Common running injuries and how to avoid them? Runners Knee
INTRODUCTION
Varying statistics tell us that between 70-85% of runners get injured every year. Common areas of the body get injured and sometimes those injuries are recurring for a good portion of those runners.
The injuries range from running too fast, weaknesses in muscles, tendon injuries, impact injuries, overuse injuries, injuries caused by lack of rest and recovery, injuries caused by our footwear, running when overly stressed, lack of awareness of your own body, environmental injuries from slips and falls or other accidents.
A lot of these injuries can be prevented by being proactive with strength, mobility, training volume, training intensity and listening to your body.
This is going to be the first in a series looking at common injuries and how you can prevent them.
Let’s have a look at the first injury known as Runner’s knee…
COMMON INJURIES
Before I get into these injuries I just want to clear up that this is in no way a self-diagnosis post. If you are suffering from any of these issues mentioned then please see your local GP or physiotherapist to get a professional diagnosis and treatment plan. This post is intended to be a proactive post to prevent your body from getting these injuries. So be proactive and work on the things I’m going to talk about and you can avoid these injuries.
Runner’s knee (patellofemoral syndrome)
Runners knee is one of the most common injuries caused by running. It is probably the injury that I hear people tell me the most that they have suffered from and most people that have stopped running complain of having had Runner’s knee and thats what made them stop running.
Runner’s knee is an overuse injury that results in pain around the knee cap or in the front of the knee. It can be a dull ache during or after running and is worsened by periods of sitting and sometimes the cold weather.
Weaknesses in the hips, quads and tibialis anterior (shin muscle) and bio-mechanical (how the joint moves) issues can increase your risk of runners knee.
How to prevent Runner’s knee?
By strengthening the following areas we can lower your risk of injury in the knee.
Strengthen the hip flexors at the front and the muscles down the side of the leg around the hip with knee drive exercises. Running drills like skips, standing one leg knee pulses bodyweight and with bands, standing one leg hip rotations, standing one leg kick variations.
Strengthen quads with single leg squats, lunge variations (front, back, lateral and curtsy lunges), stepping exercises (weighted and bodyweight stepups), isometric holds like chair pose, horse stance, warrior 2 in yoga.
Strengthen the tibialis anterior (shin muscle that helps primarily to stabilise the ankle and secondary to stabilise the knee as a result of that stability at the ankle) with yoga balance poses like tree, dancer pose, flamingo, airplane, anything that involves a slightly bent knee so you can feel the shin working. Also, seated toe lifts and toe lift holds. Lifting the toes up to your head to feel the shin muscle working and either doing repetitions or holds of that to build strength in that area.
When you have stronger muscles in the supporting areas around the knee these will take more of the forces and help out with the workload of running which reduces the impact and workload of the knee. I can coach you through a tailored 1-2-1 strength training session online through video call or in-person. Message me to know more about how this coaching works.
Checking that you’re not a heel striker is also a good way to reduce your risk of runners knee. If you are heel striking then you are going to create more impact and damage to the knee. Overtime that will create the pain associated with this problem. I recently did a podcast episode about filming yourself, how to do it and what the benefits are. This is something that I do daily with clients. I video them and then analyse and illustrate to the runner what is happening and what we can do to improve their running form. You can have your running form analysed online by sending me a video or in-person. Message me for more on this…
Ensure that you are not overtraining as this is a common way to give yourself an overuse injury like Runner’s knee. You’ve got to know what the right amount of running and what intensity is right for your body. The thing about overtraining is that it is individual based on many different factors so there is no set generic standard. If you’re not sure how much and how far you should be running then message me and I will help you figure that out.
SUMMARY
Strengthen the muscles above and below the knee to help support it. Strengthening the hips and thighs as well as the shin will help you reduce your risk of runner’s knee.
Have your running form checked to uncover any bio-mechanical issues in your running gait. These can be corrected and reduce your risk of injuring your knee.
Ensure that you are not overtraining. Doing too much can cause an overuse injury in the joint like runner’s knee.
Interested in 1-2-1 coaching online or in-person to work with me on improving your strength, improving your running form and consulting on your training plan then message me:
ashfoster1983@gmail.com
Insta: @runbetterwithashfoster
Online: runbetterwithash.com
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I shall speak to you in the next episode my fellow runners!