Why Does My Knee Hurt When I Jump

Best Rebounder For Bad Knees

Remember we told you we would discuss the choice of trampolines in more detail? Here is where we will do that.

When you go to purchase a trampoline, you might be given two choices one with springs and one without. The trampoline with springs is not the best choice for someone with bad knees. The reason is that the spring trampoline doesnt absorb the impact of the bounce as much as the springless one does.

Someone with bad knees requires an easy workout that wont strain their knees too much. With a spring trampoline, you wont get this result. A springless trampoline will make the bouncing easier and more flexible. So you wont feel like youre chained to the trampoline. This is what will benefit your knees eventually.

What To Do If Your Knee Hurts When Bending

More than a quarter of adults suffer from regular bouts of knee pain. Its really no surprise as our knees handle a tremendous amount stress day-to-day.1-2 Scientists have found that for every pound of bodyweight, our knees are subjected to up to seven pounds of pressure when they are bent or in weight-bearing.3 If youre here, it is because youve noticed that your knee hurts when bending it, is painful walking down stairs and feels uncomfortable while squatting. The fix for this really depends on the diagnosis. Below are some common causes of knee pain.

Why Am I Feeling The Catching While Walking

The catching/locking sensation is a normal symptom to be experiencing with a meniscal injury, and this is due to the tear in the cartilage. Normally the cartilage is smooth and flat, which allows the knee to move smoothly as you walk, but with a meniscal tear the cartilage is rough and may have a flap or piece sticking up making the bone catch on the cartilage.

As you walk, your knee bends and straightens with a nice smooth transition. However with a meniscal tear, the normal knee mechanics are interrupted due to the tear causing an uneven rough surface. The knee catching is simply due to the meniscus not being smooth like usual.

Also Check: Dcf Knee Compression Sleeve

What Is Jumpers Knee

Jumpers Knee, AKA patellar tendonitis, is caused by overuse or injury to the patellar tendon. When you overuse your knee, it can cause tiny tears to form in the patellar tendon, causing jumpers knee. This injury is more common in sports with a lot of running and jumping, including basketball, volleyball, and track and field.

Jumpers Knee is graded from 1 to 4 depending on how severe the injury is. Grade 1 means you have some pain when performing an activity, while grade 4 means you have constant pain. Noticing the symptoms and treating the injury early can prevent further damage!

In the diagram above, the first picture shows where patellar tendonitis is most likely to occur. If left untreated, patellar tendonitis can lead to a patellar tendon tear where the patella is pulled upward by the quadriceps.

Common Symptoms of Jumpers Knee

• Pain when bending the knee

Jumpers Knee Pain Relief

One of the most common methods to reduce the pain and swelling surrounding the injured area is the R.I.C.E. method. This acronym stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Achieve all four steps by lying down on your back with a Performa Hot & Cold Packs on and elevating your leg with the Rolyan Leg Elevating Splint. The cold pack compresses your knee, while the splint elevates your knee to reduce the blood flow. When youre not resting, its best to wear a brace or strap to compress the area, such as the Cramer Patellar Tendon Strap. Finally, get some pain relief by using a topical pain reliever like Biofreeze. Talk to your doctor for additional advice if needed.

Get everything you need for pain relief!

Recommended Reading: Best Knee Walker 2016

Change Your Workout To Treat Knee Pain

This is one of the best ways to stop knee pain from working out. You cant heal in the same environment that got you injured. If you dont change your program, you cant possibly start improving!

1- Reduce your reps. The first step toward recovery is to give your body a chance to heal. Doing more than ten sets per muscle group each week actually decreases your strength gains and sets you up for injuries. Stay below that number!

2- Reduce your weight load to a level that doesnt hurt. And stop doing lifts that hurt. You can still do exercises that dont cause pain. But try, for once, to not be the Type A person that ignores pain because you arent sure whether it would be worse to have a major injury or have nothing wrong and be crazy.

3- Try squatting with different foot positions. It might fix your angles! Just because your coach thinks everyones toes have to be at a 30-degree angle to your body doesnt make it right for everybody.

4- Have a coach analyze your movements. Even experienced lifters may not notice when their body is not moving optimally.

5- And switch to lower impact activity. If box jumps are killing you, switch to box step-ups!

What Are The Causes Of Knee Pain In Teenagers

Common knee pain problems in your teenager can be generally divided into three types:

• Anterior knee pain, also called patellofemoral pain.
• Injures to ligaments and tendons of the knee or to the kneecap itself.
• Medical conditions that affect the knee.

Anterior knee pain happens when your teens kneecap is pulled out of its groove from increased pressure. Increased pressure on the knee joint is caused by:

• Abnormal hip rotation due to imbalances in muscle strength and flexibility around the hips.
• Improper training methods or equipment.
• Poor flexibility of the thigh muscles, which support the knee joint. Thigh muscle weakness or tightness.
• Overuse of the knee from repetitive bending of the knee during running, jumping, and other activities.
• Problems with alignment, for example, the kneecap not being properly aligned within the knee or having flat feet, which changes the normal gait.

Knee pain resulting from sprains, strains and tears to ligaments and tendons or injuries to other soft tissues. These conditions include:

Medical conditions that can affect your teens knee include:

Also Check: Roller Knee Walker

Anterior Knee Pain Causes In Young Athletes:

Before you read this, it is worth repeating the majority of you will not have the issues that I outline below. The majority of you will have pain due to a gait abnormality or muscle imbalance. We all feel the need to have a specific label for why our knee hurts. Anterior knee pain due to muscle imbalance just doesnt cut if for some of you you want something more specific. I understand that.

The point I am trying to make is, if you assign the cause of your pain to a specific structural finding or something that your MRI report mentioned, then you may have difficulty getting past that and buying into the PT or exercise strategies that have been shown to work.

• Chondromalacia: Chondromalacia is likely a very early sign of arthritis. It involves the softening of the cartilage under your patella . As the cartilage softens, it is thought that it irritates other tissue in the knee with certain activities. Im not convinced that this is a common cause of anterior knee pain. Chondromalacia is very common, even in people with no pain.

We find chondromalacia in so many people at the time of surgery for other things, such as an ACL tear. And those people rarely have pain in the front of their knee. So it is not entirely clear why some people might have pain due to chondromalacia, and others do not. Surgery is rarely needed.

Anterior Knee Pain: The Basics

Pain in the front of the knee or anterior knee pain can affect people in all age groups. Approximately 25% of people will suffer from pain in the front of their knees at some time in their lives. I have seen teenagers who can longer participate in sports, and I have 70 years olds who can no longer walk downstairs without fear of their knee giving way. Why is our kneecap or patella so prone to bothering us like this?

The cause of anterior knee pain might vary based on your age, level of activity, and your chosen sports. We can see people who are inactive and suffer from pain in the front of the knee, and we can also see people who are highly trained and disciplined who are suffering from pain around the kneecap. The majority of people who have pain in the front of their knee do not recall any injury.

In the majority of cases of anterior knee pain, we do not find anything significant wrong with your X-rays or MRI scans. It seems that the pain in the front of the knee is often due to imbalances, weakness patterns, movement patterns, and complex issues that can take a while to figure out. Yes, some of you might have a cartilage defect or some early arthritis in the front of your knee but believe it or not, the majority of you will have pretty normal-appearing imaging studies. That has led to a significant change in our approach to anterior knee pain over the years.

Anterior knee pain is particularly common in young women and many runners.

Also Check: How To Use Ginger For Knee Pain

Most People Experience Knee Pain At Some Point In Their Lives While Some May Have Only Mild Or Sporadic Symptoms Others May Experience Knee Pain So Severe That It Interferes With Daily Activities Or Reduces Quality Of Life The Degree Of Knee Pain Youre Experiencing Usually Depends On The Complexity Of The Condition Or Injury

Here are five possible conditions that are common sources of knee pain:

How Can I Prevent Another Injury

It is very important to understand proper body mechanics to prevent re-injury or a new injury from occurring. The knee is very susceptible to injury due to the biomechanics of the knee joint only allowing 2 motions . The knee does NOT like to turn, twist, or laterally bend, but most movements we do throughout the day require us to turn, twist, and bend. So it is important to consider the stresses you are placing on your knee during these positions. Be cautious of the amount of twist and torque you are placing on the knee, because other injuries can occur like an ACL, PCL, MCL or LCL tear. Remember to maintain a proper bodyweight, exercise, and eat healthy foods to reduce the risk of injury and to keep your body functioning as well as it can.

Here is the knee brace I promised to link. Give it a try, I have heard great things from all my patients with meniscal injuries about how well it supports, stabilizes, and reduces their knee pain during the day.

You May Like: How Much Does Aflac Pay For Knee Surgery

When Will My Kneecap Start To Feel Better

One broad caveat to keep in the back of your mind. Many of you are thinking that a few weeks are enough time to start to see improvements with treatments such as exercise or physical therapy. Sadly thats not going to happen. It is not unusual for it to take 3-4 months before you start to see significant improvement in your pain. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for it to take 8-12 months for a complete resolution of your symptoms. This is important I wouldnt want to seek a surgeons consultation because 4-6 weeks of therapy and exercise left you with persistent pain.

Down below.. under coping strategies, we list a few things to try that can calm down your pain while we give the exercise time to work.

What Are The Symptoms Of Jumper’s Knee

Following are the most common symptoms of jumper’s knee. However, you may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

• Pain and tenderness around your patellar tendon
• Swelling
• Pain with jumping, running, or walking
• Pain when bending or straightening your leg
• Tenderness behind the lower part of your kneecap

The symptoms of jumper’s knee may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

Also Check: Inversion Table For Knee Pain

Can Knee Pain In Teens Be Prevented

Most knee pain that is caused by injury or overuse can be prevented with some attention and work by your teen, including:

• Make sure your teen wears proper shoes for the activity/sport and wears knee pads and leg guards . Replace worn out footwear and gear.
• Engage in muscle strength training exercises. Check with a trainer to make sure proper form and body alignment are being followed. Always do warm up and cool down exercises before and after workouts.
• Keep your muscles flexible by proper stretching exercises or yoga.
• Dont engage in activities that cause or worsen knee pain.

Causes And Risk Factors

Several different risk factors can make you more likely to develop chondromalacia patella in your knee. Individuals who are overweight are at greater risk due to the increased amount of stress placed on the joint. Females and people with a previous injurysuch as a fracture or dislocationto their knee cap are also more susceptible.

Often informally called runners knee,” chondromalacia patella is also more frequently seen in individuals who participate in endurance sports like running or biking. In this situation, muscular imbalances that cause the knee cap to track improperly in the femoral groove may lead to repetitive rubbing and irritation.

Don’t Miss: Ginger Poultice For Knee Pain

What Are The Symptoms Of Knee Pain In Teens

Symptoms depend on whats causing your teens knee pain.

Anterior knee pain:

• Pain begins gradually worsens with activity.
• Dull, aching pain behind the kneecap, below the knee or on sides of the kneecap.
• Pain flares and grinding sensation with repeat knee bending .
• Thigh muscle weakness .
• Knee buckles .

Trauma to knee:

• Popping, clicking, crackling in the knee when bending .
• Knee that locks or buckles.

Osgood-Schlatter disease:

• Pain on the bony prominence.
• Pain that varies and gets worse during or just after the activity.
• Reduced range of movement.

• Pain, tenderness and swelling at the bottom of the kneecap.
• Balance problems.

• Trouble putting weight on the affected leg limps first thing in the morning.
• Redness, swelling, warmth, stiffness and soreness in joints, including the knee.
• Symptoms come and go.

• Dull ache, stiffness and swelling at the knee.
• Joint clicking.

There Is No Easy Surgical Solution For Anterior Knee Pain

The mere fact that there are likely to be ten or more described surgical techniques to try and treat pain in the front of your knee should give you pause. That usually means that none have been very successful, so we keep trying new ones. Surgery for anterior knee pain has not been proven to be more effective than a proper exercise program.

Drilling:

Some procedures have drilled holes into the patella, thinking that excess pressure may have been the cause of pain. Did it work for some people? Maybe but with that pesky placebo thing, we always hear about, we dont know because this procedure was never tested against control or sham. Besides having holes drilled through your patella might cause it to break if you fall on it or if you are hit in front of your knee.

Burning:

One prolific Spanish author wrote about burning the tissues around the patella. We call that a denervation procedure. Thats because when you heat the tissues, you will fry the nerves to that region. The thought behind this procedure was that the patella is fed by nerves that could easily be burned using an arthroscopic approach. This procedure was also never evaluated against a control group or a sham group- so we just dont know if it works.

Cutting:

Moving:

Don’t Miss: Knees Crack When Doing Squats

Why Do My Legs Hurt While Jumping Rope

I used to skip in the past, but always ended up stopping after a week when I could no longer handle the pain in the lower legs, i.e. knees, shins, feet. Looking at these diagrams from Foottrainer.com:

I would say, most of the pains are at or close to the:

• Plantar aponeurosis
• Calcaneal tendon
• Tibialis anterior
• Plus knee pains

Will getting better footwear get rid of the buildup of pain, or do I need to do leg/feet specific stretching/warmups/cooldowns to stop the pain buildup?

In the past, I used to warm my legs up on the stationary bike, but did not do any stretching.

So I don’t know if the pain was because of the footwear, lack of leg/feet specific stretching or a combination of both?

Note: I am not in pain at the moment, the pain starts 1 day after jumping rope, and after that day, if I continue every day or every other day, the pain would continue to increase. It would take over a week of no jumping rope for the pains to subside.

• Ivo FlipseMar 25 ’11 at 12:28
• Can’t find an image to show this, but it seems to happen under the knee caps, but to the inner sides of the legs/knees. oshirowanenMar 25 ’11 at 12:47
• No problem at all. Even though I find jumping rope painful, I still find it to be the most non chore like cardio, i.e. I almost enjoy it, which is why I would love to know how to remove the pain factor, or atleast reduce it.

Based on all these guesses, I would try the following: