Most knee injuries in runners are the result of overuse, changes in your running routine, or wear and tear. Runner's knee is also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome – It is an overuse injury and most commonly, running related injury. Runner's knee means that you have dull pain around the front of the
knee.
What causes Runner’s knee?
overuse and overload of the patellofemoral joint,
anatomical or biomechanical abnormalities,
muscular weakness, imbalance or dysfunction.
What are the most Common Symptoms?
Pain in and around the kneecap that happens when you are active.
Or pain after sitting for a long time with the knees bent.
This sometimes causes weakness or feelings of instability.
Rubbing, grinding, or clicking sound of the kneecap that when you bend and straighten your knee
Kneecap gets tender to the touch
Pattern of pain
Subjective Finding Possible Clinical reasoning Pain only during activity Think biomechanics Pain only after activity especially much later or next day Think inflammatory Pain that improves with exercise Think tendon/ muscle length
Can we prevent Runner’s knee?
Yes, we can prevent runner’s knee by not overstressing your knees. You can do this by:
Losing weight if needed
Stretching before running
Increasing your activities gradually
Wearing good running shoes
Running leaning forward with your knees bent
Treatment
The best course of treatment for runner's knee is to stop running until you can run again without pain. Other treatment may include:
· Analgesics
· Cold packs
· Elevating the leg
· Compression knee wrap
· Stretching exercises
· Strengthening exercises
· foot orthoses
· patellar taping
· manual therapy
Pain-free exercises to strengthen Quadriceps are very important when treating Runner’s knee. Isometric exercises while the knee is fully extended can be used at the beginning of the therapy, as it minimizes stress on the patellofemoral-joint while reinforcing the Quadriceps. Example,
SLR or Straight Leg Raise exercise
Pillow squeeze exercises
Is it OK to run if I have Runner’s knee?
Avoid doing any intense running, such as long runs, intervals or speed work, as these may cause further damage to your knee and increase inflammation. Better to meet your Physical Therapist before you resume running.
We, at Valley Healing Hands provide the best physical therapy for runner’s knee in Brownsville, Texas and our therapists will be happy to assist you in getting over your pain.