The most common causes of knee pain are related to old age, sports injuries and physical stress on the knee. Sports injuries, as a result of running, range from sprained ligaments to meniscus tears or tendonitis to name a few. However, this can be prevented if you practice good habits to care for your knee. If you have been suffering from knee pain during your run, here are a few great tips and techniques that may help you reduce the strain on your knees and allow you to go on your daily run without experiencing pain in the knee:
Warm Up Before Your Running
An intense stretch before running has excellent benefits and prepares your knees for the intensity of running. It does not have to be too long and can be great for preserving your knees. The progressive growth from warmup to the run will help stimulate joint lubricant, which is essential for the smooth connection between the kneecap and the femur below the kneecap.
Warming up will also activate the crucial muscles near the hips and glutes responsible for providing solidity and firmness for your knees when you run. Some great and simple exercises to activate your muscles for running include air squats, knee bends, and marching on the spot.
Run On Trails Instead Of The Road
Running is a heavy activity, and our knees’ repetitive pounding can lead to injuries. If you are only running on roads and pathways, there will be minimal variation in the loading your knees receive from each stride. But if you begin including different forms of terrain, such as a running trail, your entire body will receive a complete workout.
More often than so, runners who run on trails have fewer repetitive injuries due to overuse of the knees due to the unpredictability of the terrain they run in. Therefore, make a few of your runs every week to be off-road.
Increase Your Run Intensity Slowly
Even the most robust and best-equipped runners may get punished for knee overuse if they over-exert themselves. If you feel that your running sessions are too frequent and your running distances are too much, with minimal time for your legs to recover between your runs, you may be prone to an overuse injury.
As a rule of thumb, you should progressively increase the intensity of your run by ten per cent every two weeks or so if you run a few times a week. It will work wonders for you and prepare your body for increased intensity. Take it slower if you cannot keep up with your running schedule and may need more time to progress. Allow yourself to adapt to your desired performance while running, and never rush it. The worst thing you could do is start your running routine late and then force improvements instantaneously.
Conclusion
We hope this list of great tips will help you prevent knee pain from running. However, if you are currently suffering from severe knee pain, it may be due to soft tissue injuries of the knee and misalignment of the knee cap. In that case, chiropractic treatment may be good to help with this issue.
If you are looking for chiropractic treatment for knee pain, Healing Hands Chiropractic is here to help! We specialize in non-invasive treatment to reduce pain in our chiropractic clinic by aligning your knee cap, boosting the healing process of soft tissue injuries, and improving your quality of life. Please speak with us today to learn more about our services.
