The Runner's Knee - The Common Agony in Athletes

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), also commonly known as Runner’s Knee is a condition where the cartilage under the kneecap has worn off causing pain or discomfort around the knee area.

Runner's Knee Site

Causes of Runner’s Knee:

•  Engaging in activities that require lots of knee bending such as jumping, running etc
• Excessive training (jogging, sprinting etc)
• Injuries
• Worn-out shoes, improper footwear, wrong-sized footwear
• Muscle weakness or muscle imbalance (between the quadriceps and the hamstring)
• Insufficient warming up of the knees before exercising
• Flatfoot

Symptoms for Runner’s Knee:

• Grinding or clicking sound produced when the knee is flexed (bend or straighten)
• Pain around the knee area during or after activity, and persists at rest
• Feeling of weakness or instability of the knees
• Pain during walking, squatting, kneeling, running or even at rest
• Swelling of the affected knee

Treatments (in general):

• Let the knee rest for as long as possible and avoid putting weight on the knee, until the pain has subsided totally
• Ice the knee to reduce swelling and pain
• Provide extra support by using elastic bandages, straps or sleeves and by compressing the knee
• Elevate the knee on a pillow when sitting or lying down to reduce swelling
• Stretch often and engage in strengthening exercises

Use ice-pack to reduce swelling

Preventions:

• Strengthen the thigh muscle and do regular stretching
• Avoid running on hard surfaces such as concrete road
•  Adopt a proper running form or technique such as bending your knees when landing or landing on the balls of the feet when jumping
• Wear appropriate footwear and use shoes with good shock absorption to reduce impacts
• Do a proper stretching and warming up before exercising
• Getting arch supports for your shoes may help with flat feet (able to get it from stores or can be custom made)

There isn’t a definite duration for recovery of Runner's Knee. The recovery rate depends to a large extent on each particular case (such as age, extent of injury etc).