If you suffer from frequent knee pain, or just had a recent knee injury, you should focus on strengthening this part of your body. The cause of this type of pain are also injuries related to running, which is why it is defined as the most common ailment of runners.
The main causes of sore joints in runners:
- Overtraining and lack of recovery
- No additional, complementary exercises,
- Improper diet,
- Overestimating your abilities
- bad shoes,
- Inappropriate dosing of exercise,
- Lack or neglect of warm-up.
According to scientists, if you run more than 70 kilometers a week, you are at greater risk of developing lower limb problems. It has been noted that the most common injury is the one around the knees. How to run to avoid knee pain?
- Always use a warm-up.
- Strengthen the knee joint with exercises that strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, i.e. the biceps and quadriceps. They protect the knees from pain after exercise, stabilize the joints, and reduce the risk of injury. It is worth taking care of the joints in advance, because knee injuries are very difficult to treat and, additionally, very expensive.
- Exercise as follows: 1) stand on one leg, bend the other leg at the knee and put the shin on the chair. The knee and foot should extend beyond the opposite edges of the chair. Gradually bend the knee of your leg, as if you were about to sit on the bent leg, stopping 10-20 cm above it. Repeat a minimum of 10, maximum 20 times. 2) Stand apart. The shoulder joints must be above the knee joints, then bend your knees and lean forward slightly. The spine must remain straight at all times. In this position, do squats, but only to 90 degrees in the knee joint. Also repeat the exercise 10 to 20 times.
- Do not run down steep surfaces. Contrary to the oft-repeated opinion that it is the ascents and ascents that are dangerous for the joints, it is the descent that causes more damage. Use walking on steep descents, especially if you’ve had knee injuries.
- Be patient. Gradual training and mileage is very important to avoid injury. You can’t drastically increase mileage, especially if you weigh too much.
- Invest in proper footwear and clothing. Appropriate shoes are important, especially on trails with mostly hard ground. Such footwear absorbs shocks and keeps the foot in the right position. Specialist guides and experienced sellers in sports stores will help you choose running shoes. When it comes to clothes, focus on keeping the body warm, because cold muscles are at risk of injury.