Janet, thanks for the answer. It happened while sprinting and doing a brusque lateral movement to avoid falling/hitting a mom w/stroller standing in the way. Doc didn't offer too much help other than do not run between 2 weeks and 6 months. It doesn't hurt at all walking, biking, bending, squatting, putting pressure, nothing. If I can't run how do I know it is healed? Should I wait for 6 months until I can get another MRI? Sounds absurd. Or should I use pain as a guide?
Reply- Janet
Suri, it's always a good idea to let pain be your guide.  Perhaps in a few weeks you could do a walking program for a couple of weeks and work your way up to a decent distance... perhaps a total of 10 miles a week of walking... and then transition into a walk/run routine and monitor symptoms.  Did the doctor want to follow up with you at some point in the future or did they just tell you to get in touch if things didn't improve?  If you have a scheduled follow up - I'd wait until then to try progressing back to running.  Pain is usually a good indicator that something is wrong, so that's always a good guide to keep your enthusiasm in check.  Best of luck, let me know if I can be of assistance.  Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, RRCA coaching instructor

I was diagnosed with minimal patellar marrow edema. I assume this is a bone bruise. The first week hurt while walking. I have rested for 2 weeks, and it doesn't hurt anymore while walking, but I am afraid of running. How long does it take for a "minimal marrow edema" to heal?
Reply  - Janet
This is really a question for the orthopedist who diagnosed your condition. From what I can find in my resources, the time for the edema to resolve generally is in the range of 3-6 months, but if your condition was "minimal" then perhaps you would resolve quicker?  My concern if it were my knee would be - how did this happen and what do I need to do to keep it from happening again? If there was no known trauma (slip/fall) then perhaps it is related to an overuse injury?  If so - try to resolve the factors that contributed (strength deficits in your hips perhaps?).  Best of luck to you, talk to your doctor about a timetable for when to expect resolution.  Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, RRCA coaching instructor.

I am running NY this fall and I anticipate not being able to devote a lot of time to training during sept and oct because of a new job and location. any tips on how to train to make those last few weeks less stressful? What can I do over the summer to stave off losing my endurance before race day?
Reply - Janet
Jenny there's really nothing you can do other than build a very solid endurance base leading up to the time you're going to have a training break.  When you get to September and October, try as best you can to keep up at least your key workouts (your long run, and perhaps one hill run and one race-pace specific tempo run).  Getting by on minimal training isn't the best recipe for sucess in an event like a marathon.  With reductions in training, some of your fitness will erode.  The amount of fitness you loose is generally proportional to how fit were you when you had to take a break and how long had you been that fit?  People who have a well established and long-standing base of mileage can get away with training breaks and lose less fitness than people who have perhaps just established a fitness base and haven't been there long.    Hope this helps - best of luck in your training and race!  Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, RRCA coaching instructor

We're reviving a 30-year-old Soloflex resistance device for my wife's bone strength (it's the equivalent of lifting heavy weights but without being able to drop them). The Soloflex can also be used for the knee exercises you recommended. This notion of exercising with vibration is news to me; curious if you've seen or used it: http://www.soloflex.com/archive/vibration-therapy-shaking-off-knee-pain-part-1/ ---- Also encouraging (gasp! wheeze!): "for the Middle-Aged Set. High-Intensity and Interval Training is a Must!" http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2010/04/fujioka.html
Reply - Janet
The research on use of vibration in strength training is growing. There are some promising results starting to come forward. The importance of higher intensity or interval training to older adults is well-established. When you do higher intensity activities you recruit your fast-twitch muscle fibers. These are the subset of muscle fibers that seem to atrophy first as we age - and the theory is that they atrophy primarily from disuse because as we get older we tend to shy away from high intensity activities!
Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, RRCA coaching instructor

Can you suggest a website somewhere with a map of "point to where you feel it" information for aches and pains? That would be a start to help identify what's what and what exercises to do or avoid?
Reply - Janet
not really Hank - you might try something like WebMD.com? You also might try Googling something like "orthopedic symptoms" and see if anything comes up that looks like it meets your needs.
Janet Hamilton, MA, RCEP, CSCS, RRCA coaching instructor