Posted on May 20, 2008 in Latest News
Runners Knee is a condition which affects the knee. It is characterized by pain around or behind the kneecap. One of the main causes of this condition is poor tracking of the kneecap. The kneecap (patella) brushes over a groove situated on the thighbone (femur) as the knee straightens and bends. For instance, if the front thigh muscles (quadriceps) are ill-balanced or weak, it can result in the kneecap being pulled to the left or right of the groove which in turn, might give rise to friction, pressure and irritation to the cartilage under the kneecap while the knee is in the state of motion.
Runners Knee is known to be one of the most common causes of pain in the knee among people of all age groups, young adults and teens. It can be intermittent or chronic. It is mostly found in runners, hence the term “runners knee”. It can however, occur in people who are inactive.
Causes
Muscle imbalances inflexibility or weakness of the muscles aiding support to the knee and mechanical conditions can cause poor knee tracking. There might be chances of multiple factors as well.
Muscle imbalances involving the lower body, particularly the quads are common. Tightness of the tendons and muscles also shift the kneecap to one side.
Mechanical conditions include misaligned joints in the ankle or foot; a kneecap situated too high in the joint; over-pronation/flat feet.
Symptoms
Symptoms include pain below the kneecap and areas below it which is worsened particularly with deep knee bends or prolonged sitting.
In the case of runner’s knee, the pain first attacks when running downhill then gets worse and occurs with running. Pain may persist even when you avoid running.
Treatment
Icing: Apply Ice to the knee, especially post exercise. This greatly helps bring down pain and swelling. Do not retain ice for more than 20 minutes at one stretch as this might invite frostbite.
Exercise: Exercises, particularly those aimed at strengthening and stretching the quadriceps (front thigh muscles) and hamstrings (muscles of the back of thigh).
Knee Taping: Taping the knee is employed in order to realign the kneecap and to hold it in place. Although this technique has not been scientifically proven to stabilize the knee joint, it has been shown to significantly mitigate pain.
» Filed Under Latest News
Comments
Leave a Reply
