Runner’s Knee – A Painful Experience You Can Avoid If You Follow These Rules

By
David S
-

With the arrival of spring and summer, many people take advantage of sunny weather to exercise outside, with running being one of their favorite outside workouts. Although running has countless benefits for our entire bodies, there are some typical injuries that can occur no matter if you’re just a casual jogger or a long-distance runner, and one of them is runner’s knee, a painful injury of the knee cartilage. The symptoms include a dull, aching pain under or behind the kneecap and a swelling or grinding sensations in the knee.  

Here are 5 tips on how to prevent it. 

Take it Easy  

Have a thorough warm-up before taking a run and always stretch afterward. This injury is usually caused by overuse of the knee.  

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“𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “𝐌𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞…⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ “𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ If you have ever had a knee injury, you know exactly what I’m talking about. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ If your knees don’t trust you, here is why:⁣⁣⁣⁣ 1. You don’t know how to earn their trust. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 2. You don’t think it’s possible. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 3. You don’t train them respectfully in different ranges of motion. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 4. You don’t train them respectfully at different speeds. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 5. You don’t train them respectfully at different angles. ⁣⁣⁣ 6. You don’t train them respectfully with different loads.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Get this: ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Your knees think you cheated on them. That’s right. You heard me. They don’t trust you for sh*t. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ You try to do something and they pull out the ‘talk to the hand’ attitude and say, “Heeeellllll nahhhhh, we aren’t doing that. We never recovered from the last injury. We’ll make you hurt more AND SOONER, just in case you’re getting any crazy ideas.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ This is how the brain works. It’s very protective and quite frankly a big wussy about it. It thinks keeping you immobile and in pain is the wisest thing for you, just in case. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Here’s the good news:⁣⁣⁣ If:⁣⁣⁣⁣ 1. You DO know how to earn their trust. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 2. You DO think it’s possible. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 3. You DO train them respectfully in different ranges of motion.⁣⁣⁣ 4. You DO train them respectfully at different speeds. ⁣⁣⁣ 5. You DO train them respectfully at different angles. ⁣⁣⁣ 6. You DO train them respectfully with different loads.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ In. Out. Around. Slow. Fast. Big. Little. All the ways.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ I promise you, change will occur. ⁣⁣⁣ You will astound yourself at how far you can progress. YOU ARE IN CONTROL. You govern your brain, you govern your results. Your injury does NOT define you and it is NOT “just the way it is.”⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Try these simple #1minutemobility drills everyday and you will see the difference. For yourself. Train your knees to trust you again. Do not skip the skin stimulation prior to moving. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Now go get em’ tiger. Earn their trust! 🤝 Tag someone who needs this and share with them 🏋🏻‍♀️🤾🏽‍♀️⛷🏄🏻‍♀️🧘🏼‍♂️

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Vary Your Exercise Routine 

This will help you prevent overusing the knees. The best alternative for running is swimming. 

Wear Good Shoes 

Invest in a pair of good sneakers or orthotic shoe inserts and try to run on tartan or ground instead of concrete. 

Fix Your Weak Spots 

Don’t forget to do some proprioceptive exercises which will strengthen your tendons. 

Try Beef Gelatine  

Some beef gelatine can do wonders for your cartilage. Put it in a cool liquid, then slowly heat it to dissolve gelatine crystals.