Inner knee pain after running can definitely ruin your day and put a cramp in your training for the week. Some of the most common causes are overuse, improper running form, and poor flexibility. Here are some tips on how to prevent and alleviate this nagging injury so you can continue to run in the pain-free future!
Pain can be physically or mentally crippling—for both less experienced athletes and those who have been doing it for years. Inner knee pain is one of the more common injuries that happen with longer distances, but there are ways to avoid it from happening again and also how to treat it once you’re experiencing aches outside of your workouts.
Symptoms of Inner Knee Pain After Running
The inner knee is the juncture between the upper leg and lower leg that includes several different muscles, tendons, and ligaments. When you experience pain in this area it may be sore to touch or there may be pinpoint tenderness in one area of the knee. Inflammation can make walking or climbing stairs difficult and activities such as squatting down or lunging will exacerbate the problem.
1) Know the Cause
First, it’s important to know why you have pain. There are many different causes of knee pain, so you’ll want to treat each one accordingly.
Sometimes the pain isn’t just something that happens during workouts and moving around too much can exacerbate an injury.
Inner knee pain after running occurs when a muscle, tendon, or ligament becomes inflamed (also known as being “tender”) due to overuse, trauma, poor running form, or tightness in your calf muscles. While this knee can become sore after a run, there are several things you can do to prevent it from occurring in the future.
2) Swelling In Knee
When you experience pain in your knee, it’s necessary to take action to decrease swelling. The main cause of swelling is inflammation caused by overuse and wearing your knees out too quickly.
3) Difficulty Climbing Stairs
Inner knee pain is most common after a run as the workout has caused the muscle, tendon, or ligament to become sore. Climbing stairs can be an irritant to this area of the body, but it is important to not overdo it.
4) Tight Calf Muscles
Similar to your calf muscles, inner knee pain will occur if either of these muscles is too tight. Go through a few different warm-up stretches and stretches that target the calf muscles to get them loosened up and ready for exercise or just walking around at home.
What To Do About Inner Knee Pain After Running?
There are 5 things you can do to prevent inner knee pain after running:
1) Before You Run Warm-Up Properly
Always warm up for your runs! Warm-up with some light cardio exercises and stretch each leg separately.
Runners that like to run longer distances have been shown to have more severe injuries than those people who enjoy doing shorter distances. The explanation behind this is that runners who go at a higher intensity experience harder running surfaces, which can lead to injuries since they are working harder and could be pushing their muscles beyond their previous limits.
2) Apply Ice and Heat
Using ice and heat on an injury is a common practice, but there are some other things you can do to decrease swelling in the area. Start with applying heat (be sure to not use heat packs that are too hot and can burn yourself) on the affected area for 20 minutes using a heating pad (this will only be effective up until 3-4 days post-injury).
After the run, cold compresses or icing for 20 minutes every couple of hours the day of a run.
3) Improve Your Running Form
If you have had an injury, it may be due to a technical flaw in your running form. Try to keep your knees over your ankles and drive with your hips. Going up on your toes to increase stride will most likely lead to injury as well.
4) Get Better Running Shoes
The simplest way to fix this is to get the right shoes. Putting weight on the outside of your heels can cause an overload in that region, which could lead to injury or pain. As you transition into a new shoe and gain skills and strength, running will become more fluid and less stressful on your knees.
Here are some great running shoes:
15 Superior Quality Trail Running Shoes for Women
5) Stretch Properly
Stretching can help alleviate any physical problems that you might have, including muscle tightness or a repetitive motion injury. Stretching should be done daily for about 10 minutes at least once per day. Try the basic leg stretches first: groin stretch, quad stretch, hamstring stretch, and calf stretch. Some athletes also like to do some other exercises such as bike crunches or static stretches after their workout session.
Summary
So, we’ve learned the symptoms of inner knee pain after running and what to do in order to prevent pain from happening.
Avoid further injury by warming up, applying ice and heat, improving your running form, getting better shoes, and stretching properly.
Also please read the articles below to learn more about knee pain and running:
How to Get Rid of Knee Pain While Squatting?
5 Eye-Opening Ways To Treat Shin Pain While Running
5 Real Ways to Help Relieve Knee Pain at Night
Get Incredible Results With Using Massage Gun For Knee Pain
However, if your symptoms get serious, you must see a doctor before trying these solutions.
Thank you for reading.
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