Also chondromalacia

Question
Hello John!
In my searcing for a yoga program that is best for my knees I found you and I m glad cause it seems that you really know about it.
I am a yoga instructor, I finished my course last year and as soon as I finished I was diagnosed with chondromalacia patella.
Ok of course the doctors just give you pills but I almost never take medicine.
My Olistic therapist is treading me with accupuncture and also he suggested me to drink a turmerik with milk "coctail"
Anyhow, even though I am carefull not to bent my knees a lot every time I m practising Yoga I have pain. From Octomber I m gonna start in an exercise studio and I really don t want to have problems with my knees.
I saw that there is a program you give(plus vit c)  but I still didn't figure what is the programm. Could you pls inform me about it? and also for any other advises?

Thank you for your time,
Aloe

Answer
Hi aloe
First i was my first client 35 years ago and developed Chondromalacia training around 100 miles a week for the NYC marathon with a very low 2:50 finish when my knee gave out 7 weeks from race.I could not find any medical doctors or PT's who could tell me specifically what it was and how to approach how to fix it,yet they still wanted to experiment with different ideas and repeated visits at my expense on something they did nothing about and that i totally refused all and kep the money in my pocket and started to scour the medical books and came up with a diagnosis and persevered for 8 months and fixed it and not a problem since.So as you might guess i have very little regard for the doctors and medical profession in total.Just thought you might enjoy how i got started and have become real experienced with all sorts of injuries and treated 100's and 100's around the world.
Chondromalacia and most running problems are directly related to tracking and alignment of the muscular skeleton system ,so treating the cause of the problem is the answer.The accupuncture will do nothing for it except take more money from you.The very best course of treatment that i have used for all these years is up right stationary bike workout as often as you can find time for>(i went 7 days a week.) for 45 min to 1hr 30.Medium tension increasing it as you become stronger at 65 to 85 rpm and tweaking it as you become stronger.Two other things is 500mg vit c 3 times a day with food and to really help relax the muscular system which gets quite tense and twisted from time to time is 20 min Epson salt baths taken the last thing you do before you climb into bed to max the benefits.Last you have to have a great great deal of patience and just not quit.I have included a testimonial from a Captain who headed a infantry platoon in irag for about a year for your thoughts and mind and motivation to not quit......Any questions just get in touch and if you want to call here in Albuquerque New Mexico any time just go to my web site for contact info and let me no when is good for you.

All the best and
success

John
www.rentacoachinternational.com




       rentacoach

Message flagged
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 8:42 AM
Message body
Hello Mr. DeHart,

I just wanted to write and say thank you for your guidance over more than a year now while dealing with my various leg and knee issues. In particular thank you for the motivation, I must say that when you really love something like running and are forced to give it up so suddenly it is no way comfortable. Below I抳e described my case and hope it might help those with similar issues work through them and serve as a recommendation for others to seek out your guidance in the future.

After returning from Iraq in 2008 I ramped up my training as I was preparing to complete my initial term of service as a captain in the United States Army and hoped to take part in a number of ultra marathons during the summer of 2009. During the train-up I managed to finish a training marathon in 3:29 (yes, that one minute matters!), a number of 30 mile long runs, back to back runs adding up to more than 40 miles, complete an 80k race, and then jumped in to a 100 miler about a month later which I left at the 67 mile mark, and then decided to enter a 100k three weeks following and again had to drop out at around 42 miles, and finally a 5k shortly thereafter and felt something was more seriously wrong with my right knee. I have had tightness in my right ITB on and off since I began running in high school but felt this was a more serious pain related to the knee. I抦 sure to some this all seems silly, particularly running the amount described with out pausing due to potential injury concerns but if you truly love running it is often difficult to cut back when you enjoy the challenge, perceive the issue as less than serious, and believe it will pass on its own.

In any case, I stopped running completely for about three months and felt an even more intense pain when I tried running for just a few minutes, not to mention my knee was making cracking sounds far too frequently. I decided to search the web and the usual running online sources and found some ideas as to the causes, but in my opinion they generally lacked complete answers to my more specific questions: how do I truly fix this, is their permanent damage, and when will it go away.

I was fortunate enough to find Mr. DeHart抯 website. After initial contact through e-mail Mr. DeHart and I spoke over the phone and continued to discuss my many running problems and rehabilitation over the course of the next year. I should also mention that upon my separation from the Army I moved with my wife to China for academic pursuits and as such had limited access to equipment and a 15 hour time difference with New Mexico. Despite this Mr. DeHart was always willing to speak with me early in his morning and often at length to ensure I fully understood everything involved and to share some of his broader knowledge of training. I have received the help of fellow runners in the recreational running community in the past but have yet to meet someone as dedicated as Mr. DeHart to helping others to the end.

Through Mr. DeHart抯 suggestions and motivation I was able to start running again and a bit over a year later I am running almost every day without that initial serious pain described. I am still in China and not running ultras just yet but definitely enjoying the fact that I can go for a four mile run at a sub eight minute mile pace essentially pain free. We continue to converse on my ITB tightness but have moved through my major issues and feel I have made excellent progress from zero running to quality runs about as often as I like.

Again, I hope the above is able to help a few fellow runners through their injuries and also depict the sincere support Mr. DeHart has provided for over a year now.

Thank you again Mr. DeHart for all the help and motivation!

Sincerely,

Robert Johnston