Knee pain while running are very common symptoms for many runners, let’s look at the good recommendations so you can prevent hurting your knees.
1. INCREASE KILOMETRES AND INTENSITY SLOWLY
A common cause of knee pain is when runners increase their training load, that is their intensity or kilometres too quickly. If you finish workouts and exercises feeling good, that’s not a bad thing or a sign you need to go harder.
This is why the 10% rule comes in to help prevent training load-related injuries. According to the rule, we should only increase our training by 10% each week compared to the previous week.
We should appreciate that the 10% rule lets our body recover and adapt to keep up with the demands of our training without getting hurt from overuse.
2. BUILD MUSCLE STRENGTH
A great way to prevent knee pain is by strengthening our hips, core and glutes to provide more joint stability. Strength training exercises for runners, reduces the risk of both muscle and joint injuries. Also, it also helps us to run faster, builds our endurance and our metabolism. So many benefits.
Adding strength training doesn’t have to be overwhelming or too hard.
TOP CORE EXERCISES
TOP KNEE STRENGTHENING EXERCISES
5 KNEE STRENGTHENING RESISTANCE BAND EXERCISES FOR KNEE PAIN AND RECOVERY- VIDEO- Perform Each Exercise for 30 Secs- 3 Sets
3. TRAIN WITH A RUNNING COACH OR RUNNING GROUP
Running is as easy as heading out and hitting the pavement, but training with a running coach can help you have the proper form to keep your knees healthy for years to come.
If you’re unsure whether or not you’re running with the right form, consider getting a running coach to get some good running form assessment and running strength.
4. WEAR THE RIGHT SHOES WHILE RUNNING
One of the most common causes of injuries among runners is wearing the wrong shoes. Our shoes should be designed for running and should be a good fit for our foot type.
In general, the fit of our running shoes should be slightly different from the fit of our everyday casual shoes.
They should provide enough room for our toes to spread out and grab the ground when we run, and also have enough space for our foot to swell as we keep running.
5. NEVER SKIP THE PRE-RUN WARM UP
Dynamic warm-ups are super important to perform pre-run. Warming up correctly before exercise is an effective strategy to avoid muscle-related injury that can lead to knee pain.
The use of a dynamic stretching exercise before running helps our body to move more naturally when we run, and it will prepare our knees for our run.
It’s also important to not neglect post-run cool downs and stretches to help the muscles recover properly.
BASIC PRE-RUN DYNAMIC WARM UP-VIDEO
6. WORK ON YOUR STRIDE
Don’t overthink your running, but especially if you’re having knee pain while running we want to ensure we are not overstriding. Overstriding means that instead of our foot landing under the body, it’s landing in front of us. This puts a great deal of pressure on all our joints.
We should first work on this by doing running form drills and by working on our cadence.
7. SPEND TIME CROSS TRAINING
Once we fall in love with running we tend to neglect all other workouts. However, we want to continue working our body in different ways as it ensures we aren’t neglecting any muscles.
Additionally when we are building our kilometres and endurance, cross training gives us a chance to build while remaining lower impact. That could mean biking, swimming, pool running or yoga.
8. HAVE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS AND DIET
Eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods such as fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and whole grains can help reduce knee pain and inflammation.
Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods include blueberries, ginger, turmeric, and leafy greens such as kale and spinach. These foods are packed with antioxidants and other nutrients that help to reduce inflammation throughout the body.
In addition to incorporating more anti-inflammatory foods into our diet, it’s also important to avoid our intake of processed foods, sugary drinks, and alcohol. These foods and drinks can increase inflammation and worsen joint pain.
9. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND ADJUST TRAINING PLANS
Listening to our body and knowing when to modify or adjust our training plan is incredibly important. We shouldn’t push our limits too much too quickly because it will only lead to injuries and poor performance.
We should take good rest when necessary and consult a doctor or physical therapist if we can feel any persistent pain or injuries.
Focus On Good Running Strategies To Support Good Knees And Full Body Wellness, Enjoy Better Longer Runs, No Knee Pain, Good Muscle Strength!