What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Runners Knee And Chronic Knee Pain (And The 5 Keys to Fixing It)
What No One Wants to Tell You About Knee Pain
For years and years I had chronic knee pain and runners knee – even though I wasn’t a runner.
I didn’t run long distances. I wasn’t overweight. And I didn’t even eat an unhealthy diet – which is why I was a little puzzled as to why I was suffering from chronic knee pain.
I had pain for about 3-4 years, and around the 4th year is when I started weight lifting and doing leg exercises.
But the pain started getting even worse and led to overuse injuries like tendinitis and chondromalacia.
So I did what everyone does – I went to the doctor.
… And he was pretty much as useless as can be. He wasn’t exactly well-versed in sports medicine and just told me to “stop doing what hurts” and “ice it.” Stuff I could’ve Googled without a $50 co-pay.
Exclusive Bonus: Download this knee pain checklist so you can refer to it when the pain comes back.
So like most people do, I ignored it. A few months later I joined the college crew team and we started to train 5-6 days a week, which included running, and later, a lot of pain for me.
I asked some other people on the team what was going on, and another guy said, “Got that hollow feeling under your knee? Yeah man me too, knees are weak, ya know? It’s just that damn runners knee.”
“Knees are just weak? BS.” I thought to myself.
Through later research and many years of testing, what I found was pretty interesting and also permanently fixed almost 100% of my knee pain.
Let’s talk about how to get your knees fixed up, or at least improved.
The Bee’s Knees – Knee Anatomy 101
To help you understand exactly how the knee was designed to work, let me give you a brief intro on knee anatomy.
The bones – Above the knee is the femur; below the knee are the Fibula and Tibia. In-between everything there are four ligaments that hold it all together and keep it loaded properly.
The tendons – Above the knee (attached to your quad muscle) is the quadriceps tendon; below the knee (linked to your kneecap) is the patellar tendon. This is usually the area you feel “hollowness” in (chondromalacia) if you do too much mileage running or have bad form/loading patterns.
The ligaments – There are four ligaments – think back, front, left, right. That’s pretty much a dumbed down explanation of the ligaments. They basically restrict movement and make sure everything stays lined up properly. If it doesn’t, you are putting weight on the knee in a way it was not designed to load weight (and thus having pain, and injury)
Meniscus – Some padding in the center of the knee to function as a shock absorber.
The knee is a stability joint. It is not meant to be very flexible.
It is meant to just bend straight up, and straight down, with very little rotation.
That is all fine and dandy, but there are a couple problems that lead to the knee not bending straight up and down, but rotating.
What I’ve found is that tendonitis, like in many other parts of the body, is usually do to improper biomechanics (movement and form), rather than just overuse.
With knees it could be the case that you are a long-distance runner, but in my experience (after having this for years) I’ve found that tendonitis usually only happens in one knee (or in one elbow, or shoulder, or bicep), and it will happen repeatedly. In other words, it’s a pattern.
And after much research I found that these patterns are usually linked to poor biomechanics. Once you fix those, you stop getting it as much (or it improves/goes away completely).
You Might Have Knee Pain And Runners Knee If…
There are a couple criteria I’ve noticed in people with knee pain.
I’m not going to state the obvious like being overweight, getting too much exercise, etc. We all know that excess weight is excess weight. And we all know that running 100 miles is a lot for anyone.
A. You have everted feet (feet that point outwards)
Why: Foot eversion is one of the many ways that your body compensates for having terrible alignment, usually caused by muscle imbalances, activation issues, tightness, etc. It’s your body’s attempt at still somewhat maintaining proper biomechanics. It’s like if you injure your knee, when you step down the stairs you try to use your hip more to compensate.
If your feet are everted more than 10-15 degrees, it’s very unlikely that you knee is loading weight properly.
B. You have previously injured an ankle or a hip.
Why: Studies have shown that if have an injury (e.g. ankle), it tends to decrease your proprioceptive abilities after that. In other words, if you injure your ankle, you can’t balance on that ankle as well afterwards. You need some re-training and conditioning.
Remember that the knee is just at the mercy of what happens around it: if the ankle or hip has lost flexibility, that has to go somewhere, and the knee suffers.
C. You sit all day and started exercising again, or started exercising more frequently (tight hips and groin muscles anyone?)
Let’s face it, sitting sucks, and it is part of this chronic pain epidemic. Sitting by itself isn’t the culprit, but sitting (and lack of movement) is one of the origins of tight muscles and tissues around the hips.
What I’ve found is that, due to a combination of things, the shortening of certain muscles prevents the lower back from maintaining it’s natural arch, leading to chronic lower back pain (just when sitting, or even when running, squatting), as well as knee pain.
[ Side note: I’ve written a three part guide for how-to fix chronic lower back pain. Oh, and these are things THAT ACTUALLY WORK. Unlike 999999% of the crap on the internet. Use this post for immediate relief, and then this one and this one to understand and prevent it in the future. ]
The Master Plan (The 4 Part System to Fix It)
Alright, I’ve found that 4 things are the most critical in fixing knee pain / runners knee and again I have used this exact process to step by step fix my chronic knee pain:
- Work on your booty (Strengthen those butt muscles)
- Improve hip flexibility
- Improve ankle flexibility (history of everted feet, achilles injuries, shin splints?)
- Trigger point therapy & self myofascial release (self massage)
Let’s start talking about each one and why they are absolutely critical to preventing knee pain in the future.
A. Work That Booty! The Biggest Thing You Can Do To Fix Knee Pain is Strengthen Your Butt – Here’s Why
I was terminally skinny. My entire life. I’m talking, 145 pounds at 6 foot 2, skinny.
When I started doing butt exercises (to fix my knee pain) I put over three inches on my butt in about 9 months.
Talk about a booty. And yes, women loved it.
But seriously, I’m going to show you right now why your butt is so important in regard to knee pain, and why so many of us need to work on that.
Gluteus maximus. Notice the attachment points going down the side of the leg towards the knee (IT Band area). Wikipedia
Gluteus maximus. What does that make you think of? (As a kid I always thought that was a cool name like Leonidas. Leonidas Maximus.)
Your glutes are the powerhouse of your lower body. Many people seem to think that the quads are, because we live in a quad-dominant world where everyone has tiny butts from sitting all day and lack of activity.
But believe it or not, the gluteus maximus is really the central strength point of your lower body. That’s where real power and strength originate from.
In your case, the gluteus maximus also helps control rotation of the femur (your upper leg) which influences your knee alignment.
Remember what we talked about earlier? Your knee is designed to just bend up and down, with verrrrry litttle rotation.
A weak butt permits more rotation in the femur than usual. It causes the your upper leg (the femur) to rotate inwards, and the fibula and tibia will try to compensate by rotating outwards and rotating the feet outward. Ideally your knee would point straight forward, and the foot would load the weight evenly, so when you look at your leg as you walk, it would just bent straight down.
Try this! Just take 30 seconds and walk around your house naturally – my own knee (the one with a history of trouble) slightly rotates inward with each step. Bad!
In fact, a study done supported this whole glute-knee pain relationship, which found that female runners with the lowest glute activation had the highest rates of knee pain and chondromalacia.
It’s also a win-win that no matter if you’re a man or a woman, getting a bigger, firmer bootay will only be a win-win situation.
I made a nice little video for you below, showing the exercises to do. I would suggest doing 4-5 sets of each exercise for 8-12 repetitions, 2x a week if you find the time. They don’t take too long.
Butt Exercises (see video)
- Glute bridge
- Bird dogs
- Lunges
- Single leg deadlift
B. Work On Your Splits & Stretch the Hips
The muscles surrounding the hips have lots of shared attachment points with the femur, and the knee.
Alright – so the first thing you absolutely need to do is work on getting that booty built up. Your girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/life will love it, AND you’ll also fix that knee pain. It’s really really important, and it will also help if you have chronic lower back pain.
But that’s not all.
You also need to improve hip and ankle flexibility – here’s why.
The knee is a stability joint, meant to just bend up and down (and not rotate much). When there is not enough flexibility in the hips or ankles, that rotation has to go somewhere when you engage in some movements, and the knee starts getting rotation which = pain, dysfunction, and injury.
The hip muscles are closely linked to the gluteal muscles, in regard to how they influence your walking gait, leg rotation, etc.
The hips (and the ankles) are also designed to be flexible.
We can compare the hips and shoulders for a second, because they are both ball and socket joints, and thus are designed to be flexible.
Say you’re running on a track, or jumping, or lunging, or running left and right through an obstacle course – there is obviously some left and right motion (and rotation) going on there. Ordinarily the ankles and hips will bend and rotate to accommodate that change in motion.
But if your hips are too tight, and your ankles too inflexible, the knee is being forced to be flexible which = baaaaaad.
We already established how important your butt is, and having proper gluteal activation right?
As it turns out, having tight hip flexors prevents maximal glute activation too. Some people find out that they have weak abs, and tight hip flexors, when they go into a deep squat and feel it more in their hip flexors and quads rather than their butt.
So we’re going to include a bit of hip flexor stretching in this part as well.
The video below will show the hip and groin stretches that I recommend.
Hip & Groin Exercises (see video)
Your feet and ankles are the bottom of your kinetic chain. If your ankle is not loading weight properly, that messes up everything above it. Unfortunately we live in an era where foot and ankle dysfunctions are rampant. One massively common dysfunction today is called pronation distortion syndrome — characterized by foot pronation ( flat feet ) and internally rotated knees. People who have this (and believe me, it’s a large percentage of us) typically suffer from the same, repeated lower body injuries, like: Plantar fasciitis, shin splints, patellar tendonitis and lower back pain. This is due to a lot of things, but the reasons for improving the flexibility of the ankles are the same: remember that the knee is meant to be stable, not flexible, and that ensuring ankle flexibility will make sure that it transfers any load rather than passing it to the knee. Here are 3 ankle exercises I recommend. Ankle and Calf Exercises: Alright, remember back up in part 1, how the knee has a couple tendons and ligaments attached to it? On top of the knee is the quadriceps tendon — basically the top, center part of the leg going down to your knee cap. By stretching that area out it will relax some tension throughout the knee, and will also reduce some symptoms for those of you with IT band issues or pain around the outside of the knee (more so if it hurts or is tight right around the knee). Quad Exercises (see video) Unfortunately the internet is filled with a whole bunch of garbage. For knee pain, most of the websites list the same crappy exercises and stuff – which usually just is the same stretches over and over (hip flexor, hamstrings, IT band stretches, blah blah). I’ve tried them all, and most of the stretches that people recommend (by themselves) didn’t provide more than a few minutes of relief to me. Take it for whatever it’s worth. It’s gotta be a multi-faceted program to try and re-establish proper biomechanics – remember, that’s what this is all about. Stretching is great for short term relief, and I’ve found it to work sometimes, but without strengthening weak and inactive muscles (like your butt), I hasn’t provided much long-term relief for me. But that’s just my 2 cents. The same is true for fixing your knee pain. There are a number of trigger points that develop around the knee and quad which you can self massage into oblivion, providing fantastic relief from pain. Stretching doesn’t fix trigger points necessarily. Here are the exercises I recommend (Myofascial release – obvious short term relief; trigger points – maybe not so obvious). Myofascial Release (see video) Trigger Point Therapy for Knee Pain (see video) Usually a pretty good indicator that you are doing some kind of activity with improper form or bad biomechanics is tendonitis. If you go to a doctor, he/she will tell you it’s an overuse injury and to just rest. But if you go to a sports person, they’ll tell you to fix your form and lay off it when it hurts. I’m inclined to believe “overuse” injuries are more form related than anything (unless you really are training 7 days per week, or multiple hours a day). For example, I’ve gotten tendonitis in my left knee, as well as in my left elbow (as well as bicep). These areas seem to repeatedly get it, despite the fact that I do equal volume on both sides of my body. And I know that my left side has some bio-mechanical issues. Whatever the case, many of us get injuries in patterns. Maybe for you the story is similar. The origin doesn’t matter honestly, because the advice is the same: even though I know you probably won’t, you need to rest tendons for them to heal. They have very little vascularization, which is why healing takes forever. But for those of you that are active, athletes, or love what you do… I know you aren’t going to take time off. So here’s what you do. A. Reduce your volume a bit. Whatever it is – weightlifting, tennis, construction – just do less of it. Stop doing the things that hurt. If you play tennis 3 hours a day, play it for 1.5 hours. If you usually curl 30 lb dumbells and you have biceps tendonitis going down into your forearm, suck it up and curl 15’s. If you usually do 100 lunges, do 50. If you usually run 30 miles a week, cut that in half. B. With that extra time, fix your form and biomechanics. Fixing biomechanics usually has a couple key things (that we covered here, but also cover in the back pain course, the weight loss course, and in the monk’s courtyard). I’ve found that specific types of exercises and weightlifting repeatedly gave me tendonitis, and as soon as I closely evaluated my form (like on squats, dumbell curls, etc.), I stopped getting tendonitis. But if I became sloppy again or increased the weight too much, it would start burning and coming back in the exact same spots. I systematically tested many many many things I found and researched, and came up with a step-by-step method for fixing my knee pain. The only time it comes back is if I haven’t been stretching regularly (since I’m always working on my booty ! ), and it’s never even remotely close to what it was before. Try this out and let me know if it helps! Shoot me an email too if you have any questions. My 2 cents! –Alex Images: Quadriceps Tendon, Calf Stair Stretch, Strap Calf Stretch, Lean in Calf Stretch, Flowers, Female Runner, Person Walking
C. Improve Ankle Flexibility
Part D. Stretch Those Quads
Part F. Fix Tension: Trigger Points & Myofascial Release
Part G. Tendinitis, Chondromalacia, etc?
What about you?
Dude, Good job on the article. I’m going to try this out. Can I make a suggestion? Please redo your videos. You are way too close to the camera. I can’t even see what you’re doing in many of the exercises. I mean I get the basic idea of what you’re doing, but sometimes I can’t see your lower half and see how you’re positioned. Other than that, there’s some great info, I’m going to try it all out.
Thanks!
Hey Nate –
Haha no problem! Thanks for the honest criticism – I thought about it the first time around, but will re-do them with more space. Cheers.
– Alexander
I have been a track runner for 2 years now and i keep getting knee pain all the time i don;t know what to do about it our person trainer said to workout but I just had more pain and today well i was running both of my knee started to hurt really bad but My left knee felt like I was going to clasp on the road so do you think i should go to doctor about it. thank you so much.
Very well done mate, for beginners (like myself) just getting the first knee aches from sudden wannabe Seal-like running exercises in forests after many years of doing nothing (like myself here lol :D) this page and your nice way of explaning things is just priceless information about the fundamentals of the problem. Probably the first time I can find the knee actually fascinating in some way after this. Thanks, and maybe I’ll be switching the maximum runs into swimming for a week (?) to get rid off this little flashes in my right knee during hard pressure. Couldn’t believe it could even be related to my hips etc in any way. Wow, I do walk with my feet quite outward too….yikes, I’m screwed probably. Want to get running again. 😉
Hey Aleksi,
Seal-like running exercises haha, what an awesome visual.
Haha no worries, just take it easy and when you can, try to get some time to improve hip and ankle flexibility, and work on those butt muscles. Doing some lunges, squats, or deadlifts will help with that. Swimming is a great idea!
Shoot me an email if you ever have any other questions.
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex, haha yes exactly, slightly midrange soggy male jogging/walking in the forest with the totally blank stare from ultimate max effort, inner voice still screaming “the only easy day was yesterday, learn to love pain, you can do it and you KNOW IT” haha 😀 But hey, whatever works, right! Thanks Alex, you’re the man, I’ll be happy to contact you if something comes up. I’ll try the advices!
PS. To everyone else also, I stumbled across this “4-step Seal mind technique” article for mental toughness and it really did change my own life in terms of self-image, selk-talk and self- motivation. It’s truely amazing how you can push yourself through almost anything with very simple steps. (These got myself out of the sofa into forests and swimming pools so something’s surely up)
http://peakperformancetheblog.blogspot.fi/2010/11/navy-seals-understand-and-use-mental.html
It works in daily life too, like example going to the post office by foot for many kilometers etc and carrying a ridiculous sized box back home etc. Happy hunting, hopefully everybody finds their own “inner voice” through something. 🙂 Cheers!
So refreshing to get advice from someone that suffers from runner’s knee rather than the ‘rest it’ health professionals who have no idea what it feels like. Since going through childbirth twice, I tend to scoff at pain and push through any discomfort I’m having, but my right knee is too bad to ignore now that I’m running longer distances (15km+). Some of the other websites suggest its the camber of the road I run on but after doing your little ‘walk around the house for 30 seconds’ test, I can see my right knee points in slightly. My gluts are practically non-existent and I would never have figured out that it was a contributing factor to my knee pain, but it absolutely makes sense. And your explanations are so straight forward. I’ve taken all your advice and exercises on board and I will keep you posted if I have any improvement. If they have worked for you then there is no harm in giving them a go. Thanx!
Hi Harmony,
Haha you’re welcome :). Yeah, I definitely would not suggest ignoring pain. It’s there for a reason – something is not working right.
Definitely let me know how it goes! Work those glutes — the more, the better. And then make sure to improve hip and ankle flexibility. Anytime my knee pain comes back, it’s because I haven’t been regularly stretching my left hip and left ankle (both have a horrible range of motion). Within a few days of stretching them, I’m back to normal. It’s amazing.
Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions!
Best,
Alex
Hey Alex,
Just wanted to get back to you with my progress. Started off with super setting all your exercises and stretches in 3 sessions a week for the first fortnight and doing the trigger point and roller massage in the evenings maybe 3 times a week too. Had improvement from the end of that fortnight so cut back to super setting the lunges and single leg dead lifts as well as all the stretches (except for the kungfu stretch which doesn’t do much for me) just before my runs 3 times a week as well as 20 mins of the stretches after. I also included a pretzel stretch in the routine to stretch my glutes as they were getting tight. I still do the trigger point most nights and the rolling massage maybe twice a week. Anyway, my knees have improved in leaps and bounds and I just completed my first half marathon! I can’t believe I was ready to give up running before reading your blog. I nearly let my knee pain sink me into a depression, but you saved me. It was an effort at first integrating your exercises into my schedule but now they are part of my routine I can’t believe how simply this pain was fixed. Thank you so much for your invaluable advice. You are a saint for sharing! You’re a champion!!! 🙂
Hello there, I’m a track distance runner recently coming back from a stress fracture, and now my knees are preventing me from running even a few steps without stabbing pain in both knees. How long did it take for your knee pain to go away once you started doing all the exercises/stretches?
Hi Khushee –
Usually 3-6 weeks.
What I sometimes get after dancing Flamenco is pain right around the patella. It feels as though it is displaced, but if I attempt to move it around slightly, the pain doesn’t go away. It simply goes away with time. It doesn’t happen after every practice either. I’ve tried to pinpoint the cause, but either I don’t pay attention to what I’m doing or I’m not really sure what to pay attention to.
My knees might be rotating slightly because of bad technique. If I’m not squeezing my butt muscles, or bending my knees enough, or if I’m bouncing up and down too much, the force I experience in my legs after powerful stomps might not be evenly dispersed throughout my legs. My knees might experience too much of that force resulting in a slight rotation. This is speculation, but I’ll try some of the things you suggest and see how it goes.
I didn’t know that the cause of the pain could be that the knee is rotating when it shouldn’t really be doing that. It could also be a flexibility thing, but I’m not so sure that that’s my problem. Anyway this gave me a new perspective on the pain and how to avoid it.
Just know that you might helping dancers, too! Thanks for this post!
Hey Antonio,
Cheers! Glad you liked it. Definitely let me know how it’s going. I also tend to get knee pain from another rotational sport (Judo). We’ve gotta be extra careful because we often don’t even realize we’re doing it.
Best,
Alex
You gave me great help, thank you very much! Been starting to practice martial art at home recently, stopped for many years ever since I was a kid. Now my right knee to start to feel pain whenever bending my legs. Your article reminded me that I forgot to practice the most essential basics in martial art, stretching. After this knee pain lesson, I will remember how important it is to warm up before any exercise.
As for the Myofascial Release exercises in your video, I do have a alternative recommendation for such exercise, and this is a very common stretching exercise in martial art practice and ballet dances. Place one of your legs on a counter (table, balcony fence etc) that is about the height of your waist that your two legs would form almost a 90 degrees angle. Hold it for as long as you can, this will greatly help stretch the whole lower body. For more advance, try to touch your toes with you hand and your head and back bend toward the leg on the counter.
Once again, thank you Alexander Heyne!
Hey Ivan,
Aha, a fellow martial artist!
I agree, that is a fantastic stretch for the hamstrings and hips. I use it every day myself – it’s great because you can do it while working if you use a standing desk.
Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any other questions!
Best,
Alex
Yikes~that’s a lot of information! But appreciated. I pulled my groin in february and since I’ve started running again, I started to get bad knee pain. I was doing 15 miles a few times a week when it happened, and now 9 or 10 make my knees hurt – but they never used to. Is there something I can focus on, or do you just recommend it all?
Thanks for the videos – they really are helpful.
Hi Farah,
In a nutshell: Make sure to do butt work (butt work – not leg work) 1-2x a week. And then stretch your hips and ankles regularly (improve their range of motion). Within a week or two you should see improvement from the stretching work. Give the butt a few weeks to get stronger and then keep going.
Sums it up! 🙂
Best,
Alex
What a great article! Well done Alex for writing this. The whole knee pain (I get in my left knee) makes much more sense now…
Off to work my butt off now 😉
Hey Preeti
Haha, you’re very welcome. Let me know how it goes!
Best,
Alex
Alex,
After two intense sessions of your recommendations, I was able to run again…incredible!
All this made me realize I’m not in shape or flexible like I need to be. So even though I can run again, I’m going to continue your recommendations and add some light weight training.
Thanks again,
Xavier
Xavier,
Awesome! These are the messages I love hearing from people.
Definitely keep me posted with how your knees are doing and how your runs go. Great to hear from you.
Best,
Alex
Alex,
Turns out, I had two issues.
The first one I fixed. It was a tight knot on the inside of my right leg.
The second one I’m still working on. It’s another tight knot that is on the top of my right thigh muscle. This one is taking longer to fix.
Today I start week three of my PT.
Xavier
Hey Xavier,
Fantastic! Keep me updated with how it all goes. When you say on the top of the right thigh muscle, is it the same one I described in the trigger point video?
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex I have had terrible knee pain and physio just tells me to rest can you email me what I need to do
Thanks
Hi Diane,
Generally, you need to rest – what was your diagnosis?
Hi Alex
Had mri it was normal but physio said its the knee cap that doesn’t aline properly and I have a strain ligament but the pain is unbearable I’m finding it hard to walk I started physio in September after three weeks I was ok after that my knees played again , I m very anxious and depressed cuz of it . I just want to be able to do normal activities . Do u have any suggestions , physio said its chronic
Thanks for responding quick Alex
Alex,
Great page, it’s nice to finally see an explanation for why things are going wrong and why the methods you put forward work, instead of blindly following exercises with little success. I’ve just begun doing the things you recommend and mostly it’s gone well however I end up feeling most of the ghetto booty exercises in my quads. I know it might be difficult to put forward advice if you can’t see what i’m doing wrong but is there any advice you can give me? Thanks
Hi Nils !
This is actually very common.
The way to make sure your butt is getting stronger, rather than your quads, is to slow down the movement and do these two things:
Make sure your weight is on the heel of your foot, on the back, rather than the toes on the front. Drive by pushing up with the heel.
Think about mentally using your butt to push up – not your quads. Usually if we just push up without thinking about it, we’ll use our quads since those muscles tend to become dominant. Imagine that your butt is pushing up, and surprisingly, your butt muscles will activate much better.
Hope that helps!
— Alex
My doctor told me I have runners knee and he gave me some exercises…which didn’t seem to help all that much. So your page is a huge help! I am 15 so I have to do lots of running for sports and my knees hurt so badly after that I have to take Aleve and ice my knee for a long time. My knee is especially bad after tumbling practice. I was wondering if you found any braces or wraps that worked well because I need to be able to complete my workouts without having to stop so many because of my knee. Thank you so much for these exercises! I am going to follow your advice so hopefully I can run the Color Run next year!
Hi Caitlin,
Personally I haven’t tried wraps (although I’m going to get some myself soon, I do judo). Just remember though that they will only slow down whatever damage is happening. Chances are wraps will only help in a very minor way.
– Alex
Thanks so much for all of this information. I always wanted to “be a runner”, and by training over the last few months, I am on my way to that goal. However, I also developed some really painful tendonitis in my right knee. I’ve looked all over the Internet and spoken to professionals about it, without much help, but I’m definitely going to try all of your suggestions. I even took notes in my phone so that I can look back at them at the gym, haha!
Thanks again!
Alex (the female countertype)
🙂
Hey Alex,
Haha let me know how it goes! Shoot me an email if it still gives you any problems.
– Alex
Thanks for the insightful information! I have had left knee pain for a long time now and when I finally decided to follow up on it a few months ago the doctor recommend an xray and the results came back with nothing wrong. I was told it was ligaments rubbing together and he printed me off a bunch of stretches. I was meant to leave for the military a month ago and when I told them about my knee pain on enlistment day they would not let me go without seeing a sports physician (even though it was cleared by a doctor). Turns out my problem is exactly what you’ve stated on this website and now I have to undertake 3 mnths of physio before I can go. To say I was shattered is an understatement. My xrays clearly showed my knee problem. Its so frustrating that it took a sports physician to point it out!! My main concern at the moment is my knee feels worse now then before i started physio and stretching. Now it hurts during my jog and I can’t finish whereas before it used to hurt after a jog.. but I could always complete it. Is this to be expected??
Hi Cassie,
That doesn’t sound good.
Where specifically does the knee hurt? Maybe I can help give you more specifics.
– Alex
Hey Alex,
Just started running after a long break, abd started to experience pain in the left knee – kinda hard to pinpoint but it was deep and behind the cap, towards the inside of the leg. Like your post, some of the most practical info I’ve come across.
Here’s my 2 cents worth:
Stimulating Liver 11 (acu point in the groin that travels down the leg – see Deadmans, Manual of Acupuncture) has had a big affect on clearing the pain for me.
Points open by using meditative attention, or by an acupuncturist, acuenergetics practitioner and by accupressure.
Cheers
Josh
Hey Josh,
Sweet, that sounds awesome I will definitely try it out! Is there an online version of this manual?
– Alex
Thank you so much Alex!!! Great great article
You’re welcome Tulga 🙂
– Alex
Honest to god I have never really been to a health professional about problems with my knee. The most I did was see a physio about 3 years ago when I first had issues with it, his advice was on the right track (included the stretches) but nothing else. It’s incredibly refreshing to see a proactive and targeted approach to addressing this issue, it’s definately helped me with my marathon training.
One thing I’d probably alter though would be to hold the glute bridges a little longer. The ‘couple of seconds squeeze’ and back down again is great for if you’re feeling stiff before a run, but to strengthen, either hold it for at least 10 seconds, or rest your calves on a swiss ball and hold it for longer. That REALLY puts some power into your glutes.
All in all this is a great article though and I’m currently sharing it around my running club. Thanks for doing a great job and I hope to see you tackling many more 21st century ‘injuries’ to get more people off the couch and out exercising!
Cheers!
Tom
Hey Tom,
Totally agree with the glute bridges. Honestly, if I were personally training someone in person I would go on to real glute development exercises like box squats or prison squats, but for some people they’ll just end up over developing their quads and not focus on the gluteal muscles. Barbell squats will give you a ghetto booty real quick haha. WHen I first started squatting I tore several pairs of boxers mid-squat, before finally learning to wear spandex underneath my gym shorts. Ahhh, the rookie mistakes.
Thanks for stopping by!
– Alex
Great article and it’s basically a round-up of what I’ve been learning since my left knee really started giving me jip. I started playing roller derby about 12 months ago and my knee pain really kicked in around 9 months ago!! I’ve been battling it ever since with no help from my doctor and not much more from my physio.
I had gotten my knee to a good point using the above stretches/strengthen/regular massage/foam rolling but went away and let it slide and I am back to square…… maybe not square one but a lot further back than I was before 🙁 My training intensity isn’t even that high at the moment so I am not buying “overuse injury”!
So I literally need to get my ass back into gear 🙂
xx
GirlScissors,
Work that booty! 😀 Seriously, the glutes have such prime importance in knee alignment that it’s scary… and many modern people have flat butts! Even doing leg exercises, people often focus on the quad rather than the glute , and the glute is usually more important.
For me, after about a month of regularly working out my glutes 1x per week, I noticed a major difference, and after a few months I don’t even remember where my knee pain went.
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex. I’m a 43 yr young man who has recently lost 2 stone and taken up Japanese jiu jitsu . Have had sore knees for a few yrs now from kneeling at work laying wooden floors and tiling floors ( and being overweight ) . Am struggling with squats and even to perform a hip throw ( the part where u lower into opponent and stick butt backwards ) pls tell me that these exercises will help or do u think I’m in danger of aggravating matters worse ( I do NOT want to quit ) !! Have changed career so am hoping this may help a little . Ur input appreciated . Regards .
Decky
Hey Decky,
Actually I do Judo too, so I’m well aware of knee issues related to the sport. They’ve bothered me too.
First advice: wear knee pads that both provide support (rigidity) and padding.
Second: Work on your flexibility. In the article I talk about the hips and ankles – make those your priority. Even just 5 minutes per day will help a LOT.
If you have time/interest, also do some leg workouts outside the gym. They’ll help stabilize your knee, and work on your butt muscles which will improve the knee alignment.
Last: I would say yes, you are in danger of making things worse. It doesn’t mean you need to quit, but just be SUPER conscious when you do your throws. When you load the other person’s weight on your legs, make sure you feel the proper leg alignment – feel the weight centered over the foot, feet your quad activate, feel the butt activate, and make sure you’re not rotating on your knee when the foot is planted. Go very slow and focus on the technique.
Be safe and let me know how it goes!
– Alex
Hi Alex. First of all, thanks for taking the time to reply. As of yesterday eve I had already started stretches and flexibility exercises as mentioned and really hope to feel the benefits soon.
Will keep you posted, thanks again. Regards,
Decky
Hey,
Your web site and information is terrific. I have found very sore trigger points in all the massage areas that you recommend and have started on your massage program today.
I am an older lady in reasonable shape and although attending gym classes regularly started jogging a few months ago and along came sore knees…getting worse as the weeks progressed. The most discomfort is the process of sitting and rising from a sitting position
I have great faith that the massage therapy you recommend will assist as the tendon areas you pointed out in your video are very sore
Thanks for the information
No problem Jann!
Let me know how it goes, and feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions.
Best,
Alex
Hey man, great post. I came home from the gym with some awful knee pain, and this was the first really helpful result I found. However, I was wondering what your opinion is on running barefoot vs with running shoes. I know that a lot of shoes try to compensate for our inclination to pronate, but once one achieves the ghetto booty and the hip/ankle flexibility hopefully extra support shouldn’t be needed right?
Hey Davis,
I’ve personally run barefoot to test it out, so here are my thoughts:
1. It’s not a magic bullet.
2. It will require a lot more ankle flexibility… so go REALLY easy. Lots of people strain their achilles jumping right into barefoot running.
3. Good form is good form – with shoes or without. You can have good form in shoes too, but barefoot it makes you more aware of it.
Hope that helps!
– Alex
Thanks for the amazing explanation and demonstrations. I just went through and performed each of the exercises. I am hopeful that it will help with my right knee pain. Over the past week I have been unable to do my regular run (3-5 miles, approx. 4 days a week), about halfway into my first mile my knee begins to hurt badly. As a result I end up walking back. Thanks again, hopefully this will get me up and running again!
Hey Sara,
No problem! Where specifically on your knee does it hurt?
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex. It hurts on the outside and the back of my knee, but only when running. I’ve been able to use the elliptical, do various workout videos, lunges and squats, and plyo type exercises all without pain. It only hurts when I run, which bums me out because although I do cross train, running is my favorite. I performed all of your suggested exercises again today and skipped the running. I hope to get back to it soon! Thanks so much for your time!
Hey thanks for the info i am 32 yrs old and healthy but i have had chronic knee pain for yrs, doing nothing but working physical jobs. My rear is very flat and i had no idea that is probably my problem along with flexibility issues. I cant wait to get started as i am trying to run again. Thanks again Jack
No problem Jack! Keep me updated with your progress.
– Alex
Thank you very much for this. It’s very helpful. I have been gaming most of the day for at least the last 7-8 years… Im 18 now. 😛
-Though this takes that you have fun doing it so you create a good habit too. I bought a foam rool… And it’s awesome for massage! Though it can get painful. 😛
-But in the good way – Knowing you’ll get better.
Again thanks, you have a very helpful site. And it’s all free. 😀
No problem Mark – Let me know how it goes!
– Alex
Thank you for this! I went walking and jogging outdoors with ankle weights (bad, bad, idea) not to mention I hadn’t worked out in months. On top of that I was hitting squats pretty hard. My knees were feeling awful. I’m chunking the ankle weights and working on my weak ankles and getting the butt together! I’ve been way hard on my knees. I may also start doing some beginners yoga. I have flat feet that go outward so it’s going to take me a while to get my body in line but all of your informaiton was a huge health. Thanks again!
You’re welcome! Let me know how it goes, and shoot me an email if you have any questions.
Cheers
Alex
Hey alex I have question. So week ago while playing basketball I hurt my left knee somehow without knowing. I didn’t had any big impact on knee during the games but I noticed I couldn’t bend my left knee. Now, every time I bend my left knee over 90 degree it click. Feels like my bone is about to pop out but it pops it when i bend it. I found this really really helpful and I will try this like right now!! I really appreciate for all the effort you put on this and I hope I will have good result.
Hey Dat,
Is there any pain associated with your knee bending? Have you seen your doctor?
Best,
Alex
It might be my ankles. I sprained my ankles couple times already and I wear ankle braces. Like you mentioned in the writing maybe my knee were taking lot more pressures than it used to be. I will see my doctor this Tuesday to find out what going on to my knee.
I also want to ask is it okay for me to do this exercise everyday
I am a physician and a long time runner (30+ years). I have had on and off bouts of runner’s knee, never bad enough to sideline me but recently worse. I have recently changed shoes, placed arch supports and placed a compression band below the kneecap with variable results. I was convinced that the affected leg did not rotate nor “toe-in” properly despite various stretches and consciously trying to twist my foot in. I found your website thru Google and was impressed with the information. I ran two days ago resulting in some of the worst knee pain in recent memory. This morning I did one cycle of the butt exercises and the stretches (I had been roller-ing my legs for about two weeks on the advice of a different website) and noticed an immediate reduction in pain and “pressure” in the knee. I just went out for a late walk/run just to test it out and it’s so much better even without the strap. When I looked down my foot was rotating inwards very nicely without even trying. No pain with flexion and a deep knee bend is near normal. Even if it never completely subsides I can definitely run like this without fear of damaging my knee. Thank you so much for your help.
Hi there Dr. K,
You are very welcome! Keep up with the glute exercises & stretches and I can guarantee that in 6 weeks you will notice some incredibly improved tracking in the knee. Shoot me an email if you ever have any other problems!
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
I was passed your information from a fellow running club member (Tom who commented above) and I’m certainly going to give these a go.
I currently have a sharp pain to the bottom left of my right kneecap in the groove beside it and have suffered from pains below that kneecap several times before. When I was at uni 4 or 5 years ago I had radiotherapy on it as the pain was too much to bear. Now, it flares up every 4 or 5 months and with a weeks rest and lots of deep heat it seems to go.
This last time it has come about by me doing only the recommended weekly mileage increase of 10% to 52 miles. Towards the end of my long Sunday run (weekly miles = 49-50) I started feeling this pain and I couldn’t even get half way through our recent club sprint session.
For some reason I do have slightly oversized quad muscles compared to the rest of my small body frame and doing the Vastus Medialis self massage just now I have found a sore point about 3 to 4 inches up from the top of my knee. I’m wondering if my quads are pushing down on my knee causing the pain and which stretch in particular would be best?
Thanks in advance,
Ben
Hey Ben,
Have you seen a doctor and confirmed that this is chondromalacia, or is it something else? Does it feel like it’s a pain “inbetween” the top and bottom of your knee?
Have you checked how your right leg is loading weight? In other words, just run slow, naturally, and look at your knee as it runs. Is it turning towards the inside as you run? What about your ankle. Is it caving in left or right, rather than loading the weight evenly? Start with those and let me know how it looks.
Best,
Alex
Well I have given up n running due to the pain I get from the IT Band on my left knee. I started your exercise and stretching program today as I’ve been unable to get help via doctors or strength training of legs.
I hope it works!
Thanks for the informative post.
Let me know how it goes Kevin!
In my experience, improving the tracking and alignment of your knees will dramatically reduce (or eliminate) IT Band pain. Chances are, your left femur is rotating inwards as you run, putting a lot of strain on the outside of the knee. But try it out and let me know how it goes!
– Alex
I just completed my first night of your program! Man is my butt weak! Two years ago I started my weight loss journey and in just over a year of clean eating and running I lost over 100 pounds and FINALLY had my size 4 pants on. Then the knee trouble began 🙁 I had to stop running a year ago due to an “over use” injury. Dr told me to take 6 months off. A year later they still hurt and I’m still not able to run much without pain. 🙁 all my hard work gone. I am hopeful that your exercises will allow me to run again! Ill update you in a few weeks! Is it ok to do daily?
Hi Michelle,
Wow, 100 pounds lost is insane! That’s awesome, congratulations.
Yes, this is totally okay to do daily.
In the mean time, why not do yoga or something with no impact that still lets you exercise?
Let me know how it goes with your knees, and how this regime works out for you.
– Alex
Hey Alex,
I’m excited/intrigued/hopeful about finding this information. I have never been a runner but decided to sign up for a 5k in October because hey, I love a challenge! Three weeks into my training, my good old PFPS kicks in. I have been RICE-ing and also have doing some of your stretches and glute exercises since Saturday. Fingers crossed! I must must must get this dang knee thing back on track and fast (no pun intended)…. ; )
Thank you for sharing all this info. I’m eager to try anything.
Hey Lauralei,
Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions! PFPS is CLASSIC poor tracking of the knee. This is what I had before I started doing this regime. I’m pretty positive it will help, but let me know how it goes.
Best,
Alex
you must be jesus
Dear Alex,
your site is the first one that makes sense on the issue of exercise pain. So much advice – as you note – simplistically says “If it hurts, rest it”. That’s fine until you start exercising again whereupon the pain takes up where it left off. That leaves us with a choice of either being unfit or exercising in pain. Some choice!
Your explanation of the mechanics of our joints is very clear and I will use your recommended exercises with the hope of being able to regain my old running ability. It was the only athletic activity I was any good at.
Hey Deano,
YOu’re right, it’s really difficult to stop doing what hurts – especially if it’s the only form of exercise. But why not try this knee regime I have, and do yoga for 30 days? Chances are, you won’t gain weight, and it’ll improve your running because of the better flexibility and relaxation.
Keep me updated with how it goes okay?
– Alex
Finally my poor knee is starting to feel better. Thanks so much for this 🙂
No problem miss cristal! Let me know how it goes.
– Alex
Is there an order that these exercises should be done in? Glutes, then hips, or what? Stretch glutes, work glutes, stretch hips, work hips, ???
Thanks
Hi Hollie,
No, no specific sequence matters. Instead, just focus on the big picture – improve the hip and ankle mobility and then strengthen the butt. If you can do the stretches every day for 5 min, that’s ideal, the glute work takes a bit longer and is ongoing since muscle building takes time.
Hope that helps!
Best,
Alex
Hi,
I’ve had knee pain since the first week of July this year. To give you a quick background how I got it – I usually run once a week for 5 miles while I work out for 6 days a week. Then we went on vacation, and didn’t do any workouts and ran 8 miles. That’s when the pain started. I tried completely resting my knees but it didn’t help. It would always hurt when my legs have no movement, like sitting for a long time. My right knee would click when walking too but doesn’t hurt. 2 weeks ago, I decided that it might be time for me to exercise my legs. So I did stationary bike for 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week, in medium resistance. After the stationary bike, I also did exercises for my lower body – hips, quads, bun. And then I ice my knees after that. The next day after my second stationary bike and lower body exercise, the pain has significantly diminished. My knees no longer hurt when I sit for a long time. Also, I noticed the clicking sound on my right knee disappeared. I would only feel pain when going up and down the stairs (if I can’t avoid it), and sometimes when standing or sitting, depending on the height of the chair.
When I go up and down the stairs, there would be minimal pain on my left knee (I used to have more pain on my right knee but now for some reason, I have more pain on the left), and it would last for a couple of days. Usually when I am feeling pain, I would just rest my knees and not exercise. And when I do that, the pain will be gone.
I guess what I’m trying to find out is if the pain will be completely gone and I have my old life back? Or will I have to stay away from stairs for the rest of my life and other things that would or could cause knee pain?
Hey Belle,
It’s really impossible for me to predict how your knees will be down the line without more information.
First things first – anything that bothers your knees, stop! Chances are your knees were feeling better because you iced them that one time which reduced inflammation. But to see how they are really doing, just leave them alone for about a week and tell me if there is residual pain after exercise or during exercise. Any unusual clicking or popping is not good, too.
The only way to figure out if you’ll have your “old knees back” is to stop doing any lower body impact exercise. Switch to Yoga or something else for a month just to see how the knees go, and then go back to some light volume with the bike or running. If it bothers you, get your form evaluated or stop.
Hope that helps!
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Thank you for getting back to me. When you say leave them alone, does that mean just rest them and don’t do any exercises?
The clicking/popping on my right knee has now disappeared. I don’t know since when but I just realized that I no longer hear the clicking/popping probably last week.
And yes, if I can avoid the stairs, I don’t use them. I usually take the longer route just so I can avoid it.
I don’t think I am doing any lower body impact exercises. I do stretching for quads, IT band, and hamstring. I also use foam roller on my calves, hamstring, quads, and IT band. I mostly do exercises for my lower body lying down or sitting – like clamshell, bridge, etc. but I don’t do any squats or lunges. I do a couple of exercises for my hips standing and using resistance band (I use the lowest one, I think 2 lbs) which I found on this site http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/all-hips?page=single. I found the seated hip external rotator exercise with resistance band hurt my knees so I do it without resistance band.
I also do ab exercises but all are done seated or lying. I also don’t use any weights. Are these not considered lower body impact exercises?
Also, one thing I am interested to find out, is running again the only thing that will heal my knees completely?
Thanks!
Love your website. I have also suffered from Runner’s Knee for over 10 years and have always been very skinny. Same story as you with the Docs….and all xrays and MRIs Ive had done show there is no arthritis and nothing anatomically wrong the knee joint itself. I too ignored it for years hoping it would get better, but a year ago I had a kid and now I spend a lot of time with him on the floor and the knee pain has been super noticeable. I’ve been doing exercises, stretches and foam rolling for about 6 months now, but after seeing your website I realize I may have been doing the wrong exercises and stretches. For the first time today, I did your exercises and stretches and I realize that my butt is very weak and my hip flexors are TIGHT! I really felt it in that first stretch you demonstrated. I’m bookmarking your website and will start doing these religiously and my fingers are crossed that these work….I’d really like to play with my kid on the floor without pain. I have to agree with the previous poster about your videos….not great quality; if we are talking proper body mechanics with all the exercises and stretches we really need to see your entire body, I’d reshoot them if I was you because they are valuable information. Looking forward to a couple of weeks to see how I feel.
Hey Heather —
Let me know how it goes! And yeah I will probably re-shoot these because at the time I didn’t have an external mic for good audio quality and was in a noisy gym.
Alex,
Wonderful information here. Recently got back into running and I experience pain in my right knee after 20-25 minutes, as if on schedule. Seems to be centered in my knee cap or a little below it. Always difficult to pin point pain in some of the bodily regions! Anyways, I plan on beginning your structured recovery program tonight but how do you feel about the Myrtle Routine? Do you feel that would accompany your recommendations well? Is doing both of the programs too much?
Hey Tomas,
To be honest I don’t know anything about the Myrtle routine, sorry ! I would just use common sense, focus on one thing at a time (to see what actually improves your knee health), and be scientific.
Hi Alex, I have had the experience with doctors — stop running. Seriously, what are they even thinking? I actually googled and landed here. I did some of the exercises for 10 mins twice a week and I am already feeling better. Amazing how our body realigns itself with a little stretches. I ramped up my mileage for my first half which is one month from now and hoping that my knee pain does not return.
Hey Te,
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing. How is it going now? Make sure to keep up with the stretches and improve butt strength. It will keep improving!
– Alex
thankyou for posting this i will try it, i was diagnosed with plantarfaciitis last year and then got orthotics, which pulled my knee out of alghinment and a year later i am barely able to walk, i am thankful you poted all of the exercises most sites dont post, or post a little and you have to buy something in order to get the rest , i will start the stretches right away:)
Let me know how it goes Jane!
Best,
ALex
hi alex, about how many weeks do i have to do this until i can start running again? my knee only hurts when i jog, but when i do elliptical i don’t feel any pain in my knees. my knee hurts on the back portion of my right knee and when i jog the pain starts mild and keeps on getting worse when i continue to jog.
Hi Nikko,
Do it until it doesn’t hurt when you run anymore 🙂 That might be an answer you hate, but the only way to recover is to rest and improve your running form.
Best,
Alex
I can’t express my happiness that I came across this article! I have knee tendonitis as well as a misaligned kneecap I guess it shifts to the side rather than foward. I’ve been to my orthopedic many times, had an MRI, and have been to physical therapy. I guess it helped a little at the time but then i came to college and starting to sprint more frequently than in high school and eventually I had such excruciating pain that I had to go home and meet with my orthopedic and he gave me helpful advice but it was just the usual advice rest, take Advil, stretch and all that stuff. So this summer I rested by not running and focusing on stretching but nothing helped I was getting furious and felt like I wasn’t going to get rid of this pain im only 19 I felt I was too young to have this much pain but now I’ve been focusing on butt and those muscles and I’m amazed with how much it’s truly helped I can’t believe it’s the one thing I always stayed away from! As well as stretching my upper quads, the lunge helps stretch my quads but not my upper quad. I hope ill be able to run again with moderation of course. Anyway thank you so much for this!
You’re very welcome Cara 🙂 Keep me updated on your progress and shoot me an email if you ever have any questions.
Best,
Alex
Hi Nate! I’ve started working on these exercises since I apparently sustained a knee injury. It doesn’t hurt at rest but when I run it’s excruciating. Some of these exercises are super painful on my knee, like lunges, when the knee is extended behind me. Should I push through anyway or stop? I’m devastated bc I’ve been training for my first HM and I’m sure weak muscles are probably the culprit. Any suggestions?
Hi Jamie,
If you have pain, definitely stop doing the exercises. Have you already had your knee checked by a doctor to rule out any serious injuries that might require surgery?
– Alex
hi alex, it’s me again, i’ve been doing all this exercises and tried to run on treadmill yesterday after my workout. i’ve been using the chi running form and i feel a little bit of pain under the back of my right knee but i can still continue, is that fine? and some people says that its good to run until you reach your limit and slowly increase your mileage. thanks for your reply last time 😀
sir,,,,
i had severe injury in my knee while working in gym……..last one month i really suffers a lot….i hav done quadriceps,and also hamstring exercises…..osteo arthrities also is there for me……please give me a favour advice…to get recover from klnee pain………………..thx a lot
Thankyou so much for this article!
I was almost ready to give up and accept chronic knee pain (over-exuberence and ongoing issues post acl surgery) But after my first attempt with Trigger point therapy & self myofascial release my knee pain has reduced enough to give me some hope and I am eagerly anticipating a run tomorrow morning! I will definitely be following through with your other suggestions too now that my knee is actually responding to something. Words just don’t cover it. Thankyou!!!!
You’re very welcome Linda 🙂
Been having trouble with my right knee for about a year. Fysiotherapist did make me do leg exercises (strength and coordination) but ignored the booty and core and got me to buy corrective shoes… After 3 months there was SOME difference but still had trouble with my knee after 3kms. Not too impressed with my return-on-investment there…
I switched to minimalist shoes (because I felt adding more padding under your feet does not make sense, fysio disagrees…), which helped somewhat.
Then I happened to end up on this page and things finally made sense. The mechanics of ankle/knee/hip and how the booty-muscle needs to start doing something.
Did your exercises for 1,5 weeks (ouch, butt-muscles hurt which told me something was happening!) and immediately felt a difference when doing short runs. I was simply amazed.
Now 4 weeks later I just ran my first half marathon AND took 1 minute off my 5K personal best, all in the same week. 2 things that would have caused massive mechanical issues 6 months ago.
I’m sure my fysio-therapist was right about needing to strengthen my legs, but took a narrow view and just didn’t cover all muscles that needed attention.
Your articles just did the magic… Thanks You So Much!
Arjan, you are very welcome :). I’m glad I could help you become pain-free. Feel free to email me if you ever have any other questions.
Best,
Alex
Sir, I have to say after a week of doing your exercises and stretches my fitness life has transformed back to the way it was. I have been running every day for years when last month my knee was agonizing after randomly going down the stairs after a workout.
I thought I knew everything after this time, but I never considered working out my hips. Those exercises just nailed it for me. Thanks for helping people like me recover. I hope you are getting paid well for your expertise.
That’s awesome! Glad to hear your knees have improved so much. You are very welcome – email me if you ever have any other problems.
Best,
Alex
Loved your article! Could use your help/opinion. I’ve played basketball my whole life- always been active. I’m 28 now and was training for my first half marathon. I know I increased my mileage too fast in the first few weeks and now my left knee cap is in pretty severe pain. (No twist, no pop, no immediate injury cause) I’ve given it three weeks of stretching, ibuprofen, ice, heat, chiropractor, leg exercises, etc. I tried running again tonight and I can’t make it 4 steps without getting the stabbing in my knee cap. Is there anything else beyond your article that you suggest? Thank you for your help- anything you can provide would be appreciated. Three weeks on an elliptical is about all my sanity can handle.. 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
Rest 🙂
In the meantime you can work on these stretches too – which will improve the alignment and biomechanics of your leg.
hi – just got back from medical consult. told me that my knee pain is coming from my hip and that they would give me an injection which should take away the pain. I had an ACL repair done several years ago and now having problems with knee pain. Pain on walking; no pain after the knee warms up and I am able to run, play racket ball and cycle. Ok so I suffer afterwards esp after racket ball. Your info makes sense and I’m absolutely gonna give it a go and see what happens. cheers
Thanks a lot for the info in the article. It reminds me of the warm-up I used to do when practising Taekwondo (we used to have 30min stretching!). However when I go for a run I dont tend to stretch that much cause I just want to go out and run… MISTAKE!
I have been suffering from knee pain almost from the beginning of the year. First my knees will get all red and hot, but now they are just painfull. An MRI dictated that I have chondromalacia patella grade I (of 4). So yes, need to take care of my knees.
Hi having my knees replace from arthritis both knees laying on top of each other. Love the ideas but some are way to painful to do. Do you have any ideas for someone who’s knees are so far gone. Also would I be doing these same exercises after new knees are put in. I do a lot of stressing with feet up on the way. Knee bends and leg lifts, cross over knee to other side, feel that in my hips. Thank you
Hi Sheryl,
Have you tried Qigong? I would recommend checking out this one: http://www.springforestqigong.com/
Best,
Alex
Hi Alex,
This is a great article, and I’ll definitely be trying these exercises. I’ve been foam rolling for a few weeks already, and I was attending yoga class regularly (need to get back into that.)
Anyways, I’m training for my first marathon. I’ve always been an athlete, but never run this high of mileage before. A few days ago on a 17 mile run at about mile 9, I suddenly started feeling pain starting in my ankle that went up my calf and stopped just under my knee. I had to run at least 3 more miles to get home. It wasn’t bothering as much at 13 miles, so I finished my run. At the end of the run it wasn’t my calf or ankle that were bothered it was my knee. I rested two days, and then tried 4 miles today. It’s not that it is terribly painful. It just feels stiff like I don’t have full range of motion in my knee. And it feels like it needs to pop, but it won’t. I also think my knee is swelling slightly. Is this something your routine would help with?
I’d appreciate any advice you can give. I don’t have health insurance, so going to the doctor really isn’t an option. I should also mention that this is the same knee that I tore my meniscus in about 14 years ago and had surgery to fix that. I’m just really scared that’s what I’ve done again.
Hi Jenn,
If your knee is already swelling, then there is already likely “damage” and inflammation going on. The only thing you can really do at that point is rest it and ice it. Overall though, you might want to check your form (using this guide), and take it easy on the mileage.
Best,
Alex
Horrible RT knee pain, still pushing thru it to run but its killing me! Start these steps tomorrow…Hope it works…physical therapy is not helping at all
I just wanted to say thank you for such an outstanding article! I can’t believe all of this great information was in place, and best of all it was free. Thank you so much!!
No problem jared !
Thank you for this very thorough entry! My knee is killing me and many of these things actually apply to me and why I probably injured it. Thanks again!
Cheers Melysa!
I just got my very first knee injury from walking and jogging everyday for a week. It’s been 3 days and I still feel sore on my right knee. I hope this works 🙁
Looks like a great article!! i will def. read it and put into action the exercises..thanks! =)
Hi Alex,
I am a 16 year old boy, and I just finished playing a varsity season of soccer. I developed knee pain about a week after school started. I don’t remember one incident where I got hurt, but I did take a lot of phyisical hits during the games. I played on the injury for a month.
I started playing basketball immedietaly after soccer ended, even on my hurt knee. I just decided two days ago to rest my knee for two weeks before my season starts on Dec 7th.
From the past month of playing, I noticed that if I went light it wouldn’t hurt too much during the exercise, but I was slightly sore the next day. Because this injury can get really bad if I play too long on it(espicially during games)I am doing my best to give myself a chance to recover before my games start. If my leg isn’t one hundred percent before games in two weeks, am I eliminating all chances of recovery if I decide to play? Or would it be wise to take off one more week before playing? The location of the pain is on the left knee, on the interior side of the kneecap, but when it gets bad, I can feel pain throughout the whole knee. It is a sharp pain.
Although I am excited about the stretches you gave me, my knee is a bit sore when I do your glute stretches. Is that supossed to happen?
Thanks for everything you do.
Andrew
Hey Andrew,
If something bothers you, take it easy on the stretches. Do you feel some tension on the outside of your knee when you do the runner’s stretch?
I won’t tell you something you haven’t already heard before – if it’s not 100% and you’re going into competitions, you’re just raising the chances of injuring your knee again. My advice would be to pay close attention to your form (and if you’re in the weight room, do leg exercises with perfect form).
– Alex
Dear Alex,
I am 46 years old female and am pre-diabetic (lifestyle change no medicines). I walk daily and swim 3 times a week. Have been experiencing this right knee twist since 3 months. Tried doctors (ortho – he says it is minor and prescribed some pain killers. Need to have major problems to impress doctors ohhh..), felt better with physiotherapy exercises (ankle stretch and hip stretch) but no complete relief. Your article is real eye opener though I have googled and tried lot. The knee inward rotate is right when I walked in the house. Tried 2 sets of each exercise and stretches while reading. Feeling lot relief and strength in my troubled leg. Will work on it consistently and update !! Loads of thanks!! God bless u!!
Hi Prabha,
You’re very welcome 🙂 keep me updated with your progress and how it goes.
Also, don’t forget – diet is the most important thing to reverse pre diabetes and diabetes.
Best,
Alex
Man thanks for sharing, it’s very informative. I just started running 5 days ago, one day I just felt pain on both knee so I made a research about runners knee, glad I found your site. Question: is it okay to try your work out while I still have knee pain? Should I take some medicine or pain reliever to cure my runners knee? Thanks!
Hey Tom,
The stretches should be fine – just make sure to avoid anything that causes knee pain. If it gets worse, stop. If it’s really bad right now, take a week or two off before beginning it.
– Alex
Great article! Thanks for sharing this information. This is my second bout with knee pain, and like the first time, I assumed it was my IT band and went back to strengthening my hips. But after 2 months I saw no progress and finally decided to see a physical therapist. Had no idea that my booty was causing all these problems! I’m hopeful I can start running again in a few weeks.
Try it out Laura and let me know how it goes 🙂
– Alex
Hi Alex,
Awesome advice. I have been perennially struggling with Runners knee. To lay all this out in layman’s terms is wonderful. Thanks for the effort and for sharing this info. Away i go for my ghetto reps..:)
You’re very welcome Sam 🙂 Let me know how your knees are doing after!
Hi Alexander,
I have been training for the 2014 Miami Marathon and reached a point where my right knee felt tight with pressure and with pain at times going to my foot. It is very disappointing to think one has to stop training due to unforseen injuries. At times I slowed down and stretched that leg more. I reached my 22 mile mark in training this weekend and felt good until I stopped for water..the pain seems to get worse when I slow down after prolonged running. I decided to google my issue and found what I already know was the solution : rest and go to doctor. However, I stumbled on your site and was happy to see the information you provided. I felt like someone understood my problem. Just having done the rubbing/massage on my thigh muscles completely alleviated all pain and pressure after my 22 mile run. Thank you so much for the information you have provided. I will be doing the stretching and buttocks exercises to help avoid any further injuries.
Awesome Natalia! Love seeing people get better quickly. Let me know how you progress and email me if you have any other issues.
– Alex
Nate your a knob.
Hi Alex – I enjoyed reading this article. In your experience did your recommended stretches / exercises solve your knee tracking issues? Also, have you used a knobby foam roller to massage the trigger points? Regards, Heather
Hi Heather,
Yes, this article helps you get started on fixing muscular imbalances. The stretches in addition to the gluteus strengthening will help restore normal tracking.
Hi,
I am having this runner knee for over a month ( I was running 8k every day for the past year and before it was about 8 to 10k with a break in every mount and every three month and etc ) and I tried whatever that I read or heard about it but no effect. My runner knee got serious after a foggy day that I could not run through my regular path which has medium up-down hill. And, I had to run down from fairly deep hill. Now, I can not run at all or sometimes do long walk:-(.
I just found this article and I am going to try all exercises and stretches that Alex has suggested in this article. I hope it works as I am so fed up and concern about gaining weight.
I will try to come back and write the results hopefully in few days ( or weeks).
Cheers,
KH
Hey, first time reading this and it seems really helpful. I literally have been having really horrible pain on my both knees for some time now. I’ll definitely do your advices. I need to feel better for the marathon coming up in a month. I hope I could get better from my knees by then.
Let me know how it goes Maria!
awesome work mate. i was thinking at the end of the mail u gonna ask for money to download guide and all those craps but it was truly very well explained guide .thanks for your good work.
Hi Alex..
Thank you for the great info on exercising runners knee etc however, I am wanting to improve my glutes but, the lunges are something I tolerate right now…do I just continue doing all the other excercise you are demonstrating and then once I start feel some type of endurance/stamina, then start trying to do the lunges? Also what if I use a door knob for my stability when doing lunges? Good Day Alex!
Hi Kalisa,
You’re saying that the lunges you can do, or you can’t do right now?
Hi Alex,
First, thank you for sharing all this after testing it out on yourself. I completely identify with the frustration of going to doctors that don’t help (and cost a lot). I have only been doing this program for a week, but here are my initial thoughts and questions in case you or any other readers have some insight. (1) I have decided to stop doing the lunges because they hurt my left knee (the problematic one) when it is in the back and my right knee is in the front. I have tried small tweaks to the positioning, but I can’t seem to stop this exercise from aggravating that back knee. Has anyone else had this issue? (2) For trigger point massage, I find that the foam roller isn’t quite enough to do anything (because it isn’t specific enough), and a tennis ball seems too soft when used on the mats at my gym, so I have been using a lacrosse ball. This is definitely more precise, and more painful. A concern I have is that I could be doing more damage by using too aggressive a treatment. It’s not so painful that I can’t stand it, but it does make the areas more tender for a few days after the massage than they were to begin with. I have just started reading about trigger points and self massage, so any input would be appreciated. For instance, what is a normal amount of pain to have after doing the self massage (e.g. how many days) and when should I expect these to become less painful if it is working. The most tender areas are along the IT band in the middle and on the Vastus medialis close the the knee.
Hey Erin,
Definitely avoid anything that directly hurts the knee. Focus on the stretches instead to improve the biomechanics of the knee.
Personally, for trigger points I use a hard massaging cane, OR even a golf ball. It’s really hard, so you need to be careful around the knee joint itself, and make sure you’re focusing on the muscles.
The IT band tends to really hurt in most people, but if you’re sore fora couple days after I would take it a bit easier. Just focus on doing it regularly.
Where does your left knee usually hurt throughout the day?
I think it varies where my knee hurts, but I haven’t paid much attention to where exactly up until this point. Right now, it seems to hurt on the inside of the knee, not under the kneecap but close to it. I usually do some kind of cardio exercises 2-3 times a week, and for the past 2 months that has been the elliptical machine at the gym, not running, and even that can hurt sometimes – never a lot, but enough to notice it.
I most definitely have poor biomechanics. I have golfer’s elbow in my left elbow from rock climbing, though I’m not sure if/how this relates to problems in my left knee. I can tell that during the single-leg dead lift I am a lot less stable on the left leg.
I will certainly keep working on flexibility and just do the exercises that don’t hurt. I added lateral walks with a band in place of the lunges. I have also excluded some of the “lunge-like” stretches because I find them uncomfortable. I did some googling to find other alternatives such as a kneeling hip flexor stretch and butterfly stretch (several stretches shown on this site http://www.fitbodyhq.com/fitness/12-great-stretches-for-tight-hip-flexors/).
I can say that I have not specifically worked on glutes or really any type of leg strength for many years now, and I have a desk job, so your method for correct the problem makes a lot of sense to me. I plan to keep it up and ease up on the trigger point massages by going back to something softer.
Great article Alex,thanks
Cheers Ray!
Hi, this is a really good article, my knees weren’t bothering me until a few weeks ago. When I went to the gym I did hip thrusts with a barbell squeezingy glutes as hard as possible and since then my knees have been bothering me. You seem to say that the two are closely related. A any idea what I can do to help it out it seems both knees have been sore. If I stretch and warm up it seems I can squat down nice and easy. If I lay down and pull my knee to my stomach there’s no pain the actual most I feel it is walking down the steps in the patella area. On my right knee I was have some cracking to the outside that wasn’t just air or gas. But wasn’t excruciatingly painful either. That was from trying to squat after the fact. If you have any ideas I would appreciate it !
Hi John,
When you’re squeezing your glutes as hard as possible doing the thrusters, you might be mis-aligning your knees (thus putting more strain on them). Drop the weight a bit, and focus on slower reps that are more controlled.
They usually only bother you when you go down stairs though?
Yea, I feel them when I get out bed also after sleeping and going down the stairs usually the most. If I’m kinda tight I’ll feel it slightly walking up stairs. But walking I never feel it. It really does seem like a misalignment problem. When I did the supine groin stretch with the leg elevated I was there for almost 45 mins it didn’t seem to test well doing the thigh contraction like the pain free book says but when I let the blood flow back in and felt less wobbly from laying down I walked down the stairs and barley felt it at all.
Hi Alex,
Thank you so much for this post. It was so thorough and I went through all of it. I hurt my knee three weeks ago after increasing from 2 to 7 miles in a month (I’m training fora half marathon). I took a few days off and then started biking and swimming and it wasn’t getting better. After a crazy ultimate frisbee tournament this weekend, I have taken 7 whole days off of exercise and the pain has only gotten worse. I am going to try your stretches and work on proper form as I use a half marathon app to slowly start running/ walking. I am going to buy a brace from CVS and will do your stretches and stretch before and after workout. Just a few questions though- should I ice, and when? How often would you wear the brace? If I haven’t worked out for a week, is it okay to run once every couple of days, or how should I best get back into it? Any help would be so appreciated- and thanks again for the tips!
Hey Julia,
I would use ice as mostly a short term preventative measure. So right after you exercise, if there’s pain or swelling, I would ice the knee then.
Regarding braces – they can be really useful, but I wouldn’t treat them as a replacement for fixing proper form. A proper brace can’t ensure proper form 100% of the time anyway. Getting back into running – just see how your body does. If it starts hurting after one run, decrease the mileage or increase the rest time in-between workouts. Your best bet is to just listen to the pain – if it hurts, stop, because you’re causing more damage. rest rest, focus on proper biomechanics, and you’ll be back on the road to recovery ASAP.
Hope that helps!
Alex … Does runner’s knee EVER go away? It’s been 2 months … I’ve been stretching and rolling like crazy … And have been seeing a PT for the past 3 weeks.
Did you ever take time off running completely?
Hi Arthi,
For me, it’s been an ongoing process. If I ignore the flexibility work, and the foam rolling, it comes back as my old patterns of movement happen again.
This info is great and sounds like just what I might need to do. Just one query though, is it safe to do the exercises which involve bending the knee? I read elsewhere to only do straight leg exercises.
Thanks.
Hi Cathi,
It really depends on your knees, so I can’t give you a clear answer, but generally speaking yes. Believe it or not, properly squatting (emphasis: bodyweight) is one of the best things you can do for your knees. Lots of research showing that strengthening the butt, and to some extent, the muscles around the knees, will help prevent long-term knee pain.
Just go very slowly and anything that hurts, stop.
What about an exercise bike – Cyclists always have huge teardrops and tight butts? I would think you’d have to make sure your toes point forward though rather than out….like mine do.
Thank you so much for this! I have been searching for hours and couldn’t find a straight answer. I knew it was something to do with my feet turning in but didn’t know how to fix it (long term! “Just ice it” seemed like a short term solution). I’ll be doing the stuff in the videos on a regular basis now. Thanks so much for the research and well written article! The pictures helped a lot too!
Hi Alexander
WOW thank you so much for writing this. What a fantastic set of guidelines. Will try them all and update.. I appreciate people like you who love helping people. Have a great week and thanks again… 🙂
Excellent tips. Thanks
You’re welcome Eoin!
Thank you. After two docs and an MRI my knee is finally getting better thanks to you and a rolling pin.
Alexander… I have been suffering knee pain for over 4 years now and I had people/professionals telling me I had arthritis but I’m only 22 so thats obviously not it! Like you, the doctors were telling me all this garbage but after reading your article everything makes sense! I am going to try these religiously because its gotten to a point now where some days, my knees are insanely full of fluid and I have trouble walking.. I am a fit young person so it just doesnt make sense to me why my knees are hurting like I am 100 years old!!
Anyway I am going work work on that bootay and strengthening those specific muscles hopefully it will help!
I have been advised that swimming is better than running for the knees for everyday exercise to keep fit is that true? I normally run and play soccer but have stopped that now as my knees are in bad condition.. what everyday exercise would you recommend so I can stay fit while working on strengthening the specific muscles you talked about?
Thank you for the article !
Best
K
Hi K,
This sounds flippant, but basically do any exercise that doesn’t really aggravate your knees. Personally, I think weight lifting is a good option for this. Even basic box squats (where you don’t go too deep to begin), will help improve your knees as you re-train the proper ways of moving.
hi,
with runners knee can I do the butterfly or breast stroke for swimming? I was told by a physio to avoid these as your knees go out at angle & come back in which could do further damage?
Thank you so much for the information it’s very useful.
Hi Shahina,
Ultimately, see if it aggravates your knees. If not, you should be fine.
I’m new here, very interested and impressed. I found your site while searching for information about my current knee pain (new to me). The medial, anterior side of my knee, just below the patella I experience pain ONLY WHEN I WALK. I can swim, ride a bike and move the knee through a full range of motion and experience no pain. Put my foot down with weight (walking) and there’s the pain. The pain is new only after I started strength training & jogging last week. Exercises that might have contributed were 2 leg squats, hamstring curl, leg extensions and leg press. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for your opinion and help.
Hey John,
First impression: most likely internal rotation going on. This happens a lot.
Most likely both contributed to it if the knee isn’t loading weight properly.
This didn’t bother you when running or doing leg exercises?
Hi Alexander,
I’ve already sent you an email, but I will also ask my questions here, because I want to start asap with these exercises and I want to be sure I’m doing them right 🙂
@ Hip and groin exercises:
It’s possible you explain this in the video, but as I’m hard of hearing, could you explain in writing what I’m supposed to do? I especially don’t understand the first one. Should I bend forward while the knee touches the floor or? (you show two positions in this vid, hence my confusion). And for how long do I have to hold these positions? How many repeats etc.
@ The ankle and calf exercises: do you mean that I have to go up and down for 30 seconds and then switch to the other leg? (that’s what my PT taught me). Idem voor the strap calf stretch.
Hi Renske,
Just hold the position stationary (static) for about 30 seconds, then switch.
Thanks a lot dude!
This is the first site I’ve been to that actually tells you what’s up and how to fix it. I’m a cyclist and have been having problems with knee tendonitis (right knee) for a few months. So far I’ve done exactly what most people recommend, rest and ice. Yes, the pain goes away only to come back a gain 2–4 weeks later. From now on I’m going to make sure to stretch all my muscles daily, massage my quads and strengthen my butt.
Thanks a lot!!
Cheers Jade! Let me know how you’re doing.
I found the exact same problem with going to doctors for my chronic knee pain! I have a question. In your opinion, is it okay to run on it if it leaves it a little sore later in the day, but there isn’t actual sharp pain? Thanks for your input!
Hey Suzanne,
Generally pain = damage occurring, so it’s best to avoid anything causing pain!
– Alex
14 years ago I fell over a box at work, injuring the same knee not just once but 3 separate times, time off from work, crutches, then off with workman comp. 6 monhs of workman comp with being denied over and over. the knee doctor that I was going to belived it was a torn meniscus. gut all the tests that were done, workman’s comp said were inconsulive and I was denied. during that time I took pain killers, steroids, ice, wrapped etc. no relief. up until that time I was a walker. 4-5 miles daily. my roof starting leaking and needed to be replaced so I had to go back to work. I hobbled, and limped. sometimes my knee would swell. sometimes I couldn’t walk and was in a wheel chair for a few days. the pain was always there plus due to steroids and no exercise I gained 50 pds which I am still battling. at times I walk with a cane. lifting my knee to get into and out of a car is agony on most days. so is walking up stairs. and if I stand or sit for too long ( about 45 min ) I limp badly. I also have hip pain. both of these cause trouble sleeping. my husband died 3 weeks ago. he was on hospice and I took care of him at home. before that I was my dad’s caregiver 24/7. I have not worked at an outside job for 5 years. there is no health ins. no money. I am a little afraid of doing anything. but I am going to try your exercises. what do you think of yoga also ?
Hi Willie,
Just check with your doc to make sure these are ok for your knee first – and yoga is great! Go for it.
Thank you for sharing your insights and research so generously, Alex! I completed my first Ironman at age 59 this year, with no aches or pains. Now, as I continue working out (for fun now!) my knees are beginning to bother me. I do very little strength training or stretching apart from my swim/bike/run workouts, and I can see (after reading your article) that my knees are just getting tired of doing the work that other parts of my anatomy should be doing! Duh!!! And THANKS!!!!!!!!!! p.s. Took a yoga class this morning. 🙂
you’re welcome Melissa :-). let me know how you’re doing!
Alex,
This article has offered me so much hope! I thought that the knee pain would force me to give up running forever. I can’t wait to start trying the exercises! Thank you very much!
You’re welcome Courtney! Let me know how it goes.
Try a golf ball muscle roller, it really helped my muscles and now i wont run without it, check it out! http://www.zzathletics.com
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this guide! I realize this was published a year ago, but I didn’t have the need for it earlier, so I only found it now. I was recently diagnosed with PFPS, and I went to PT for a while and I’m continuing to do the exercises that were given to me, but I’m still having pain. I’m definitely going to try your guide, and I really hope it works! Just started running regularly, which currently seems to be aggravating my knee pain, so I’m hoping that your exercises will help. Thanks in advance; it’s awesome that you’ve put this together (and for free)!
Hello! This comment may be a little outdated, but these forms of stretching helped me think a lot! Exercising is one of the most difficult things for me since asthma/allergies account, but also what you mentioned above. I’ve grown up with flat feet and caught it too late already as an 18 year old. I know have inward knees, a rotated hip, ankle injuries, lower back scoliosis, slight upper, and TMJ ): So pain all around for me. Thank you for the tips and video though I will definitely give them a try. A few years back I was almost crushed by a gym machine (my spotter left me unattended in the middle) and I went down. All I heard was my knee crack. Doctors said the only thing they saw was water in the knee, but it took five months to even be able to bend it again and I can’t keep it bent for too long anymore without it either getting stuck or being sore. So all hopes this can relieve a lot of the pain I get!
Keep me posted with how your Knee is doing Andrea!
I realize this is an old post but I’m training for my first marathon and my knees are suddenly giving out. I will definitely take your advice and get to work on those glutes but was wondering how long it usually takes. As my marathon is coming up I don’t want to miss out on too much training and not be able to complete the race.
Thanks!
Excellent Tiffany! Please let me know how it goes for you.
You did a great Job with this article and with the visual, videos. I am a cross-country runner, and have been for three years; I am also a tennis player. I recently injured my hip so like you said knee pain was a side effect. I had to do a couple of the exercises you demonstrate in the video for my hip . I am glad I found this article and I’ll be adding these exercises to my list.
Thank you.!
Hi Alex,
I just started jogging a month ago and have had knee pain in both knees. I’ve been to the doc, and have had a cortisone shot in each knee for bursitis. But I’m still having trouble with my right knee. I’m starting your exercises today, as soon as I finish this message! I KNOW I have bad form and mechanics (I was born with a severe inward rotation in my right leg). But I’m going to try this because for the first time in my adult life, I’m really motivated to get fit and healthy. My next step (after resting my knee and icing it for a few days) is to go to the running store and find better shoes. I’ve been feeling a bit defeated, but after reading your article, I’ve found a little more confidence. Thank you! Here I go!
My God, you’re a genius! But really, I tend to ignore most pain because it usually goes away, but this left knee pain won’t leave me alone and it’s been years. The fact that it’s also not always present really supports your complex understanding of the anatomy. I really appreciate this so I don’t have to freak out that I’ve done some permanent damage and I can strengthen my supporting muscles and likely be fine. This just makes much more sense than I maybe have done permanent damage, and/or my knees are weak because it comes and goes..?.. Thanks a lot! I’ll be checking out the exercises. Are you sure that the the ones where you lift your legs up from behind you will make the booty bigger? I have a good sized booty and I don’t want to lose it even if it’s a firmer.:/ Thanks!
Hello,
Mine is a cycling injury, for overuse, but I’m pretty sure it is a tendinitis. It has been appearing and disappearing for two months. I start to think it will never go. Also, I have stopped cycling completely which is a pain, but I have not stopped moving and every time I do something it hurts again (I have managed to get pain doing pilates!!)
I have tried to relax the muscle with the roll exercises and it has worked incredibly well. Also, I’ve been stretching both legs. I plan to start with the strengthening exercises one it stops being painful. Should I start before?
My question anyway is, can I ‘massage’ the leg with the roll as much as I want? It is quite intense and I am afraid of making it worse.
Thanks for all the recommendations
Cheers,
Berta
Thank you for all this info-really good! I will try it all out in hope it will fix my runners knee. I am a trainer but don’t always do what I preach 😉 Now that I want to run and its only knee slowing me down I have to get downy to work! So I am really grateful for the way you explained it all. It coincides with my belief that it was always about biomechanics…
Thanks
Maja
What do you recommend for someone whose knee turns out rather than in? When I walk my left knee keeps turning out and when I stand with both of my feet facing the same my left knee looks like it’s turning out further than my right. I’m having foot, knee and bad back pain all on that side and if I sit with both legs bent and try to bring them in toward my waste my right hip has no problems, but my left femur feels like it’s getting stuck and can’t rotate like it should. I can’t tell if it’s getting stuck on bone or if it’s muscle stopping it or what it is and it hurts and feels like it’s going to pop out of the socket or something when I try to force it. They did an mra of my hip socket and said everything looks normal.
Hey Heather – what happened after you trying going through this full panel of exercises?
THANK YOU! Been running for just over a year. I’m training for my third event and my knee pain has just gotten worst with every training period. I’ve tried all the advice I’ve been given, along with just dealing with it. I appreciate both your article and videos and I’m a week knee pain free!!! Thank you thank you!!!
Hello, I’ve been googling different sites and rewording my issue’s for five hours only to get more confused, and scared shitless thinking I need surgery, (although my vocabulary did gain with useless big medical terms). Until I. Came across your site, I just first want to say thank you for speaking english in this, and also giving me hope. I was in a motorcycle accident 2 years ago, where the bike landed on my knee a t 55 mph, then the bike used my knee as a carpet to slide apx 25 feet until I could get it off. Sounds really bad but really has just a flesh wound and a sore knee. Well now I’m starting to get back into my old hobbies like paintball and snowboarding, which I’ve been wondering about this “succesful” recovery I had. After a day of boarding, I would be fine but slightly sore after, then the following morning id be throbbing and I haven’t had any knee pains for a whole year.. I’m 24 years old and a mechanic, I can’t be walking like the 55 year old coot next to me. Reading and watching your videos, makes comeplete sense PLUs you prove it through common sense and common problems. Id like docter to shove there big words and big ass pills in the place where the sun don’t shine. While recovering from the accident, I sat on my ass for 3 months till I could get back to work, which. I I unforuntatly had to skip physcial therapy or I would lose everything… again. Snowboarding recently showed me how i out of shape and stiff I was, which was probally the first real excercise since the accident.
Whoops I got cut off, back to my story…. docters, all they wanna do is prescribe rather than inquire and find the root cause. May have said that differently already but felt like saying it again. Anyways, so recently I been snowboarding and because of the last trip I went on (no gnarly biffs) and how sore my knee was, I’ve been working out. Which mainly is muscle building and cardio with some quick stretching (break dancing) in between, which I’ve found like you said in the article, my problems getting worse, my “good knee” is now feeling sore. I’m assuming I’m putting more stress/weight on that knee to keep it off that bad knee. So I do have multiple question for preventative measures I can take and things to start immediatly. 1st, I’m a flat rate mechanic which means if I’m not hussling and hurrying, I’m not making money. Is there any procedures you would recomend.to help start my day like stretching in morning or wrapping it? 2nd, I read that you said walking toe’d out can stress the knee, well just so happens my snowboard stance is 5 degrees out for both feet, could that be the trigger of this knee a ttack? I did push it to the max on black diamonds so I was riding agressivly and staying low on the board although didn’t really bother me until the morning after. 3rd, any recomendation for ” healing” diets is such exist haha. Oh I should add I ride mostly regular with my bad knee i n the back but do switch occasionally. 4th, can temperature effect flexability and if so, any ways to help cope? I will begin your excerises tomorrow if knee is okay, although I’m super impatient and will be snowboarding again this weekend lol illl keep you updated with progress. Lastly I just want to say thank, and I’m glad there is still some people out there that go above and beyond, rather than a prescription and for that I value your opinion over any docter I’ve had. Cheers to actually thinking and solving problems!
Hi Alex,
Good job with the article. I have been doing a lot of research on this issue myself and I would like to ask if you have any advice specifically for hyper-pronated feet (flat feet). Ones that are structural and not simply muscular. Also, what’s your take on custom-made orthotics to correct irregularities?
Interesting stuff.
I had to give up running and now do gym work but my knees are still bad.
I was wondering about foot eversion – when on the rower and bike your feet are stuck pointing directly forward but on the cross trainer it is natural for me to point them outwards. Should you stick to just pointing them forward even if they naturally point outwards?
Fantastic article. There is so much non applicable information about these injuries out there. Too many doctors and PTs rely solely on theory.
Your article connects science with real world training experience.
I got runners knee and I don’t even like running haha. However, I do have flat feet and do a lot of squats. I didn’t realize that my quads weren’t suppose to be on fire but my gluteus. After searching the internet for a good runners knee article for month. I truly have to say that your article is a breath of fresh air! Your article should be the first thing everyone should see.
I do have one question. What do you think about wearing a knee strap for support?
Thank you for giving us a beautiful article! Will read again and do the exercises.
I’ve had left knee pain for the last year and half and my GP gave the same old ‘rest it’ advice. It didn’t help and was frustrating since I’m an athlete. Play tennis at least 3 hours a day! I searched the web high and low for solutuons and found none until today. Many thanks! Your advice and videos make a ton of sense. Just sitting here reading this, I’ve tried trigger point massage and already the pain is fading. Wow! Unbelievable!! Thanks for doing such a wonderful job. I’ll bookmark this page and visit many times in future for more advice. Cheers!
Hi Alex! My daughter is a 17 year old who has suffered from patella dislocation and chondromalacia of the patella for almost 5 years. She has tracking issues in both knees. She has had two surgeries….a lateral release and MPFL reconstruction. Her last surgery was a year ago and she continues to have right chronic knee pain. She is an athlete who used to play basketball and run cross country, now she is a swimmer and golfer due to her knee issues. We are now facing some heavy duty surgeries (osteotomy, OATS, ACI) to try and buy some time…..she will eventually have to have a knee replacement. We just found out this news and we are needless to say devastated. She has had therapy for years and I do not think anyone has addressed fixing her tracking issues. This article makes such sense and gives me a small ray of hope that through doing some of these exercises we can buy more time before she has to have a brutal surgery. Would like to hear your thoughts on these exercises greatly helping tracking issues?
Thanks for this great article. I’ll try the exercise. I rested for 6 weeks after having burning pain around the knee cap on the inside and went for a run today again. Same thing happened. I’ve felt tightness in the calf and hamstrings so I’ll try the exercises. Thanks again!!
Cheers Olivier 🙂
My physio said the same thing with my runner’s knee. That is was my glutes not my IT band or things like that that i had to strengthen. Previous physio did not pay attention to my glutes so my runner’s knee came back.
I didn’t make it through the whole article which is a shame, as I just wish you wouldn’t refer to it as a ‘ghetto booty’ – it’s extremely offensive to Black women!
Hi Vin –
Let me know how it works for you – and I updated it to remove that.
hi. Very good article.i am 32 years and overweight,facing knee problem before few months.i started when i was doing running.i did alot of exercises with towel for strengthing knee.but not fully recover.now i feel pain when walking or up stairs.please suggest me what i ve to do.
Hi I have a question I have been getting some knee pain after I ran the other day and the pink changes it sometimes under my knee and sometimes it’s right above my knee I rested my knee for about two weeks and then after that I try to go back to running but it seems that it got a little bit worse after that so it seems like I just keep going back and forth what should I do is this runners knee
Hello:
I was diagnosed with chondromalacia patella (level 3) back in October, 2014. I have seen several doctors and physical therapists. My range of motion is still way off. The limping has stopped after my second doctor withdrew fluid and gave me cortisone shot. The pain was gone for about a month. Now I still have pain when walking and have to wear supportive flats or tennis shoes. I can not run without pain. I’ve been walking on the treadmill outside, but I still have slight pain with that. Should I discontinue my walks and start your exercise routine. All of my PT’s have been trying to figure out why my ROM is still off. Any assistance is very much appreciated. Thank you.
Alex
Thanks for your detailed article, my wife has been suffering with knee pain for about an year, Doctors just kept telling her to rest, they can’t find any issue in MRI and X-Ray. Your article matches all her symptoms and give us hope. I have been researching this in the internet for a while, today i luckily landed on your website. We will try your suggestions and will let you know the progress. Thanks again!
Please keep me posted SK!
Try both treatment either doctor or alternative way for knee pain
My son suffered from very accute runners knee as a result of over pronated ankles (i.e. flat feet). Kept him out of sports and PE. We did all the exercises, every night for years. He was in custom orthotics and seeing all sorts of Drs. Then, about 2 years ago, NIH published a paper on slant-board squats. Magic! They worked. He just ran a 5k in high school pain free. Look it up and do them very slowly on the way down.
Thanks Steve! I will definitely check these out.
After seeing a massage therapist yesterday I found out that the cause of my knee pain is from my Glutes. Who would’ve known that such a huge muscle group could become so weak. I never gave it much thought because I am heavy into the weight lifting now and looking to compete within a year or so. I will start all these exercises these evening and pray that my knee pain goes away when lifting! Thank you so much for this article. So much interesting information that I never knew about! 🙂
Hi! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your site. As a nurse, all of this info makes perfect sense. You are right though about the answers you can expect from your physician. I knew I wouldn’t go to my doc just for that reason when my knees started hurting and the L started clicking. Funny that in my last workout, I incorporated glute excercises. The last gym I went to had a machine for this that I used regularly and guess what? No knee pain at that time. My current gym does not so we are on our own. I’m going to get started right away with these excercises because I rested yesterday but I can’t rest from the gym all week! 🙂 we should be paying you the copayment!! Thanks a billion!
Rochelle
Hi Alex,
I’ve had PFPS for about a year now and have tried many different things with no such luck. How long after starting this routine did your knee pain go away and would you be able to recommend any other glue exercises? I started this program about a week ago and still have a bit of pain. Thanks for posting this.
Hey Katie –
PFPS for a year is a pretty long time. You most likely will need time for the knee to heal itself and recover since it’s not muscular it takes a much longer time to heal. Not the answer you want, but it’s hard to say since you’ve had it for quite a long time.
Are you taking time off?
Thanks a lot Alex. will try these soon. I know this post is really old just wanted to know is there any upgrades?:) Also will swimming help? and how long will it take to heal completely?
Regards,
Priya
Finally…good information online. Thank you. This helped a lot.
Glad it helped Stan!
Hey Alex!
Been having knee pain in left knee for about 10 months now. Thanks so much for this article! I’m excited to try it. A couple questions:
1) The butt exercises…how many days per week? 1? 4? 7? How many sets and reps? The more the better?
2) With lunges, when I do them, I seem to be working my quads more than my butt. Any tips on this?
Thanks!
Best,
Yosef
Yosef –
1. I am for 1-2x a week, at least 5 sets of 6-12 reps.
2. Mentally think about them targeting your butt more – and you’ll feel it activate more. Also, push from your heel, not any other part of your foot.
I know this post is really old but I just stumbled across it and thank goodness I did! I’m seventeen, a soccer player and runner, and have been resting my legs of ALL activity for four weeks now with pain actually increasing in my knees and shins. My worst nightmare basically. I was so sure there was no hope until I read this and honestly in three sessions I’m no longer having knee pain at rest. My PT gave me about one hip strengthener and a calf stretch and sent me on my way, but your guide covers all the bases. Thank you so much. I really hope to keep improving.
I hope everyone with stagnant knee pain finds this page!
this is great info! I have constant issues with my knees popping all the time. anytime i bend my knee at all- at any angle even small angles i feel pressure in my knee and it becomes very uncomfortable and i have to stretch my leg out and it pops.. it does this all the time. It makes it difficult to be in a car because most of the time i don’t have the room to stretch my leg straight. is this something you have come across?
Everted feet are actually one of many deformities which are caused by a combination of factors which begin influencing a baby before conception. The parents’ diets are lacking nutrients, the parents are taking drugs, or the parents are exposed to a variety of different chemicals somewhere in their environment. All of these things, or any one of them, can cause permanent deformities in the children. See ‘Nutrition and Physical Degeneration,’ by author Weston Price (it’s on the internet at Project Gutenberg Australia, the whole book). So, these deformities are not something that resulted from anything a person did, like slouching or having poor posture or tension, but rather, they are badly grown bones that resulted from not having necessary nutrients during early development, in the womb, early childhood, and teenage years, and/or from exposure to drugs or chemicals, either in the womb or in the early life. There are many different drugs and chemicals that can do this, and I can’t list them all. Anyway, it helps to know this, in a way, knowing that it’s not someone’s fault, and they can’t do anything about it.
Hi
I stopped playing basketball when I was 57 and now (at 60)I am trying to get back to it – I have been shooting around my local y and my knees are killing me all around my kneecaps both knees – I am thinking this is from being away from bball because I do a lot of walking and still run on my treadmill and have not put on any weight in the 3 years – do u think my knee pain will go away if I keep playing bball?
thanks,
Dom
Hey Dom – if it hurts, the best thing to do is stop doing it.
I was just wondering if I should just play through it and perhaps it will go away with time – I haven’t played in 3 years and it is more of an ache instead of real pain – I really love to play and it is the only exercise I really enjoy. Wonder if it could be just a matter of strength as my butt has gone away over the 3 years and you mentioned how important those muscles are.
This is amazing! I have had knee pain every since running a half-marathon a few years ago, and am so excited to try these exercises out!
What kinds of work-outs do you recommend for people who love being extremely active, but are trying not to injure themselves? I used to love doing Insanity, but find I can’t do anything with that much jumping.
Hi Kacy –
See the butt exercises I recommend here. They are no-impact.
Best information I have found!!!! Looked around net and following doctor’s
orders. I am an RN. This is by far the best and most informative article I have come across. Plan to take your advice! Thank you!!!
Happy it helped Rebecca 🙂
Hi,
I just ran a half marathon. I had no issues with my knees. But before the race I got my foot taped with KT tape. I ran the half marathon without any problem. Now my knee on that one taped foot makes clicking noise everytime only when i go up the stairs.
I have stopped running and exercising for the past few weeks.
Anythoughts on fixing this knee?
Hey Yash – have you tried going through this article?
When I was in fifth grade, I chipped my knee cap and up until I turned 18, I thought it just never healed right. I finally went to the doctor and they diagnosed me with Runner’s knee. Went to physical therapy, with a $45 copay and no improvement after 3 weeks, I quit. The exercises they had me do hurt my knee so bad, I couldn’t walk on it. I bought an expensive knee brace and that is the only thing saving me. The past week, my knee has been killing me. I don’t exercise, haven’t in years because of my knee pain. There has been no reason for it to be hurting. I was actually looking up doctors to consider doing surgery when I found this website. I am definitely going to try this!
This artical is massively motivating! I have suffered from bad knee pain for many years. I have seen many Drs, physiotherapist and spent tones of money. I have gone from being a pro football (soccer) coach to struggling to get up and down the stairs. I had given up I am gaining 3-4Kg in weight per year and getting more depressed. This page and also the large amount of positive feedback you are receiving has inspired me to have one more try and trying to fix them a final shot at life!!
So a massive thank you as I’m motivated to try for the first time in a long time.
Good luck 🙂
Wow! Thanks for such an amazing post.
Happy to help John-
Hello! Can we see some more butt excersices that aren’t hard on the knee? I can’t do lunges or that last one you showed either. Knee has been hurting for no reason for months now and I can’t do anything that requires bending it or putting weight on it. Thanks!!
Hi Carolyn – check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiKWA-K6-g
Really focus on squeezing the butt on this exercise.
Hi, just curious about this knee pain and if it’s something worse than form or rest. Because my back round on running has been excellent. For 7 years I’ve been I’m excellent shape running well over 25 miles a day no problem during the summer. During the Spring it was tough speed work.and at the end of every work out was lots of core strength, pull ups, lunges, and mixed martial arts you name it! I ran hills, sand pavment, grass and curves with no problem in the ankles. So I ask many others with this pain is there something else I need to look for? Cause it’s very depressing to know I went from a 4:36 mile and held an easy 7:50/mile pace for an entire 25 miles ritually and I’m only 20 but now I can barley climb the front porch step to get I’m my own house. Walking is a task and running is out of the question. It’s been almost a year now. I don’t know why I’ve been cursed but now I fear the worst because I’ve just gotten very skinny and lost a lot of my strength and muscle definition. I used to have massive amounts of muscle everywhere like the guys in the magazines. But now I feel I’m fading away and I’m only 20. What happened? Or this it for me? Should I give up on being a young healthy active man and pray I can walk until I’m 50? Thanks, any help is appreciated and I can give more information or proof on my case. I went to the Dr and he said my x ray and gaps between my joints are fine and to rest. Well that was a year ago and it’s spread to my right knee so now they are both screwed up. I’m sorry for sounding so negative,but I truly have lost hope. Thanks everyone for reading. If something changes I will not waste a second to post my story in hopes someone else can benefit from it and not experience the depression I have.
PS: I’ve already don’t massive amounts of research and done these same exercises and joint juices to no avail. In one knee it seems to just inflammation it even after a lot of rest. I think my next Dr will be asked to perform a blood test for some similar disease.
Hi just curious to know about your outcome if that’s ok
Diane
Well this makes more sense to me than the hamstring curls and leg lifts they have me doing at Physio that aren’t helping me. The only thing that I find that helps from Physio is when they tape my knee, but after a month they are asking me to go without it to see what happens.
The other thing that helped was going to my Chiropractor. They did tens on the sides of my knees and heat on my thighs. He did some release on the sides and back of my knees and did a lower back/ hip adjustment. He commented my muscles behind me knees were VERY tight and what runs to that BUTT muscles…and what do I sit on ALL day at work…you guessed it….my butt. So, this could me my eureka moment guys!
Hi
I have been suffering with runners knee on both my knees for 6 months…it’s been a huge setback for a sport that I truly love…i have been to physio. And biokinesist….doing the rehab routine for weak hips but the pain creeps up ….please advise ….truly heart sore as I can’t run more than 3km without knee starting again
Hey Alexander,
Great article and lots of useful information included, I suffered a MCL tear and have rehabilitated it back to where it was before but sometimes hurts in certain positions.
My question is if my knee will need constant maintenance for the remainder of my sporting career and possibly after that?
Hey Troy,
Hard to say – definitely speak with your doc because only she/he will really know since he’s seen the extent of the damage.
Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I have been looking for! I am 6’2, 145 pounds and i’m 25..I totally know what you are saying. For the past 2 years I haven’t been able to run more than 1-3 miles at a time because my knees completely give out. I haven’t found anything to help my runners knee, so I am excited to implement this and hope that it will help! If you get a second, would you mind emailing me? I have a couple other questions for you. Thanks again for this awesome article! Hope to talk to you more.
KS
Hi KS – you can find my email on the contact tab.
Hi Alex , I just found this thread , great stuff but I was wondering if you could help me out on some key points you think I should do that would particularly help my case. For the last year and abit I have just been getting these pains after I play football/soccer (whatever you call it) and it’s been getting progressively worse as sometimes after I play I can’t walk down or up stairs with major pain or if I bang my knees as its excruciating for me. Anything specific I should do please email me. (I’m 16 and 6’3 also around 15-16 stone) so I’m slightly overweight for my height and I’m also struggling on losing weight as I can’t really do much running.but please email me if you can
Thanks a lot
Hey Joel,
Chances are, you’re probably not playing close attention to the alignment of your legs (or there are underlying imbalances already there). I do Judo and I see this a lot too.
Do you have a physical therapist or anyone associated with your team that can take a look?
-Alex
Yes I have been to physio therapy they say it is just runners knee and it will soon pass up to 24 months but seeing your problem go on longer has got me worried , i already had slight problems with the alignment with my legs as I’ve pulled my groin and ripped tendons at the tops of my legs but my physio told me just to do the exercises she gave me but they don’t seem to work very much and I have been doing them for afew months.
Found answers to a lot of questions a had. Thank you for your effort to put this all together and share it with the world! I love running but knee pain can sometimes steal my joy, sadly. Whenever I get too lazy to do stretches and massages sometimes lacking enough warm ups before runs, I get my pain back again- . Let’s get better soon 🙂 and enjoy doing whatever that is that we love to do
Glad it helped Daiga 🙂
Thank you. Finally! I have been exercising to loose weight, because I sat all day and began working with daycare kids =on my hands and knees a lot. Can’t extend leg out, can’t put weight on it, felt spongy, after 2 Mos they finally (grudgingly…got the intonation they didn’t believe I knew the exact date it happened due to my weight assumed by tone I hadn’t been able to walk normally regardless of the fact that I walk everyday and even got up to jogging prior without any problems) did x-rays and ultrasound found a bit more water on this one than the other by about and inch on screen, was told to RICE my knee however after 3 Mos no change its worse and I have to modify (sit on a bench instead at work) and was told not to exercise to “let it heal” by the on call doc, then told by normal doc the more weight I loose the better knee will get (circular talking much). Been hobbling around at work, wrapping it, feeling like something is sliding over my knee cap when i try to straighten if sitting on floor with babies, etc…. Yes I am overweight, and I have started doing my own research to know what I can do to help and found the MEAT method that sports therapists prefer for knee injuries. Getting told to keep taking pain pills is unnerving because I don’t like destroying my liver, and I know there has to be a better way. Going to be working on my booty and calves for now (in a pool, for a bit till I get more strength in that leg) again thank you very much.
Hey Alex, thanks for sharing! I initially had a twisting injury causing a “fat pad impingement” but have had runners knee for over a year now and it’s been a struggle. I originally got told to go to physio 5 times a week (lol!!!). Physio’s haven’t helped (minus limited advice, ITB rolling and clams) and seeing a specialist hasn’t helped either. I got told to get a cortisone injection and live off anti-inflammatories for 3 months which I was pretty hesitant to do.
The pain flares up and down unfortunately and I really struggle to pin point (minus stairs) what flairs it up! I’m going to give these tips ago and see what happens.
Thanks!
Hey Kristie,
Ouch that’s tough. An 5x a week is absurd (sounds scammy, honestly). Definitely let me know how this works for you.
I have been suffering with knee pain for a year now-as soon as I hit 5k —I get serious pain in BOTH knees.I have done the physio and chiropractic—none have helped.
I really would love to run with no pain on ending and go at least 10km—please help!!!
Hey Sue – I would start with this panel of exercises here. Do them for 1-2 weeks first and let me know how you’re doing.
Found your article while searching for exercises an older woman could do after spraining her knee (arthritis related.) Your explanations were the best I have found, much better then the Dr’s, and I have been doing most of these for awhile now and am starting to have more stability and confidence when I walk. Thank you!
I am 66 years. Got an ACL ligament tear and destruction of collagen from intensive dance practice two and a half years ago. Spent a fortune on prolotherapy and integrative care. The doctor didn’t tell me much, except that when the pain stopped and I regained flexibility, he told me to go ahead and walk normally, which set me back and it became painful again. I also have fibromyalgia which means that I only get a total of about 45 minutes sleep per month so it has been very challenging.
I’m so glad I found your page and I have been walking slowly, flexing the glutes with every cautious step. It is slowly becoming less painful. I knew that it was a great thing from the very first step. Thank you so much.
Awesome, very happy to hear that Tanya!
Hey,
I’m 27 and I have been suffering from knee pain after serious sprinting couple of months ago( I seriously wanted to win an upcoming half marathon race). My knees would feel fine if I rest for a week or so but as soon as I start running ( low intensity runs) my knee pain returns. I don’t see any swelling but does hurt when I stand or sit for a long time.
Literally, I am frustrated about whole resting and icing the knee articles that I have found on internet and I have also visited doctor who provided me a month worth of calcium tablets. However, your article has provided me few rays of hope. I’m gonna give it a go , one question though, do you think I can do some low intensity runs while I try those exercises? (You know, Can’t stay away from a run anymore). And one last thing, Do you think those exercises would work in 2016?. Cheers Mate!
Great advice- more motivating to hear than my doctor just telling me to stop running altogether. PS how cute is this guy?!
This is good, solid info, man. Thanks for going in depth like you did. Good overall website, too. I came across ModernHealthMonk just within the past few months…good to see someone else putting solid stuff out there.
Thanks Shawn!
Sir,when i long run approx 5km twice a day for 4 or 5 days,i got pain in my left leg knee and no swelling. Much pain when stairs down. When i bend my left leg then gain pain in outer side. Like i am sleeping towards right hand and lift my left leg up then feels much pain. What can be problem and solution sir.
Thanks sir .
Hey Alex!
Thanks for writing this! It was very useful! I am 21 and have been struggling with pain from runners knee for about 2 years. I am very flexible in my hips and I feel like that might be part of the problem- when I stretch my hips, I feel like I am also stretching the muscles around my knees which makes them even less stable? I am wondering if you have run into anyone with a similar problem. I have talked to a sports trainer and a doctor and they both tell me to keep going unless I have pain (I have a high pain tolerance). I am a little scared though because the pain is consistent throughout the day. I really just want to be able to run again without pain! Let me know if you have any advice!
Thanks,
Elana
Hi Alex,
I have a Meniscus torn and Chrondomalacia in my left knee . I do boxing and now my knee is giving hard time ( pain a lot ) . I am doing some laser therapy, cryo-therapy and I can’t run or jump ?? sometimes i cant even walk. what exercises you recommend to back in track soon ? I cant leave without work out I appreciated it
Thank you
Andy
Hi Andy,
Please see your doc about this.
Hi Alex.
Just want to say a huge thank you for this article.
I was diagnosed with PFPS about 12 months ago… seen 2 physios and a hellerwork practitioner about it and nothing worked… many of the stretches you mention were involved and a bit on the glute medius but nothing on the glute Maximus. A lot of time on the Exercycle and strengthening my quads was involved but no results.
As soon as I read your article I knew the stretches weren’t going to do anything as I’ve been doing a lot of them already but I jumped straight into the but strengthening. I’ve done 4 but workouts per week… all with as much weight as I can handle to speed things up and in 2 weeks the knee pain has disappeared… my but was doing absolutely nothing before. Walking it would not engage at all for example. Obviously I’ve found the issue here thanks to your article.
Don’t know how I didn’t find it earlier as there is plenty out there about “dormant but syndrome”
Anyway, cheers.
Nice!! Congrats Luke I’m very happy it helped you. Took me forever to piece this together.
Hey Alex,
Could I do all of these exercises everyday?
Hey Chris,
The stretches yes, but the workouts I would space a few days apart.
Hi I would like to email you with questions like the people in the post but I don’t see where to do so or your email
My 16 yr old plays soccer. One night she had bad back spasms and the next day she was unable to bear weight. She had bad knee pain a bit in the hollow are on right side of outer knee.She was on crutches for 1 week then a hinged brace for another. X-rays, MRI, nerve conductivity, autoimmune blood work all normal for back and knee. It started in Dec with PT 2x a week, cryology, and rest. Several Drs later and no one knew what was wrong. 4 months later a Dr told us she was weak in hips, flutes and quads and she had too much flexibility so she continued with PT and a fitness trainer. Going into her 5th month Nd now has no pain until yesterday when the pain returned pretty bad. She hasn’t changed her routine with PT and fitness trainer. She has orthotics since this all started for very minimal flat feet. Why does this keep coming back? She wants to return to soccer and is so depressed.
Best article i have ever read on knee pain (and I’ve read many (I am far too analytical)).
As a matter of fact, having just discovered you.. many of your articles are simple, clear and well supported in a way that is very uncommon and amongst the best.
You have true talent and your passion shines through!
Can’t wait to find the time to listen to some of your videos.. maybe now that I hurt my knee I will have some downtime (I hear you about resting the tendons!) and now that my (gulp!) 56th Birthday is approaching I finally have an excuse to not workout so hard- I can spend time learning from you! I need the push.
Thanks for the good article I plan to bring it in to my physical therapist this week (he is convinced that my knee pain isn’t about the tightness I feel in my lower back and radiating along my inner thigh!)!
Love,
KR
For tendonitis, how did you rest your knee? How many days, what activities did you do, etc…
Create piece of article on Runners Knee And Chronic Knee Pain. happy to see your post and one question if i take all exercise daily or take extra exercise like basic yoga, any problem for that.
Love your muster plan, i am professional table tennis play and last few years i really struggling with knee pain. i spend lot of time and take various treatment about that but its reduce my pain some days but it increase after some month again. by the way thanks for sharing your article.
Hi Alex this is a great article. I can’t see the videos though. Have you removed them?
Thanks