on floor with 90 dgrs bend knees), tighten core, push pelvis up so that shoulders knees and hips are in a straight line, lift up the none affected leg by straightening knee so that on this side the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle form a straight line and keep pelvis horizontal. Do these 4 tests also for the none affected side. If there is a big difference it is likely related to the ITB or in general knee control. Another possibility is a pelvis mis-alignment which will change the biomechanics of the leg (but for this you have to see a PT). Oh yes, palpate outside of leg and see if it is tender on several places 9compare with none affected side). And Flexibility compare right left: Piriformis, hipflexors (rectus femoris and Psoas), Hamstrings Gluts and Calfs Just go on U-tube and you'll find massive ammount of tests. In case of ITB and general muscle tightness invest in a foam roller. Marj has already suggested other modalities. In case of big differences, stretching, foamrolling and work on the cause: most of time poor gluts and/or poor core strength/movement control.

[Herk_Man]

Thanks for all the info. After reading up on ITB I'm almost leaning that way. Mostly because the activity that caused it is almost perfectly described in the most common causes I looked at. I've been running long distances on mountain bike trails to train for Tough Mudder. So I've rested it for almost 2 weeks now and while I can still tell that it's not completely normal, I have done a lot of the suggested rehab exercises and I can go complete days without noticing any pain at all.

I think I'm going to take it out for a test run this next week. I did go buy a new pair of shoes that are NB and specifically made for trail running.

One question I have, I'm a little afraid to ask because I've HATED running until I started to run on trails. I'd honestly never run more than about 4 miles but when I started trail running I quickly ramped up to 9 miles and even 13 on occasion. I'm going to be really bummed if I have to cut back just to avoid aggravating my knee again.

I think I'm going to start wearing some knee support, which was recommended in an ITB article I read. And I'm hoping the new running shoes help as well. My old shoes were pretty worn and there was one worn spot on the back outside heal of the sole that would probably tend to exacerbate the issues related to trail running. Side slopes and lots of hills are the main causes cited so this worn spot would increase the angle my foot and leg would have to take to negotiate the inclines.

Again, thanks very much for the info and advice. I'll let you know how things go this week.

Herk

P.S. I can do all of the things in Neuropast's post with zero pain. It really only hurts me if I run long distances or if I sit with the leg in one position for a long time. But as soon as I manipulate it a bit, the pain goes away.