Knee pain while running? How to reduce the impact

Runner’s knee is the knee pain a lot of runners experience every year. It is one of the most common injuries for runners to experience. Usually, the cause of the pain is not the running itself, but the way that you run that can cause injury. Here’s how to avoid knee pain while running.

If you learn to correct your form, you can run with minimal impact on your knees. And you can still optimize your form.

You can also look after your joints with supplements like Glucosamine Chondroitin, alongside the improvements you make in running technique. That will help you to avoid damage to your knees and ensure you can move without ache or discomfort during or after jogging.

Avoid heel striking to reduce knee pain while running

Here’s what it means: Don’t over-stride so your feet get ahead of you. You should never step past your knees. Instead, allow your legs to swing rearward for better running form.

If your feet land in front of your knees, you are braking with every footstrike. Landing in this way leads to sore knees from running because the knees aren’t about to absorb shock like this.

All of this impact can cause knee pain while running, as well as sore muscles and joints within only a short time. If you start to experience pain like this, listen to what your body is telling you and make changes to the way you stride. If you don’t, you could end up having to stop running.

Practice proper running form. Always lean from your ankles and open your stride up behind you. Your foot should land under you instead of in front of you.

Lean your whole body forward

Remember that if you let your foot land in front of your body, that puts the brakes on the movement. The shock of decelerating in this way will go straight to your knees.

So, how to avoid knee pain while running? Try to land in a midfoot strike.

Don’t lift your knees when you run

This one goes against traditional advice in a lot of running magazines that encourages you to lift your knees and reach forward for a longer stride. This advice works great for sprinters, but is not a good idea for distances longer than a mile. Lifting your knees will make your feet hit the ground in front of your body, causing a brake in your stride.

Instead, aim to swing your knees low. At the back end of each stride, bend your knees and let your heels float up behind you. Always think, knees down, heels up.

Keep your knees soft and bent

A lot of runners over-stride when they run, and then straighten their knees as they land. That creates a huge amount of impact on both the heel and knee. To lessen the chance of runner’s knee, try not to straighten your leg as you run.

Final words on knee pain while running

Taking good care of your knees should be your main priority if you want to keep running for years to come. Reducing torque and impact are the best places to work on your running form. You’ll be grateful for the effort you’ve made every time you lace up your running shoes.