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Painful Knees After Running - An Overview of Causes & Treatements

By Daniel Sims

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 05Feb2009 Word count: 545 Viewed: 212 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Running is considered to be a relatively safe sport, right?

Then why is it that your knees hurt!?

When you think about it, running is still a high impact activity where extreme pressure and strain are placed on the knee joints and the ligaments that help support the knee. The continuous and excessive pounding and stress on the knees can lead to common injuries such as ACL tears, MCL tears and meniscus tears.

While all runners will not necessarily develop these specific knee injuries, almost all runners will suffer from painful knees after running at some time in their career.

Are Painful Knees After Running A Sign Of Damaged Tissue?

Painful knees after running are not always a definite sign of damaged tissue in the knee joint. Painful knees after a running can be a normal response known as "protective pain" coming from myofascial trigger points. This type of pain may feel as if it is radiating from the knee joint, but is actually the result of the contraction knots in the quadriceps muscles.

Common Injuries That Cause Painful Knees after Running

Running can put a lot of strain and pressure on the knee joint and the ligaments supporting the knee. You already know this to be true. Over time, this could lead to serious types of knee injuries and diseases including:

- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS): Also known as "Runner's Knee", this collectively refers to common problems afflicting runners, which includes common injuries like chondromalacia patella, patellar tendonitis, or generalized knee pain.

- Dislocated Kneecap: This condition causes acute symptoms during dislocation but can also cause chronic knee pain.

- Plica Syndrome: This syndrome is the result of the irritation of the lining of the knee joint. Some individuals have more prominent lining of the knee joint, and can form the so-called "plica shelf". This tissue becomes easily inflamed and will give runners painful knees after running.

How Knee Braces Prevent Painful Knees After Running

Despite the often repeated advice to ease up on the "road running", most runners refuse to give up. For those who insist on running the extra mile without letting painful knees get in the way, there is a simple way of preventing painful knees after running.

Knee braces for running are specially designed to help the knee joints so that the stress and strain from constant pounding while running are reduced to a minimum. The functionality of a knee brace helps to ensure that potential damage to the knee joint and ligaments is avoided. Runners should make sure that they use the appropriate knee brace specified for their needs. There are many low profile knee supports that allow for plenty of mobility, while also remaining light weight.

When choosing the appropriate knee brace, runners should first determine the conditions for which the knee brace will be used. Prophylactic knee braces are used mainly to prevent knee injuries. Functional knee braces, on the other hand, are used to compensate for a torn ligament and prevent further aggravation of knee injuries. - Either way, you do not want to look back, wishing that you would have done something to help protect yourself when you run. Bracing yourself for added stability is never a bad idea if you have painful knee joints.

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