Nagging knee pain from running lingers after you finish your sprint around the neighborhood. This isn't the kind of sharp pain with swelling that results from ripping cartilage or rupturing a ligament; it is chronic problem that isn't disabling you but isn't going away, either.
Potential Causes
Nagging knee pain from running has a number of causes. Among them are osteoarthritis, patellofemoral pain syndrome, patellar tendinitis and iliotibial band syndrome. Pain from these syndromes starts out slowly. At first, it may occur only during a run. Soon, however, the condition hurts you more frequently and for longer periods of time, turning into chronic pain.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a condition that wears away cartilage, the natural cushioning at the ends of your bones. In the case of knee osteoarthritis, deterioration strikes the cartilage between the femur in your thigh and tibia in your shin as well as the cartilage behind the patella, which is your kneecap. As the cartilage begins to wear down, you'll feel a nagging knee pain that eventually becomes a chronic ache. Treatment includes over-the-counter and prescription medications, cortisone injections, physical therapy and knee-replacement surgery.
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Another source of nagging knee pain from running is patellofemoral pain syndrome, also called runner's knee. This is when too much running knocks the kneecap off the track it slides along in your thigh bone. When the misaligned kneecap scrapes along the track, you feel pain that is more intense when you go up and down hills. It also aches if you just sit for long periods of time. Treatment involves resting your knee and getting physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that bolster your knee, especially the quadriceps in your thighs. In some cases, surgery may be the only remedy.
Patellar Tendinitis
Patellar tendinitis also is called jumper's knee. You may be suffering from this if you run up and down hills and stairs. The patellar tendon is attached to the quadriceps in your thigh and the tibia in your shin. It works with your quads to help you extend your leg. Too much stress or use from running on the tendon can cause tiny tears. If your body can't repair them fast enough before you cause new tiny tears, you wind up with a chronic condition called tendinitis. It feels like a dull, nagging ache at the bottom of your knee. Treatment involves resting your knee, cortisone injections and physical therapy.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
The iliotibial band is a tendon that starts at your rear end in the gluteal muscles, runs down the outer part of your thigh and connects at your kneecap. This band of thick fascia slides back and forth over the thick part of your lower thigh bone every time you flex your knee. A lot of flexing during running leads to an irritated iliotibial band. The pain feel like it's shooting across your kneecap and going up your leg. Treatment requires you to stop flexing your knee, get the swelling down and strengthen the muscles that support the iliotibial band, mainly the gluteal muscles in your buttocks. If that doesn't heal the iliotibial band, surgery is required to snip the band where it crosses over the kneecap.
