Runner's Knee Pain

Remedies for Runner’s Knee.

Knee pain is the #1 Running Related Injury. The most common form of knee pain is located on the front of the knee, near or around the knee cap. 

This is called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) and it makes up to 62% of knee pain in runners!


How can you tell you have PFPS?

Pain or stiffness on or around your knee cap ...

• Worsening throughout the run

• Squatting or stair climbing

• Sitting for an extended period

• When your knee is bent 

What can you do about it?

FIX TRAINING ERRORS
The best remedy is always prevention! Go to this blog post to learn more… https://www.runwellclinic.com/s/stories/training-101

The bottom line is that running is more than putting one foot in front of the other. So the treatment of running MUST include looking at you as a whole person. That means sleep, nutrition, mental stress, and depression are just as likely to contribute to your running injuries as terrain and mileage. 


STRENGTHEN
The most valid way of improving your PFPS is to strengthen your knee and hip muscles.
Secondly, performing exercises such as single leg squats while attempting to maintain optimal "alignment." This means keeping a straight line connecting the foot, knee, and hip.

TAPING
Taping the knee cap, in combination with the above exercise can help reduce pain in the short term. However, it is not recommended for long term use (neither are knee braces and sleeves for this!).

Here is a quick video on how to tape for pain around the knee cap:
Knee Taping Video

FOOT ORTHOSIS
Our body works in unison, so when one body part is hurting it may be related to an issue elsewhere. This is often the case for knee pain. 

So how your foot moves while running can be a contributing factor to your pain. A pre-made foot orthosis can help reduce your pain while you strengthen the hip and knee.

Again, to be used as a short term solution!


GAIT RETRAINING or IMPROVING YOUR FORM
How you run may be contributing to your knee pain. Depending on how you run and where exactly your pain is, I would give personalized recommendations. 
However, the most common ways of improving PFPS through gait retraining is to:

1. Increase your cadence 

2. Land closer to your body

3. Widen your running stance

PHYSICAL THERAPY
If you have tried the above, but this is still a nagging issue for you - it may be time to see out professional care. 

A physical therapist (PT)  is useful for ruling out other pathologies or issues that may be going on with your knee. On the first appointment, a PT may: 
1) Assess the mobility of your knee 
2) Observe you do activities like stairs, running, squatting, and single leg activities 
3) Test your relative hip and knee muscle strength



How long will it take to get better?

Ah, well, that depends. 

It depends on A LOT of factors, as most running injuries do. So there is no definitive time frame.

However, you should see improvement in pain within 2-3 weeks if you are faithful with strengthening and adjusting the amount and intensity of your running.
If the issue is not getting better, or even worsening, then I encourage you to reach out, get advice, and take care of yourself before the issue becomes part of you and impacts your exercise routine. 

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I hope you found this helpful and informative! Please reach out at [email protected] for more questions or in depth discussion regarding this or any topic. 

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Sources:
Wiley R, Holland L, Barton C et al. Patellofemoral Pain Clinical Practice Guideline. JOSPT. 2019.