How to treat runners' knee?

Same issue here. I am told quad strengthening is key -- squats, lunges. My PT also prescribed quad and hamstring stretches -- slow and hold. Also, I am told that going through the exercises TWICE a day is important. Good luck.

Other exercises my PT suggested -- clam shells, leg lifts, planks.

The best thing is simple isometric quad exercises with a bucket or weight . No repeat movements because that tends to aggravate the wear and tear.

Sit on an elevated bench, wall or table and straighten your leg out with the weight attached and hold it. Rotate it slightly from side to side to engage the quads fully while keeping it extended. Lower and rest. Repeat several times.

Use a weight you can manage to hold for 20-30 seconds. Increase it as you get stronger but there is no need to build excessively.

Squats and lunges will just aggravate it while it is acute. Save those for when you get it eliminated.

Allen1959 wrote:

Same issue here. I am told quad strengthening is key -- squats, lunges. My PT also prescribed quad and hamstring stretches -- slow and hold. Also, I am told that going through the exercises TWICE a day is important. Good luck.

I was told just the opposite by my marathon-running PT. Your quads are already strong enough from running. In fact, they're so strong that they're causing a muscle imbalance, pulling your kneecap out of line. You need to strengthen your adductors/abductors, hamstrings and glutes.

So, what you said in your followup post: Leg lifts, planks, etc. Also, exercises with a stiff Theraband like Frankenstein and cowboy walks are good too.

To the OP: You're out of balance, but you can run through it. (I'm going through the same thing right now.) Slow warmup, don't do things that make your knee hurt. Do your exercises; just 20 minutes a day makes a huge difference.

Don't do squat wrote:

I was told just the opposite by my marathon-running PT. Your quads are already strong enough from running.

Not really true. Running doesn't really make your quads strong enough. Especially the manner in which most people run.

Deep tissue massage. It's almost always because your IT band is not being elastic enough, so the pull at your knee is chronically tight. Most runners will want to cry like a baby the first time a massage therapist touches their IT band. Please schedule a deep tissue massage and tell the therapist you need attention focused on your IT band. Tell me a couple of days after what you think.

All this stuff about strengthening your quads is bunk advice. If the issue is weak knees, then that's probably because you're overtraining. You need to give your knees more time to recover. The quads are the most worked muscle from your running, so lifting for your quads even more is redundant.

I damaged the tendon of my knee during indoor track, and it's healed to the point where running in a straight line is ok at any speed, but anything on a track flares it up and I can't run for a day after an indoor race. The patellar tendon is a little "mushy" and depressed when I slightly bend both knees, with the other healthy tendon firming up under the strain. Any tips for this? Thanks

Quadrunner wrote:

Don't do squat wrote:

I was told just the opposite by my marathon-running PT. Your quads are already strong enough from running.

Not really true. Running doesn't really make your quads strong enough. Especially the manner in which most people run.

Fair enough. Running (without other types of strength training) strengthens your quads sufficiently to cause muscular imbalances, sometimes resulting in PFS. Is that better?

Shoebacca wrote:

Deep tissue massage. It's almost always because your IT band is not being elastic enough, so the pull at your knee is chronically tight. Most runners will want to cry like a baby the first time a massage therapist touches their IT band. Please schedule a deep tissue massage and tell the therapist you need attention focused on your IT band. Tell me a couple of days after what you think.

All this stuff about strengthening your quads is bunk advice. If the issue is weak knees, then that's probably because you're overtraining. You need to give your knees more time to recover. The quads are the most worked muscle from your running, so lifting for your quads even more is redundant.

Why did it immediately work despite not having a hand laid on my IT band?

The quads are not worked in a truly strengthening manner by running. They are overworked but that's not the same thing.

Fair enough; point conceded wrote: Running (without other types of strength training) strengthens your quads sufficiently to cause muscular imbalances, sometimes resulting in PFS. Is that better?

Some conflicting advice so far. I am intensely interested, as I desperately want to overcome this problem. The OP seems to be dealing with it early on, which is good. I ignored it for a year, until I could not run at all. I wonder if the treatment protocol would differ much in those two situations.

The only way to get rid of runner's knee is to (1) get rid of the causes, and (2) allow it to heal.

Stop running on consistently cambered surfaces, stop wearing motion control shoes, and do use plenty of ice for healing.