You laced up your shoes and head out to run. But somewhere a few miles in your knee starts hurting. Maybe it’s a dull ache. Maybe it’s a sharp pain. Maybe it’s been nagging for weeks and you’ve been hoping it would just go away. It probably won’t. But it’s almost certainly fixable.
First, we gotta stop blaming running. Running doesn’t ruin knees. Running with dysfunction, weakness, or too much load too fast hurts knees. The goal is never to take running away from you. The goal is to figure out why your knee hurts and fix it. The exact diagnosis could be a variety of things. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee), IT band syndrome, patellar tendinopathy, or poor running mechanics can all be the cause of knee pain. If you want your pain to go away for good, it’s important that you stop ignoring and pushing through. Go to a movement specialist!
A good PT evaluation looks at the whole picture. Hip strength, foot and ankle mobility, running mechanics, and training history are all covered on day 1. Treatment is targeted and specific. Most runners see significant improvement within 4-8 weeks. Many see changes much sooner.
You don’t have to choose between running and being pain-free. Knee pain means something needs attention and once it gets that attention, most runners come back stronger than before. Ready to figure out what’s causing your knee pain? Reach out to schedule a call and let’s get you back on the road. We love serving the runners pf Paducah!
Dr. Rachel Atufunwa, PT, DPT