Two Things You Can Do To Avoid Knee Pain When You Run

Two Things You Can Do To Avoid Knee Pain When You Run

If your knees are hurting every time you head out for a run, something isn’t right. Fortunately, there are a couple of big things you can do to prevent the pain in the future.

In this video from the Tech Insider YouTube channel, running coach and former Olympian John Henwood explains what usually causes knee pain for runners, and how you can avoid it. It all comes down to the way your knee tracks. Most pain is caused by a tight iliotibial band (ITB) and weak stabilising muscles on the inside of your thighs that don’t allow your knee to sit properly.

To avoid the pain, you need to strengthen your knee stabilising muscles with some time on a StairMaster or elliptical machine. Henwood also recommends swimming since it helps strengthen or core muscles as well. And before you run, make sure you stretch. Loosen up your hips, piriformis, buttocks and hamstrings. Keeping nice and stretched will help you keep the knee joint in place and tracking properly.

If you’re working your way up to a race, Henwood recommends you run three to four days a week, cross-train and strength train two to three days a week and be sure to always take at least one off day. If these practices don’t help with your knee pain, stop running until you can see a doctor.

How runners can avoid knee pain [YouTube]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


One response to “Two Things You Can Do To Avoid Knee Pain When You Run”

Leave a Reply