If you’ve been running for a while without significant injury, consider yourself lucky. Every year, anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury. Bruce Dierbeck, (@btothed on Twitter) is one of them. Read on to see how Bruce dealt with a knee injury that kept him sidelined for most of the year.
So what’s your injury story?
In early June, I went for a jog along the lakefront. I didn’t stretch beforehand. There was a four to five mile routine I had come up with. The problem with it, though, was that a portion of it was uphill. A pretty good incline, in fact. I felt some discomfort in my left knee while running, but ignored it. Kept running. While on the last mile or so, I could feel my knee feeling “loose”, I guess you could say. Lacking support. Almost like the knee cap was moving left and right a little bit more than it should while running. Then it tightened up. By the time I finished up, I could feel the pain growing.
I finished my five mile run, which is about the most I can ever usually run. But by the time I went up the stairs to my apartment, I could tell my knee pain wasn’t the general soreness from a long run. By the time I got into my apartment, I couldn’t even put pressure on it. No standing. No bending. The only time I didn’t feel pain is if my leg was straightened while lying on the couch or bed. I just remember that I had never felt anything like that in my knee before.
Unfortunately, my job and entire division had moved earlier in the year, so I was out of work. This happened two days after my insurance ran out. Because I was afraid of any medical bills at that point in time, I decided to bypass going to a doctor and just using my own methods. That included ice packs and regular intervals. Advils. A knee sleeve. And a walking stick help me shuffle around.
What did your workout routine look like before you got injured?
Before my injury, I would do back-to-back days of weights at the gym (chest/shoulders and then BIs/TRIs). The third day I would run. I would repeat this so I’d get a regular dose of weights and cardio all week long.
What happened after the injury? What were your fears?
I had to give up running for many months. Had to give up playing basketball, as well. I kept waiting for the “next” injury, so psychologically, it took time to get over it.
What helped you accept a new plan / change in routine?
I read up on sports injuries a little bit. And I finally just accepted the fact that while my mind believes otherwise, my body is 31 years old and not 13 any more. Physically, I have limitations that I didn’t have years ago. It is what it is … deal with it and move on with it!
Was there any period where you ‘gave up’ completely? If so, please describe.
When I tried to run a couple of miles around two months after the injury, and felt pain in my knee right away, I was worried I was done running. I feared I was done running, playing basketball, football, and even softball because any running would trigger that. It was a depressing feeling, considering how much I love sports and physical activity.
How long did it take you to begin feeling ‘back to normal’?
It was two months before I stopped feeling pain in my knee. It was four months before I could return to running.
Can you explain how you ‘listen to your body’ in terms of taking it easy if you feel nagging pain, etc?
I try to now look at my workouts honestly. I kept running that day despite the pain in the knee, because I didn’t want to slack off or be lazy by skipping a workout. Now if I’m sore from jogging or from weights, I do a better job of determining if it’s simply an “off” workout day or if it’s actually the result of my body telling me something isn’t right. I try to err on the side of caution now and either slow down or stop and live to run or lift another day. I’d hate a stupid half-second decision to have a four month effect again. One of the upsides to being 31 rather than 13 is being able to learn from that 
Do you struggle with any other pain or uncomfortable feeling when running?
My left knee still tightens quicker than my other knee. My mom wore the cartilage down to the bone on her knees when she was younger than I am now, because of how active of a person she is. I suspect it’s also hereditary, so I probably have some sort of degeneration in my knee. So it’s always going to be a little uncomfortable. I just have to stretch, cool down, use sleeves/braces from time to time when the signs are there.
How do you keep workouts interesting when you have to back off from running because of pain?
I went on YouTube and searched for workout videos during injury. I also learned that I could still bike after a couple of months, because it wasn’t as violent on my knee as running. So I began biking a few miles, then upped it to six, and then to eight miles as a “warm up” to getting back to running. I just wanted to keep some form of cardio in my routine if I could.
What advice do you have for others struggling with pain or injury?
Don’t get down on yourself for getting down on yourself. If that makes sense. It’s natural to feel disappointed in yourself and in having to skip doing what you love doing for a period of time. So don’t kick yourself while you’re done. Especially since you might then pull a hamstring doing so 
Also, create a slow return-to-activity plan and stick to it. If you’re like me, your “knee” jerk reaction is to jump all the way back in. Or because Day One felt good, to jump to your Week Four plans. Don’t. I determined my best plan was to run four days a week, every other day. Week One I would only run a mile each of those days. I ran a slow mile. 12 minute miles. As much as I wanted to go faster, I didn’t allow myself. Week Two I added another mile and ran two miles each of those days. Again, kept with an 11-12 minute mile pace. By Week Three, when I could feel that my knee was holding up, I added another mile and did 3 miles each run an pumped up the pace. I’m on Week Four now and I’m doing 4 miles each run and have been averaging an 8:30 minute mile. I keep wanting to jump ahead, but I’m sticking to the plan. I don’t get to add another mile until the following week. Slow and steady wins the race back from rehab, in my opinion. It’s just as much psychological as it is physical.
Anything else you’d like to share?
If you don’t have a “buddy” system for working out, sign up with Daily Mile or some other online fitness group. The motivation I got from those people to get back out there and keep pushing myself is a huge factor in my return to running. Even when they aren’t trying to push me, reading their own stories of working out or accomplishing a marathon or just trying a new training routine and liking it is motivation enough for me!
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