Understanding and Treating Runner's Knee

As one of the most common running injuries, runner's knee can hamper a person experience on the roads or trails endlessly. Defined as a wearing away of the cartilage under the kneecap, resulting in the kneecap failing to move smoothly over the knee, runner's knee causes considerable pain and inflammation. Often the knee will swell, and the discomfort occurs most readily after running that involves heavy knee flexing, such as hill work.

Runners who suffer from the ailment normally are overpronators who cause their knees to twist inward in an unnatural manner. They may also have weak quadriceps that fail properly to guide the kneecap, or they might have easily fixed external concerns such as poorly fitting shoes, worn out shoes, or an over-trained body that has had insufficient rest.

Treating runner's knee can begin at home, with full recovery happening in four to six weeks. First, stop running immediately and rest the injury. Begin a cycle of a week's worth of ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation, and spend time icing the area to cut down on the swelling. While keeping the knee elevated as much as possible, use self-massage around the outside of the knee, then incorporate a series of easy stretches. When the knee is pain-free, begin a strengthening program of squats and step-downs. Gradually go back to running, but keep it easy and non-aggressive, remaining on flat, soft surfaces.

If the treatments do not work, consulting a doctor, an orthopedic surgeon or a physiotherapist, is critical. The damage may be beyond simple repair, and for some runners, surgery to scrape out and smooth the cartilage under the kneecap is a very real option.

In efforts to avoid the onset of runner's knee, try stretching, long, slow, relaxed movements with the quadriceps and hamstrings, two to three times per day, especially before and after running. Begin a weight program that seeks to strengthen the muscles that impact the knee: the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Invest in quality shoes, which, in all likelihood, will be motion control sneakers that assist in the stabilization of overpronation. And, as always, make sure ample rest is part of any running program.

Source:
www.time-to-run.com