Side of Knee Pain

Question
Hi, my running partner is experiencing pain in the knee during and then after the run. She said the pain is not sharp but just there constantly, kind of like a ache. She feels the pain on both knees,on the inside of the leg.Or I guess that would be beside the knee cap on the inside of the leg. Is there stretches or something she should do?

Answer
Hello,

Knee pain is complex are may be due to a number of reasons.   Assuming there was no traumatic injury that initially caused pain, chronic pain on the inside of the kneecap in a runner is usually due to chondromalacia or "runners knee".  Typical symptoms are pain when sitting for a long time w/ knees bent (e.g. movie theater or airplane) or walking down stairs.  As with most soft-tissue running injuries, the best treatment is to back off running for about 2 weeks and cross-train to stay fit, with a modality that does not flare up the knee.  Oter items to consider are...did her training change recently?  Injuries are often caused by too much, too soon.  Overpronation often contributes to runners knee...ensure proper shoes to control pronation, or new shoes if running in older shoes.  I would emphasize stretching for the hamstrings and strengthening for the quadriceps...although I would start with "isometric contractions" to avoid irritating the knee further.  After the irriation has passed, she can progress to "isotonic contractions".  Word of caution...since she is prone to runners knee (given the current injury), she should not lift heavy weights with the legs or the injury may become inflamed.  Finally, I would throw a bag of frozen veggies on the knee for 20 minutes after every run to reduce inflamation.

Overall, it sounds highly likely your friend has chodromalacia, one of the most common running injuries.  It is more common in women.  This injury, in general, is pretty responsive to the treatments described above, but can be resistent to healing if your friend runs through pain...which all of us try to do occasionally.  These are general comments.  I'm sure there are plenty of websites that describe this injury in much more detail.  Good luck.

Regards,
Larry