Pain in right knee, external side, Genu varo

El Yuca Descalzo

Barefooters
Apr 3, 2014
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Hello, after 2 months of feeling a pain in the external side of my right knee during and after trainings above of 10km, and only during downhill, I visited a podiatrist, it wasn’t BF friendly at all.

He touched some parts of my knee, asked me a few questions about running and I said that I used to run some ultras and was planning to run 100Km in October, he stopped and said: I already know what you have…

He took some X rays and his diagnosis was MEDIAL PRESURE DUE TO GENU VARO.

What he explained was that the normal angle between the femur and the tibia should be 5°, on the contrary I have around 7° on the opposite direction and that is called GENU VARO. The lateral ligament of my knee was being pulled excessively due to this deformity, He couldn’t explain why my left knee didn’t felt anything.

This are my knees
Presentation1.jpg


The pain I feel is located in the spot of the below picture, at first I tough it was ITBS and started doing some exercises, now I’m not sure what to think. The pain is constant but it doesn't increase during races or longer distances, it hurst most during downhills.

rodilla.jpg



He also said was due to over use and the DEFORMITY of my legs, that my body wasn’t made to run longer distances and that I need an orthotics insole to correct the deviation or in a few years I will wear out my knees.

I ask him if there’s any natural way I could work out the muscles in order to prevent this injury and he said NO, only the orthotics will help me. He sent me some Meloxicam and rest, he said I should rest for 2 or 3 weeks and stop training and running soo much and I will be fine.

A few months ago I took a complete exam of my body, part of the results are these:

Somatoscopy diagnosis: Tibia Vara GI, Talo Valgo GIII on the right, asymmetry and weaker left side of the body, asymmetry of the right pelvic member 5mm

Plantoscopy: Cavo GI right side and Hallux Valgus GI


That’s why I ask you docs if could help me, what can I do? I now all this terms sound like I'm a deformless monster, but is not that bad.


Thanks...
 
That is a very foot centric by the book evaluation. While I do not agree that there is any my way or the highway approach, since we are all different, you certainly are asymmetrical in the knees which will cause you to also be asymmetrical in the hips, pelvis and even the upper back.

The truth is, some of us may do better barefoot, some may not and some may be in between, as we are not all built alike. If you are having problems with the lateral leg and are having it band issues, the problem is likely larger than the IT band, since IT bands do not just tighten for no reason. The fascia along the side of the legs actually extends into and around and under the foot like a sock and is likely to restrict ankle motion. If that happens, the hip will also be restricted, your hips will torque and you will get knee pain, since this is where the motion will go.

A good sports chiropractor may be a good next stop. Find someone that does soft tissue work such as ART, Graston and Fascial release, because they are most likely to be helpful to you. Good luck
 
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Thanks for the reply, maybe I missunderstood your answer, but, are you saying that perhaps BF running is not for me?

If I find the correct chiropractor what should I say to him? what should be my goal? the realease of all soft tissue? what is ART? Do you think Yoga will help?

Sorry for all this questions, I just wanna be sure of the problem.

Thanks again.
 
It is possible that you have not yet figured out what works best for you. There is nothing wrong with minimalist with some off the shelf orthotic correction, which give you freedom, but also gives you support where you may need it.

The fact is, we are not all going to be fast since we are not all efficiently built. Some of us can run faster naturally, some of us prosper with barefoot or minimalist, some of us do best with shod and support from the right orthotic (I am one of them, check out my report on barefoot almost on our blog diary of a nj chiropractor).

Some of us are just not cut out to run at all biomechanically however, I show patients how to cheat mother nature and do it with few problems by cheating the system.

Regarding your chiropractor, if what he does works, makes sense and helps you run better, great. You may want to do as I suggested and go on a treadmill and have a friend video you. Show it to your doctor. That can be very telling since someone who understands running and gait would welcome the additional data.

Good luck