Running is a wonderful form of exercise and stress relief, but it also takes a toll on your body, particularly your knees. At Summit Orthopedics, the specialists with our sports and active medicine program provide the highest standard of care to help people throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul area recover from the full range of knee injuries from running. Starting with the most conservative options, we’ll find a treatment that can help you move past knee pain and get back to your active lifestyle.
5 Frequent Running-Related Knee Injuries
Some of the most common knee injuries from running our experts treat include:
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears: A sudden stop or change in direction while running are just two of the ways an ACL tear can occur. Tearing this ligament that helps control your knee’s forward and backward movement can cause pain, swelling and reduced range of motion. Sometimes, an ACL tear occurs alongside another ligament tear, which is known as a complex multiple ligament knee injury.
- Iliotibial (IT) band syndrome: Running can cause the tendon that stretches from the top of your pelvis to the base of your knee to rub against nearby bone. When this happens, the tendon, known as the IT band, can become irritated, causing pain on the outside of your knee.
- Meniscus injuries: Two pieces of cartilage called menisci absorb the shock of movement in the knee. Tearing a meniscus, which can happen suddenly or from wear and tear, can cause pain and stiffness. In addition, your knee may feel like it can’t support you.
- Patellar tendonitis: Linking the kneecap and shinbone, the patellar tendon is one of several soft tissues that help you straighten your knee. Running can lead to inflammation of the patellar tendon, causing pain beneath the kneecap.
- Runner’s knee: Over time, repeatedly bending and straightening your knee through running or other sports can lead to pain in the knees. Known as runner’s knee or patellofemoral pain syndrome, this condition often gets worse with walking or running.
Running-related injuries aren’t limited to the knees. Our experts also treat other injuries resulting from this popular pastime, from shin splints and stress fractures to Achilles tears and plantar fasciitis.
Simple Ways to Prevent Running-Related Knee Injuries
If you don’t understand your running style, you may not realize there could be a problem that increases your risk of injury. At Summit Orthopedics, our physical and hand therapy services include a running analysis, in which our therapists record you running and analyze the footage from multiple angles. This allows them to understand how your stride affects your running injury risk and suggest improvements.
You can do more to prevent knee injuries from running, including:
- Choose a running shoe that’s right for you.
- Cross train to reduce the strain on your knees and prevent overuse, a major cause of knee injuries from running.
- Perform stretching and strengthening exercises to help protect your knee joints.
- Warm up before running and cool down afterward.
Home Treatment: Try RICE
Wondering about the next steps following a minor running injury? For many people, performing the RICE treatment—rest, ice, compression and elevation—helps them heal and recover from minor knee injuries from running after a couple of days.
Keep weight off the knee as much as possible, and apply ice to the joint a few times each day. For extra support, wrap the knee in a compression bandage. Finally, when sitting, use cushions to elevate your knee above the level of your heart.
You may be able to continue running while you recover. Just reduce your running time and mileage by half and add in some cross training.
When to See an Orthopedic Expert for Knee Injuries From Running
How can you tell what’s normal running pain vs. injury pain? Normal running pain typically affects the same area of both legs. Injury pain, on the other hand, tends to be concentrated to a specific area of one leg. Pain in just one knee, for example, may indicate an injury.
If RICE treatment doesn’t help, or if you have severe pain or weakness, see a Summit Orthopedics specialist. Our team can pinpoint what type of injury you have and recommend an appropriate treatment.
Tired of knee pain keeping you off the road, trail or treadmill? Our orthopedic specialists are ready to help. Make an appointment at a Summit Orthopedics location near you.
It’s very common for runners to experience similar injuries because of the mechanics of running and the impact to the body. The knees are especially prone to injury. Listen to Summit Orthopedics’ experts share some common knee injuries in runners. Awareness is your first step to preventing these injuries. Featuring sports medicine physicians and avid runners, Angela Voight, MD, and Kirk Scofield, MD.
