Runners Knee

If you are a runner and have ever suffered an injury to your knees, ankles, shins, or other areas that have stopped you from running, you understand how frustrating it can be to not be able to hit the trail.

Runners knee is one condition that can keep you seated, rather than out running your miles. There are a few things that my cause runners knee to flare up.

• Overuse from repeated bending.
• A hit to the knee or a fall.
• Misaligned bones can cause stress on your knee joint causing pain and sometimes leading to damage.
• Flat feet, overpronation, or fallen arches, can all cause runners knee to flare up. Muscles such as your thigh muscles that are weak will cause extra stress on your knee joints.

The pain that is caused by runner’s knee may be felt behind, or around the kneecap, and usually occurs when bending your knee such as when you run.

You may also experience uncomfortable noises such as popping or grinding that can signal the onset of runner’s knee. If you feel you may have symptoms of runner’s knee it is a good idea to get a diagnosis from your doctor. This is usually completed through a physical exam. If the doctor cannot detect an issue with a physical exam he may ask that an X-ray or MRI be done.

There are things you can do to speed up recovery when it comes to the pain and discomfort of runner’s knee and most minor to moderate runner’s knee diagnosis will improve over time. Ice, Rest and strengthen the muscle around your knee joint by wearing the Pflexx Knee Exerciser with its build in resistance it will help you return to a fitter lifestyle faster.

When you feel you are ready to hit the trail again, take it slow, work up to the miles you used to run by starting with walking/running intervals. Once you feel your knee is coping well and there is no pain, build up mile by mile. This will keep you from re-injuring your knee, sending you back to the couch.