Do you want to discover how to prevent knee pain after running without relying on painkillers, knee braces, injections or surgery?
In this blog, our physical therapy team share expert advice that has helped hundreds of our patients who suffered with knee running after running.
We understand that running is a big part of your life, and something that you enjoy doing – but knee pain after running sessions can really wreck your progress.
In our experience, runners with knee pain are often unable to (a) run as much as they would like, or (b) can’t improve their performance and hit personal bests because of knee problems.
This can be really frustrating, especially as the standard advice they hear before coming to us is to rest and take painkillers – that works long term for the rare few, but often knee pain after running can only be truly fixed by physical therapy which helps to correct imbalances, relieve tight muscles and speed up recovery.
“Why Do I Get Knee Pain After Running?”
A lot of runners we work with in our physical therapy clinics have usually been running for years with very little pain or discomfort before their problem appears.
This can be annoying and difficult to understand, and if this sounds like your situation, you are probably asking “why do I get knee pain after running?”.
However, there are lots of possible reasons why you have started to struggle with knee pain after running such as:
- Increasing the amount or intensity of running too quickly
- Running on a new surface (grass rather than sidewalk)
- Weak or imbalances muscles
- Equipment issues (running shoes may be worn, or new shoes may not be appropriate for your feet)
- An incident such as twisting your new when running on an uneven surface
- Trauma outside of running such as playing contact sports, or hitting your knee against something around the house
All of these reasons could be contributing to why you get knee pain after running and identifying the cause can help you stop knee pain coming back in future so you can enjoy running pain-free.
How To Prevent Knee Pain After Running At Home
If you’re experiencing knee pain, there are simple strategies that you can try at home to prevent knee pain after running at home.
Rest
If your knee pain is caused by a recent increase in running duration, frequency or intensity, you may have just done a little more than you can handle.
Use Ice
Ice is a great, non-medicated way to ease pain and swelling. Using ice packs (or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel) throughout the day can help recovery and manage pain.
Elevate Your Leg
When sitting, or laying in bed, raise your leg using a pillow to reduce swelling.
All of this advice is based on the assumption that (a) you haven’t had knee pain before, (b) the pain is reducing each day and (c) it’s been less than one week of knee pain.
If you are suffering with knee pain for longer than one week, or it’s getting worse, it’s likely that something more serious has happened and it’s vital that you speak to a medical professional.
The Fastest Way To Prevent Knee Pain After Running Long Term
If this is your first time suffering with knee pain after running, and it’s only started within the last day or two, you may be able to rest, and use the methods above to relieve the pain.
Once it has stopped, return to running and hopefully the issue won’t return. For some fortunate people, knee pain can fix itself and won’t come back.
If you are suffering with knee pain for more than a week, or the pain is getting worse or more frequent, you should seek professional help from a medical professional such as a physical therapist.
Our physical therapy team can identify the root cause of your knee pain so you can avoid making the problem any worse and stop it coming back in future.
Every patient of ours also receives a bespoke recovery plan to ease pain without reliance of painkiller or injections, and to speed up recovery for you can get back to running as soon as possible.
In our experience, physical therapy is perfect for runners with knee pain who want a natural, non-surgical way to ensure pain-free running so they can improve their times and run as often as they’d like.
Arrange Your Free Discovery Visit
To help you decide whether physical therapy is right for you, you can arrange a free running injury analysis.
Due to massive demand at both of our New York and San Diego clinics, we only have a limited number of these so arrange yours now to avoid disappointment.
To arrange your free running injury analysis, simply complete the enquiry form (it just takes 30 seconds) and one of our friendly team will contact you to schedule a time that suits you.
Other Resources For Knee Pain Relief
Download Your Free Knee Pain Report where you can discover 7 secrets to stop chronic, annoying knee pain without painkillers, injections or surgery.
Read our blog – One Secret to Getting Faster With Fewer Injuries: A worthwhile investment for runners of all abilities
Read our blog – What Is Lymphatic Drainage Massage And Can It Help Runners?
Read our blog – 3 Ways To End Knee Pain
Follow us on social media – Prehab Instagram or Prehab YouTube
Why rehab, when you can prehab?®
Prehab is a science-based running clinic with locations in New York City and San Diego, also offering services virtually. Our mission is to help all levels of runners enjoy the sport with top performance, while preventing injury.
For more ideas be sure to follow along our Prehab athletes on our Instagram page and sign up for our Prehab Newsletter.
