Discussion: Leg Pain when New to Running

Hi all!

A friend of mine has just started running, and he's noticed a pain on the inside of his left knee, as well as pain on the outside of his left shin. Sometimes this pain migrates to the inside of the shin. I know if it is on the inside, it can be Shin Splints.

To avoid overuse at the beginning, he has been following this schedule:

Week 1: jog 1 min, walk 1 min repetitions
Week 2: jog 2 min, wak 2 min repetitions
Week 3: jog 3 min, walk 2 min repetitions

Do you have any insight into ways to prevent making these injuries worse without just stopping running entirely?

Thanks!!

Get someone with a bit of experience to watch him run and check out his biomechanics (make sure there's not severe overpronation etc). Other than that, how long has he continued for on each run? 3 min jog, 2 min walk sounds fine, but it depends how many reps...

If you search for the couch to 5km plan, you'd get a pretty good starting point for a novice runner (in my opinion)

Thanks for the advice! Each run has been about 30 minutes of alternations between running and walking. I'll check out the couch to 5km plan, too!

I had similar issues when I started running - a trip to the podiatrist for some orthotics, a more appropriate pair of shoes and doing the couch to 5km from start to finish has pretty much cured me.

Stretch calves, hamstrings and ITB band also. Any of these being excessively tight can cause the patella to begin being pulled aside, resulting in inner knee pain.
I have that pain and physio told me this (3x30secs each stretch) and it has helped

Get him to run on grass on dirt rather than pavement, at least some of the time.

Thanks all, for the advice! Hopefully this will work out.