tapeekcm's Journal, 20 January 2011

Great job...I've been trying to run more but my right knee starts hurting. I played volleyball when I was younger and have fallen quite a few times on the knee and the one time I couldn't walk w/o limping for about a week and the entire knee was bruised. Any ideas what i can do to counteract it? I don't know if I should get a knee brace or something...lol I'm far too young for joint pain, but I haven't been kind to my knees apparently 

Hey thanks! Do you stretch before and after all your runs? That could be causing the pain. I would also maybe check out a running store and see if you have the correct shoe for how you run. They will put you on a treadmill for a few minutes and record it to see your form and get you the correct type of shoe. Here's a website where you can do some research and compare your form now against a proper form: http://www.newtonrunning.com/run-better/optimal-running-form It's possible you could need a knee brace as well. Although I would suggest doing some asking around to see what type of brace you would possibly need.  

Also, check out the top of this website. It could also be due to a muscle imbalance in your quads. http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/patellofemoral-pain.php Symptoms - Pain at the front of the knee that gets gradually worse. Causes - Your knee cap (patella) isn't tracking correctly. This is usually because of muscular imbalances on the inside of your quads, or tightness on the outside of your quads. Treatment - Rest is very important. While resting massage will help loosen up the outer muscles of your quad. Stretches will also help to loosen the outer muscles and work on correct the imbalances in the inner muscles.