Runners Knee

Have you been trying to run more this summer and felt slowed down by some knee pain. You are certainly not the only one with this problem. Oftentimes it is not because of a structural issue, but of a load issue, which is much easier to manage! Decreasing your mileage in the short term and strengthening your quads and glutes may be all you need to get back on track. As always it’s best to come in for an evaluation to confirm that this is what you have! This is a much better strategy than stretching and foam rolling for hours on end. Here are three exercises to get you back on track:

1. Wall sit - holding just above the level of pain for up to one minute

2. Banded knee extension - 15-20 reps per side

3. Glute Bridges - the further the feet are away from the body the more hamstring recruitment you will get. 

These are just a few starting points to get the knee moving again. From here it is important to ramp up the intensity into loaded squats. 

If you are experiencing any knee pain come in for a visit and we can figure out if this is truly the problem you have going on or if it is something else that we can treat. We will also begin to customize both your home exercise program and your running program to make sure you are safely getting back into the rhythm of running. 

A safe expectation for an issue like this is going to be 6 weeks to build up strength. You can still run during those 6 weeks but we will build you back up slowly.