Why Do My Knees Hurt After Running
Why do you run? Because it feels good. Because it relieves stress. Because it enables you to eat cake. I get that, because running is also important to me. Im a 32-time marathoner who knows how frustrating it is to be injured. Its the reason I became a sports doctor. Ripping my anterior cruciate ligament playing football when I was in medical school was devastating, but it was the single most important event to influence my work. Its what drives me to help my patients. Almost every day I treat runners with achy knees. Many are freaked out: can I still run? Will I have to switch to swimming? Thankfully, most knee problems wont keep you off the road for long. Heres what you need to know about common knee injuries.
Knee Pain And Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy, or proliferation therapy, involves injecting an irritant into a tendon, muscle, or joint to promote the growth of new tissue.
Typically, either a sugar solution or a purified form of cod liver oil is injected every few weeks for several months. The idea is that by irritating the surrounding tissue, you can encourage the body to heal itself.
Researchers have tested prolotherapy on all kinds of muscle and joint pain, including . . .
. . . and the best we can really say is that it might help reduce pain for some problems, but most of the time it either doesnt work or the benefits are so small its impossible to tell.
The underlying mechanism for why prolotherapy might work has also never been proven, and studies show that theres no increase in cartilage growth after prolotherapy injections.
The bottom line is that prolotherapy probably doesnt reduce knee pain, and almost certainly isnt worth the cost, inconvenience, and discomfort of having to get repeated injections.
What You Need To Know
- The most common causes of knee pain are related to aging, injury or repeated stress on the knee.
- Common knee problems include sprained or strained ligaments, cartilage tears, tendonitis and arthritis.
- Diagnosing a knee injury or problem includes a medical examination and usually the use of a diagnostic procedure such as an x-ray, MRI, CT scan or arthroscopy.
- Both non-operative and surgical treatment options are available to treat knee pain and problems depending on the type and severity of the condition.
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Protection Rest Ice Compression And Elevation
Rest, ice, compression, and elevation may help treat mild knee pain that results from a soft tissue injury, such as a sprain.
Protection refers to protecting the knee from further injury, for example, by taking a break from the activity that caused it.
Rest can reduce the risk of further injury and give tissues time to heal. However, stopping all movement is not advisable, as this can lead to stiffness and, in time, muscle weakness.
Ice can help reduce swelling and inflammation. It should be wrapped in a cloth and applied for 20 minutes several times on the first day of injury. Never put ice directly the skin, as this can lead to further damage.
Compression with a knee support, for example, can increase comfort levels. The support or bandage should be firm but not tight.
Elevation, or keeping the leg raised, will encourage circulation and reduce swelling. Ideally, the knee should be above the level of the heart.
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The Unlock Your Hip Flexors program is designed to bring you all the benefits of looser hip flexors with greater strength, power and flexibility.
But its benefits are multiplied when combined with a holistic diet to naturally alleviate pains, aches, soreness and stiffness by tackling inflammation caused by injury or environmental toxins in our food and water.
Your diet is one of the major causes of inflammatory responses leading to health deteriorating.
You can instantly improve your body’s response to inflammation by choosing the right foods that work with your body to stimulate your natural healing response.
The 7-Day Anti-Inflammatory Diet is a Done-For-You nutrition program featuring diet recommendations, meal plans, shopping lists and supplement tips to help your body automatically heal itself.
In as little as 24 hours, your body will switch on its natural healing process rather than causing pain and inflammation which can lead to many chronic diseases and health problems.
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When Should I See A Pain Management Specialist
You should consult with a pain management specialist if your acute knee pain seems to be transitioning into chronic pain. Generally, this is when the pain lasts longer than 90 days, but it could be sooner. Pain that lasts longer than expected for the condition you have is a warning sign that the pain is becoming chronic.
Pain management specialists can provide diagnosis and treatment on their own or in consultation with other health care providers. These may include your primary care physician, orthopedist, rheumatologist, or physical therapist.
Orthopedists treat problems related to bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Rheumatologists specialize in the nonsurgical treatment of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Physical therapists use exercises and stretches, movement training, medical massage, and other hands-on techniques to help patients increase mobility, ease pain, and protect against further injury.
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Hip Hinge Hand Behind Back
Get set up standing with your hand resting behind your back in a comfortable position. Begin the exercise by performing a hip hinge followed by standing tall and reaching out and back behind you with the other arm. This exercise is a 2 for 1 movement, in which you are also improving the functional internal rotation of the shoulder by having the shoulder in a static position and moving from a differing joint in the body! It could be a good way to start acclimating yourself to IR movements if you have more symptoms with this movement.
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What Treatments Can Provide Pain Relief
The nature of your injury will guide the treatment. So will your preferences. It is best to consider the full menu of options available. These include:
Physician anesthesiologists are committed to patient safety and high-quality care, and have the necessary knowledge to understand and treat the entire human body.
Exercise And Physical Therapy
Exercise and physical therapy may be prescribed to improve strength and flexibility. Exercises may include strengthening exercises such as riding a stationary bike and stretching exercises such as flexing the ankle up and down, tightening and holding thigh muscles, sliding the heel forward on the floor, leg lifts, and knee extensions.
Exercise can strengthen your leg muscles and reduce your pain. If you really need knee surgery, this may not help, but many forms of knee pain can be mitigated by exercise.
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How Are Knee Problems Diagnosed
In addition to a complete medical history and physical exam, other tests for knee problems may include:
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X-ray. This test uses invisible electromagnetic energy beams to make images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film.
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Magnetic resonance imaging . This test uses large magnets, radiofrequencies, and a computer to make detailed images of organs and structures within the body can often determine damage or disease in a surrounding ligament or muscle.
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Computed tomography scan . This test uses X-rays and computer technology to make horizontal, or axial, images of the body. A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body, including the bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more detailed than general X-rays.
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Arthroscopy. A minimally-invasive diagnostic and treatment procedure used for conditions of a joint. This procedure uses a small, lighted, optic tube , which is inserted into the joint through a small incision in the joint. Images of the inside of the joint are projected onto a screen used to evaluate any degenerative or arthritic changes in the joint to detect bone diseases and tumors to determine the cause of bone pain and inflammation.
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Radionuclide bone scan. A nuclear imaging technique that uses a very small amount of radioactive material, which is injected into the patient’s bloodstream to be detected by a scanner. This test shows blood flow to the bone and cell activity within the bone.
You Ignore Pain Flare
If youre suffering from arthritis or a minor knee injury, you should take care to treat pain flare-ups. Treating the pain when it happens can help manage it. Follow the RICE procedure rest, ice, compression, elevation to calm your knee pain.
If your knee hurts, stop what youre doing and rest. Apply ice to reduce inflammation, consider wearing a compression bandage, and elevate your knee when resting.
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Ways To Reduce And Prevent Knee Pain
At this point youre probably thinking, Great, so what the hell am I supposed to do about my knee?
Well, thats what youre about to learn.
There are seven things you can do that will reduce knee pain in most cases. None of them are guaranteed fixes, but theyre your best options.
The first technique is by far the most reliable. After that, the remaining six fall into the category of throw it at the wall and see what sticks. They might help, but theyre also unlikely to hurt, so theres no harm in trying them.
How To Protect Your Knees
Move more/You never want to stay in the same position for hours, says Schmidt. Stand up on the pedals, slide back in the saddle, and shift around every 10 minutes or so, he adds, especially as terrain changes. Varying things refreshes the system and keeps pain from setting in.
Increase cadence /When youre pedaling slow and hard, youre only going to put more stress on the knee, says Schmidt. So spin light and fast. Shift into an easier gear and increase your cadence to 90 to 100 rpm for relief.
Pay attention to pain / Most of the time, ignoring pain wont cause irreparable damage, but it may prolong recovery time, says Feldman. And the more time you rehab, the less time you can spend on the road. If your knee hurts on the bike, cut your ride short, and assess what you can do to fix it.
Follow a maintenance program / Use the moves in this article twice a week to strengthen your hip flexors, glutes, and core. And warm up before every ride by pedaling easy for 10 to 20 minutes and activating those same areas, says Baptiste.
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Knee Pain And Corticosteroid Injections
Cortisone is a kind of steroid that reduces inflammation. A corticosteroid injection, or cortisone shot, is an injection of cortisone into a tendon to reduce inflammation and pain.
Theyre often used for joint pain such as carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, and low-back pain.
Cortisone shots can reduce inflammation and knee pain in the short term, but as soon as the drugs start to wear off, the pain returns.
A recent review conducted by researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland analyzed 27 studies on cortisone shots for knee pain. The result?
Cortisone shots sometimes reduce knee pain for a few weeks, but the effects are small, unreliable, and short-lived.
Steroid injections also have risks.
Some researchers also think theres a link between cortisone shots and tendon damage, and other studies have shown that people who get cortisone shots heal slower than people who simply rest.
The link between cortisone shots and joint damage isnt airtight, but its not comforting, either.
The bottom line is that, in most cases, cortisone shots arent going to reduce your knee pain for long, wont do anything to heal your knee, and usually arent worth the cost, inconvenience, and risk.
Caring For Your Knee At Home Over The Long Term
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How To Fix Knee Pain
This article was medically reviewed by Troy A. Miles, MD. Dr. Miles is an Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in Adult Joint Reconstruction in California. He received his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2010, followed by a residency at the Oregon Health & Science University and fellowship at the University of California, Davis. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and is a member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgery, and the North Pacific Orthopaedic Society.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 51,427 times.
Knee pain is a common complaint among Americans and affects all ages, but often for different reasons. In younger people, knee pain is usually the result of an injury, such as a sprained ligament, tendinitis or torn cartilage. In older people, medical conditions such arthritis, gout and infections are more common causes of knee pain.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Most types of knee pain can be managed at home with self-care treatments however, in some cases, medical intervention is needed, including surgical repair.
Pain Gradually Came On
A gradual onset of knee pain usually indicates an underlying problem that may have been there for a while without you realising. Sometimes, the knee will cope with a developing problem for so long, and then for no obvious reason will start being uncomfortable. It may be knee arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis or wear and tear
In the Common Knee Conditionssection we look at common knee problems, what causes them, typical knee symptoms and how to treat them.
Knee injuries are often caused by:
- A Force Through The Knee e.g. from a fall or a tackle or
- Sudden Deceleration e.g. stopping suddenly causing the leg to bend too far backwards
- Twisting e.g. skiing
These most commonly result in knee injuries to the ligaments and/or cartilage.Pain is usually instant, or certainly comes on within 24-48 hours and may be accompanied by swelling and bruising.
Visit the Common Knee Injuriessection to find out more including symptoms and treatment options for different injuries to help you make an accurate knee pain diagnosis.
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Exercises To Relieve Anterior Knee Pain
Knee pain that occurs due to muscle weakness or tightness can be hard to pin down, but one thing is for sure: Anterior knee pain is common.
“When someone is experiencing anterior knee pain, he or she will often grab or point to the kneecap when describing where the pain is located,” says Dr. Brooks. “Generally speaking, it’s pain around or under the kneecap.”
According to Dr. Brooks, anterior knee pain is most commonly caused by arthritis under the kneecap or tightness or weakness in one or more of the following muscles:
- Core muscles as this places additional weight-bearing stress on the lower back and quadriceps muscles
- Gluteal/hip muscles as this causes the hips to turn inward, placing a sideways stress on the kneecap and quadriceps muscles and tendon
- Hamstring muscles as this causes an imbalance in the muscle forces across the knee, placing more stress on the quadriceps muscles for knee movement and stability
- Quadriceps muscles as weakness places more stress on the bone and joint itself to maintain stability tightness prevents full movement or excursion of the tendons, applying greater pressure to the kneecap
In addition, anterior knee pain can be caused by IT band tightness in runners, cyclists and hikers.
Closed-chain leg strengthening includes exercises where your foot remains in contact with the surface you’re exercising on, such as:
- Walking
- A feeling of buckling or giving out
- Being stuck in one position and unable to release your knee from that position
What Is The Treatment For Knee Pain
Treatments for knee pain are as varied as the conditions that can cause the pain.
Medications
Medications might be prescribed to treat an underlying medical condition or for pain relief.
If you are taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medications regularly for your knee pain, you should see your doctor to be evaluated.
Physical therapy
Sometimes physical therapy sessions to strengthen the muscles around the knee will make it more stable and help guarantee the best mechanical movements. Working with a physical therapist can help avoid injuries or further worsening of an injury.
Injections
Injecting medications directly into your knee might help in certain situations. The two most common injections are corticosteroids and lubricants. Corticosteroid injections can help arthritis and other inflammations of the knee. They usually need to be repeated every few months. Lubricants that are similar to the fluid already in your knee joint can help with movement and pain.
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