Knee pain when running

Introduction

Getting an injury to the knee while running is nothing to be alarmed about. Although this kind of knee injury seems to happen quite frequently, it is not true that it cannot be avoided. But when it does happen, it is usually a temporary and far from the serious matter which can be corrected quite simply when proper care is introduced.

Causes

Runner’s knee is probably the injury that most often occurs to runners. It is likely to affect those runners who are just beginning training in a more demanding category. The sustained injury is followed by severe pain which subsides after a few days of rest. However, when runner’s knee is in question, rather than a momentary injury to the knee, the pain is likely to come right back just as soon as the runner tries running again. It reaches its culmination when going downward in any way, whether it is running or simply going down the stairs. The knee also makes a kind of a crunching sound while walking.

The causes of this kind of injury do not originate from the knee itself, but from either the thighs or the feet, and this injury is a sign that the runner’s technique is flawed in some way. Anyhow, this kind of injury is mostly just unpleasant, because it is neither serious nor hard to treat. The first thing to do is apply an ice package or an ice-cold compress, as soon as the injury is sustained. After the swelling has decreased and the feeling in the leg becomes pleasantly numb, it is good to take some anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen. Finally, prior to going to bed, it is a good idea to put a warm cloth on the knee and hold it there for about an hour.

The kind of injury that arises from Iliotibial band syndrome happens because the runner has probably put himself under too much strain and done some excessive training. It affects the tissue that is located on the outside of the knee and the pain following it is localized. The nature and manifestation of this sort of pain differs from the typical ones, as it is not followed by swelling or any similar symptom, but it is periodic, often occurring at the exact same running distance.

Once the symptoms of this type of injury are recognized, there is not much to be done but to provide the knees the much-needed rest and relaxation so that they can make up for the damaged tissue.