Runner’s Fighting “Runner’s Knee”

As someone who loves running, I decided that I wanted to post a blog about this exercise. This past summer, I trained for my first half marathon race so I know first-hand that this healthy activity can also be tough on joints and causes many injuries. I know of many other runners who injured themselves while training for a race and I am constantly told by others that I need to watch out for “runner’s knee”. My previous knowledge on “runner’s knee” is that running takes a toll on joints and is tough on the knee so many runners end up with injuries in that area. Contrary to popular belief, a study in the Huffington Post states that middle-aged adults who run more have less knee pain. This might not be causation;however, because this lack of pain can be attributed to other factors, such as having other healthy habits and having more durable muscles compared to non-runners. The article also states that other studies have found similar results where running is not a direct cause of joint paint or arthritis in the knee.

runners-knee

Image found here

Although this first article does not associate running with knee pain, I found another interesting article which discusses treatments that pro-athletes use to alleviate knee pain that they have. There is a method called dry needling which uses a needle to help fight pain in sore muscle areas. It is a very similar practice to acupuncture, but some experts do not suggest overdoing this therapeutic technique. Ohio State researchers are looking into whether this therapy affects the way we feel pain by our brain and our spinal cord. Dry needling appears to be a good practice to alleviate the pain in their knees by increasing blood flow in that area. So even if knee pain is not caused by extensive running, many athletes-runners especially, are turning to this technique of dry needling to soothe their aches and pains.

http://www.gq.com/story/runners-knee-dry-kneedling

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/running-knee-pain_us_57c85e28e4b0e60d31ddb89d

2 thoughts on “Runner’s Fighting “Runner’s Knee”

  1. Trevor Richard Dennehy

    Having run for years in high school, I was never injured in any way until spring track senior year, when I had sharp knee pain at the start of the season. It was so bad I couldn’t run for several days. The athletic trainers at my school eventually determined that it was a result of not running over the winter and then going straight into quite a bit of running at the start of the season. So if I had run more over the winter, that could have prevented my pain supposedly. To treat this aliment, they just had me ice it and rest until the pain dissipated. I’ve never heard of this dry needling before, but I wonder if it would havesolved my problem quicker.

  2. Hannah Marni Stern

    I also love to run, so this is a very interesting article for me! In my running career, I have experienced more foot pain than knee pain, which is experience that lines up with your speculation. This article (http://www.active.com/running/articles/runners-and-foot-injuries-4-causes-of-foot-pain) explains some of the most common foot pains among runners, and I tend to face the Plantar Fasciitis injury. Either way, I will continue to run whether it puts my knees, feet, or anything else in jeopardy. It is my favorite form of exercise!

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