Sports injuries are never fun, but running can be especially tough on the knees. Some of the most common injuries from running include patellar tendinitis, runner’s knee, iliotibial band syndrome, and iliopsoas bursitis. The good news is that there are many ways to prevent and treat these common injuries. When you know how to make your running more comfortable, you will be able to stay healthy.
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What are the Common Injuries when Running?
The most common running injury is the stress fracture, which occurs when you push yourself too hard and then your bones don’t have enough time to grow back. Common injuries include the following:
- Runners Knee. Runner’s knee, or patellofemoral syndrome, is a common overuse injury in sports that involves running or jumping. It can cause pain around your kneecap and sometimes in the front of your knee.
- IT Band Syndrome. IT band syndrome is a common issue for runners. It is caused by repetitive friction of the IT band rubbing against your leg bone, which could be because of tight muscle groups in that area, weak gluteal muscles, or abdominals.
- Meniscal Tear. Meniscal tears are often painful and noticeable, which means they can be a sign of a more serious condition. The sensation is usually that your knee has locked up or feels numb.
- Stress Fracture. A small crack in a bone causes pain, discomfort, and slow recovery. The pain gets worse with activity or stress on the injury. Rest is important to help heal the injury and improve recovery time after weeks of use.
- Muscle Pull. This can be caused by overstretching a muscle. It will often feel like a pop when the muscle tears.
How to Prevent Knee Injuries?
Knee injuries are a problem for people of all levels and can take away your ability to go out and enjoy the things you typically do. Here is some advice on how to prevent troublesome knee injuries by applying these tips:
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Maintain a Healthy Weight
Extra weight puts a lot of stress on your joints, making you more susceptible to knee injury or chronic pain and even leading to conditions like osteoarthritis.
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Wear the Right Shoes
High heels can lead to added stress on your knees, which is why you should wear flats or pumps instead. This tip also mentions that when we exercise, it’s really important that we find a good shoe for our feet and activities.
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Exercise
High-impact activities, such as working out at the gym or playing contact sports, increase your risk of knee injuries. Consider supplementing high-impact activities with low-impact alternatives like swimming, which offers a great cardiovascular workout.
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Do the Stretching
You should always stretch your legs before exercising, whether it’s for serious athletic training or just recreation. Stretch out your hamstrings, calf muscles, and quadriceps to help loosen them up so that you don’t put pressure on the knees when you exercise.
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Be Mindful About Your Posture
When you’re strengthening your leg muscles, make sure to use proper form. Our healthcare professionals can help critique your technique and ensure that the weight is evenly distributed.
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Wear Knee Guards
One of the simplest things you can do to avoid injuries, like knee blows and fractures, is by wearing protection. If you’re worried about how they look or have kids who are learning how to walk and fall a lot – it might be a good idea for them to start wearing these too.
Many people who run and have knee pain think that they need to work on their knees in order to relieve the knee pain. This isn’t true. The truth is you need to focus on strengthening your hip. If you have better strength and stability in your hip, it will take more of a load compared to your knee, and will decrease knee pain from running.
Regress the exercise by just doing single-leg standing. Stand on one leg with your knee bent. We are working on the hip, knee, and ankle, so we are focusing on ankle stability, knee stability, and hip stability. Do five repetitions on each side, holding for about 15 seconds. Progress up to a minute.
Folding Helicopter
If you feel that you are not getting enough of a challenge, you can progress to the folding helicopter. Stand with good balance across your foot, bend your knee, and square your hips. Drop your hip and then raise it back up. You can use the wall for balance. Progress by moving away from support, so not using the wall or the stick.
So if you have knee pain from running, give that exercise a go. Remember to focus on hip strengthening as opposed to working on your knee.
Running is a great way to stay healthy, build up your fitness level, and stay fit. You might be experiencing some knee pain from running, I know it’s not fun! Running can cause knee problems or other injuries if you do not take the proper precautions.
If you are suffering from any kind of knee discomfort and want to end your knee pain permanently, then click here to check out the Knee Pain Solved program.
