I am not a doctor. I do not have a medical degree. But I do have experience with regards to what happens to one’s body when active in walking and running. The following includes my personal experience with customers and me.

Knee pain comes with the territory at some point and many ask what can be done to cool and relieve the dull, non-stop ache that is associated often with knee pains.

This article will not be concerned with traumatic injuries to the knee area. Injuries from a car accident, other sports or falling are all painful, but generally speaking, will need surgery, therapy and time to heel.

This article will be concerned with the aches and pains one feels when walking or running and the dull aches that come along with overuse injuries.

Knee pain associated with endurance-type activities is caused by a few different factors: compression, pronation or equipment. Compression pain is found at the base of the knee cap and top of the shin, not to either side of the knee. I find this pain is generally from shoes that are too old. The mid-sole is no longer able to absorb the impact of the body weight, and the knee gets unhappy.

Pain caused by pronation will be found on the inside or outside of the knee. The general rule of thumb is 80 percent of the population pronates to some degree, or rotates their ankles to the inside. As the ankles rotate inward, the arches, ankles and knees all rotate inward, and this adds a pretty high amount of stress to these areas. Pain on the inside of the knee is generally associated with rotating inward and pain on the outside of the knee is associated with supination. Proper equipment is essential in correcting and preventing these pains. Shoes designed to be used for walking and running have features designed to absorb the impact and the correct category have features designed to lessen the stress of pronation.

At the same time, if the wrong category of technical shoe is used by an individual, then the equipment becomes the cause of the pain. Proper equipment in the proper length and width are necessary for long term enjoyment of your walking or running programs.

So what is it going to be? Are you going to allow knee pain to stop you and your goals, or are you going to take control and become a healthier individual?

Next week, I’ll talk about hip and lower back pain.

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Valdosta St.ate’s men’s and women’s cross country programs are improving as they head toward the conference and regional championships.

The men’s team has been ranked sixth in the Gulf South Conference and 10th in the Division II NCAA south region for the last two weeks. In that period of time, the team’s average for running an 8K (five mile) distance has dropped from 29:11 to 28:27 to 28:04 in five weeks. The 11 individuals on the team are working hard each week to improve themselves, and therefore, the team. In the last event, held at Mercer in Macon, nine out of the 10 men who competed ran the fastest times they have ever run. The men not only are striving to do their individual bests, they encourage each other every step of the way.

The women’s team is improving quickly, also. The team average for the 5K distance has improved from 22:41 to 22:21 to 22:04 in the same five-week period. In the last event in Macon, three of the five ladies ran their personal best, and one nearly tied her personal record. Look for both teams to run well in Orlando on Oct. 11, as they prepare for the conference meet on Oct. 24 in Birmingham. Follow their progress on the vstateblazers.com Web site.

Other age levels competed in Macon on the same day. The St.. John Middle School boys had great levels of success, winning the boys middle school division, while Doyle Wallace won the event, followed closely by his brother Austin and Craig Smoot. All three finished in the top six of over 100 middle school runners. The girls team was led by a fifth place overall finish by Mary Alice Smoot. Kirsten Kielma finished in the top 20 individuals to help the girls team finish fifth.

This week at the Tiftarea Invitational, St.. John’s teams performed well again. The Wallace brothers, Doyle and Austin, and Craig Smoot finished in the top 10, with Doyle winning the overall middle school event. The St. John boys team won the team title. The girls team was led by Mary Alice Smoot, who was second overall, Alison Peters, Ashley Powell and Kielma, each of whom finished in the top ten. The team placed second overall out of six teams.

The strength, speed and determination of these young individuals certainly offers hope for the future of the ability of South Georgia to compete at the state level. It takes commitment from the student athletes, the parents and the schools to obtain high levels of competitiveness.

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More events in the surrounding area of South Georgia:

Oct. 18 – Valdosta Middle School Academic Service Learning International 5K Fun Run occurs, starting and finishing at Valdosta Middle School. Help make this a big event – get your application today.

Oct. 25 – The St.. John Road Race will occur at the church’s campus on Gornto Road. This is the largest event in our area and continues to grow each year. Applications are available already. Contact Get Active via e-mail to get more information.

Nov. 1 – Memory Run 5K on the Valdosta Middle School Track. Two races that morning will allow you to be super fast while you try your hand in a 5K track event. Get in touch with the Get Active store to get more details.

Dec. 6 – Women’s Junior Service League presents the third annual Jingle Bell Classic 15K and more.

February 2009 – Get Active/Talk 92.1 FM cruise – a box of chocolates and dinner out will not compare to the Valentine’s cruise that South Georgia Travel has created for us. We will be going to the Bahamas with two ports of call – leave on Thursday afternoon and return on Monday morning. Contact South Georgia Travel in Valdosta for more details. The deposit is required now to assure the price and availability.

All of these events will be good for the entire family to be involved in. Be sure to put the dates on your calendar right now. Applications are either at Get Active or will be soon.

When you participate in an event where Get Active Finish Line Services is the timing group, you can bring your race number to Get Active – Running and More on that Saturday or Sunday and receive 10 percent off purchases of in-stock items regularly priced. This is a small way to say thank you for participating in the events in our area.

If you have questions about your walking, running or other training, drop me an e-mail and I will do my level best to answer your questions. Check out www.getactivevaldosta.com to get connected. Become a member of the GetActiveSouthGeorgia yahoo group with over 100 other people. Listen to the Get Active South Georgia radio program on Tuesday evenings from 6-7 p.m. on Talk 92.1 FM to receive additional information or to ask questions.