When your knees are injured from jogging, you are probably suffering from one of two common syndromes. Both iliotibial band syndrome and patellofemoral pain syndrome are frequent complaints among joggers. The conditions result from overuse of the knee. The constant flexing of the knee joint during jogging is to blame. You can rehab your knees back to health with physical therapy.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Iliotibial band syndrome feels like a lateral pain across the knee cap. This comes from irritation of the iliotibial band, which travels across your knee. The iliotibial band is made of thick fibrous tissue. It starts at your hip and runs down your leg to your knee. The frequent flexing of the knee during jogging can create too much friction between the iliotibial band and the knee cap. The pain and swelling that result are usually so intense that sufferers must stop exercising until the condition is resolved.
Treatment for Iliotibial Band Syndrome
The first priority when treating iliotibial band syndrome is resting your knee and reducing pain and swelling. Your doctor will advise you to elevate your knee, ice it for 20 minutes at a time and possibly take anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. If the swelling doesn't subside you may need a cortisone shot. Once pain and swelling are reduced, you can begin physical therapy to stretch the iliotibial band and to strengthen the muscle that supports it called the gluteus medias. Rehabilitation is usually successful, but some patients don't respond well to it and need surgery to snip the iliotibial band where it crosses the knee.
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Patellofemoral pain syndrome is name for the condition when the patella, or knee cap, no longer tracks properly on the groove in your femur, the bone in your thigh. Like iliotibial band syndrome, this condition also results from too much flexing of the knee during jogging. You'll feel it as pain coming from behind and around the knee cap. The pain becomes more intense when you go up and down hills because of the increased pressure you place on the joint.
Treatment for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Treating patellofemoral pain syndrome requires you first to rest your knee, ice it for 20 minutes at a time and possibly take anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. After a few days your pain should decrease enough to begin physical therapy. The key to rehabbing your knee is strengthening the muscles that support and stabilize the knee cap. These are a group of four muscles in the front of your thigh called the quadriceps. When they are strong they'll keep the knee cap from slipping and they'll absorb more of the shock as you place your weight on your leg with each step. This therapy is usually successful, but some patients need surgery to resurface the underside of the knee cap.
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