Health and Fitness

Why do runners get painful knees?

Discomfort from the knee of runners is easily the most frequent overuse injury which athletes have. Making up to about a quarter of the overuse injuries. It is more prevalent in women when compared with males. The name which is traditionally given to this condition is patellofemoral pain syndrome or simply runners knee. The patella is the knee cap and the femoral word is the femur bone that the kneecap moves on during motion of the knee while running. The condition needs to be taken seriously and dealt with adequately as there is a high correlation between this problem and osteoarthritis of the patellofemoral joint in as people get older.

The traditional symptoms tend to be a very gradual onset of a dull ache that steadily worsens. The pain sensation is generally at the back of the knee cap which is even worse if walking up stairs or running up slopes. Besides that, there is no defined diagnostic criteria for patellofemoral pain syndrome and the identification is mostly only applied after other possible reasons are already excluded. Characteristically, the pain come about after a period of an increase in working out or running volume that was too quick for your knee joint to adapt to those volumes. Additionally, it may come after a change in the running or training routine, like the changeover from road running to speed work in order to get ready for a competition. Feet which have overpronation or rolls in an excessive amount at the rearfoot can also be considered a consideration which increases the risk for the knee pain. Any lack of strength in the muscles across the hip joint are additionally a factor in patellofemoral pain syndrome.

The key approach to the treating of this in runners is knowledge. The athlete has to understand exactly what the character of the disorder is, what they really want to do with regards to modifying their training or workout volumes in order that there are no spikes with there workout amounts, as well as what the outcomes of the problem long-term as well as the importance to get over it as fast as possible.

To take care of the issue with the foot overpronation, foot orthotics to aid that and advice regarding the good athletic shoes may be required. They will need to be adapted to over time and might help reduce a lot of the stress on the knee which may be creating the knee pain. A podiatrist can deal with that.

The muscle strength and motor control around the hip is equally necessary and should be addressed. The physiotherapist can sort out this. The muscle groups that should be strengthened include those that abduct the hip joint as well as the quads at the front of the upper leg. Both these muscles are extremely essential in controlling the knee joint and then any lack of strength in them isn't only likely to predispose to the disorder, it is going to prolong the recovery. The proficiency of the runners to control the knee is also likely to be assessed and worked on by the physical therapist using a selection of exercises and running drills.

All of these issues ended up being recently hammered out by a specialist in patellofemoral pain syndrome, the physiotherapist Dr Christian Barton in a latest episode of the live chat, PodChatLive.