Strategies for Relieving Runner's Knee Pain

Running is one of the most satisfying activities for many of us -- the quiet, the concentration, and the intense physical exercise that it gives us is good for both the body and the soul. However, the prevalence of concrete and bitumen running surfaces in the modern world also makes patellofemoral pain, or runner's knee pain, a common occurrence. This can be as incapacitating as back pain and elbow pain in everyday life -- here we tell you about both short- and long-term strategies for getting rid of knee pain from patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Short term strategies for knee pain

You are probably doing most of these short term pain relievers anyway -- our body is quite good at telling us what it needs, sometimes! In the interest of completeness, though, to counter knee pain from running first make sure you:

• Avoid aggravating the injury -- try to limit your weight bearing activities as much as possible, and avoid activities where you must bend your knee frequently.
• Massage your knee with a heat cream or athlete's cream. Don’t let the increased comfort tempt you into doing normal activities that might worsen your knee pain, though.
• Ice your knee for 15 minutes every 2 hours in the period immediately following the start of your knee pain. Apply the ice to the entire knee area of the leg, not only the knee itself. Move it around as much as you need to for comfort.

Long-term strategies for knee pain

If your daily activities are being interfered with regularly because of knee pain, you'll want to know what long term steps you can take. Having excess fluid drained from your knee can be a slightly longer term solution, however it doesn’t attack the underlying problem.

The reason that many people develop the knee pain associated with patellofemoral pain syndrome is because of a pronation or other abnormality in the feet which means the patella and trochlear groove rub against each other abnormally.

Sports orthotics are good way to correct these abnormalities in the way weight is distributed across the foot. Once you have your orthotics in place, you'll need to do some additional exercises to help correct the foot abnormality and blast your knee pain, including:

• Quadriceps strengthening exercises
• Stretching for tight hamstrings or iliotibial bands
• Stretching for tight calf or hip muscles
• Training in proper running technique