Runners Knee? What's the Filipino Runner's secret?
This morning after the 21Km LSD (more on this later with pictures) with the takbo.ph, I was able to chat with some of the runners, the famous runningdiva. During our chat she mentioned having knee pains and I told her I also had some knee pains especially during my mileage increases during the last 3months. We then talked about the pill supplements mentioned in Runnersworld magazine issue March2007. The pill supplement was Glucosamine/Chondroitin. I asked her if she knew the local brand, she said she didn’t. If you’re a Filipino runner, do you know what is our local supplement of Glucosamine/Chondroitin? Well, do you? I don’t think so… I don’t think you’ll even guess it…
It’s ARTHRO! Yes, it is the hilariously funny TV commercial about an old grandpa crying for arthritis pain in the morning and then later walking briskly backwards shouting “malakas na ako!” (I’m strong!). I would always laugh whenever I see that TV commercial and in a way thought that I would never take those supplements, that they’re for old people. Now I realize I’m absolutely wrong!
I was in our company clinic when I was looking for the supplement Glucosamine/Chondroitin, then I thought I should read the ARTHRO ingredients. To my surprise it does have Glucosamine/Chondroitin as the main ingredient! I took some pills right after my 20miler (32Km) runs, and guess what, the knee pains were significantly reduced! The more I take, the more the pain goes away. In fact, according to some articles, the more painful your knees are, the greater the help Arthro would give you. It’s not a medicine but a food supplement, so it doesn’t have any side effects.
It is kinda expensive though. P20/capsule, you need to take 3 times a day to appreciate its effect. It’s not recommended to take if your knees are really really injured that you can’t run. I only take them after my runs so to speed-up the healing. I don’t take them before nor during my runs so it won’t mask any knee pain I may have when I run, it would only aggravate the injury.
Now, I’m no longer taking them because my knees feels a lot better now – I can even run backwards! Perhaps I’ll take them again maybe during my next mileage ramp-up.
Comments (10)
natz!
good post, bro! try ko later mag-take nyan arthro. my knees are hurting after our LSD, pero tolerable naman.
Thanks bro. Yup, hurting your knees after an LSD on the Bayani Road is normal. Bayani Road from C5 all the way to Lawton Avenue is notorious for having banked roads. I hurt my knees whenever I increase my mileage on these routes. I even experience ITB’s. Wait let me guess. The pain is on the left knee, am I right? I even tried switching to the right side of the road, going with the traffic flow, then the pain would just switch to my right knee. But they’re all just minor pains and I could still run. Yup, good thing we have Arthro. Next time I see the commercial again, I would no longer laugh at the old man but applaud him.
both knees, natz. i iced them up na din yesterday. kaya siguro hindi ganun kasakit.
bro, if you have ym / facebook. add mo ako (rpapolinario@yahoo.com)
God bless!
Hi Natz,
I have been taking these supplement once a day for almost 3 mos now. I do not feel any knee pains whatsoever. Treatment with these joint supplements is based on the theory that oral consumption of glucosamine and chondroitin may increase the rate of formation of new cartilage by providing more of the necessary building blocks. But there is no immediate effect of these supplements. In some cases of osteoarthriris, it takes around 2-3 mos before the improvement in pain and joint mobility is noted. But in some cases there’s none.
Natz- It was my left knee pain that made me shift from running to race walking not to mention I am already at age. But, regardless of age listen to your body if it gives pain there is something wrong and medicine is not the answer. Look for the cause not the cure.
Hi Red, that’s two bad. Knees. I’m really sorry to hear that. But what the heck, you can try these supplements anyway.
Doc Lyndon, It’s an honor to have a great doctor like you to comment in my blog. Thanks for the feedback, I’m glad they’re working for you too. For me, I know my body well enough to notice the effect.
Sir Amado. I saw you last week in Jinoe’s Nutrition seminar but you were leaving already. My theory is increasing mileage too soon could tire our bodies including the core muscles, which includes the hip muscles. Weakened hip muscles means unstable stride that could create misalignment in banked roads. Perhaps your race walking strengthens your hip joints and muscles. I believe you are in the Light Side of the Force Skywalker
Hi there i2runner. I discussed this pain killer with one of my friends and he suggested that I should not take it yet and do other things as part of my recovery regimen. You know what I did? I took a one-hour swim right after our LSD and I couldn’t felt better. I really felt better. And even went malling after.
I realized that I’ve been running constantly that my body is telling me, “hey, can you please give me a break?” 
So, I’m back with my Timezone and watching movie moments for now. Am resting. It was nice chatting with you and you’re looking good! See you at the Skyway!
Your friend is absolutely right about not taking it and just do other things as your recovery regimen. After posting this blog, I haven’t taken any arthro anymore. I have some knee pains but they’re tolerable. I’ll only take arthros if I’m crying in pain again… like the old man in the commercial
See you in the skyway!
Nice trivia, Natz! I dont have knee problems (never had- thank God!) but my friends are beginning to hurt their knees now when they run long distances.
Guess I’m giving them Arthro as bday presents from now on.
BTW, what did I say again about people having knee probs?.. (I’m looking for trouble again, hahaha!)
>That’s very thoughtful of you. Malapit na rin pala birthday ko. Alam mo na regalo mo sakin ha. Malapit na kong maging 30!!! Hehehe. Maybe you’re not experiencing knee problems because you have superior biomechanics. Maybe you’re a bionic woman.
[...] as my long run, I started getting pains on my knees. That’s when I started taking “ARTHRO“. My high slow mileage stopped after the Condura 21K race and then I started my speedwork in [...]