Knee pain when jogging affects an incredible number of runners and is one of the most common complaints. But what can you do if you are affected by runner’s knee? Which exercises will help you relieve your knee pain when jogging in the long term?
In this post you will find out:
How does knee pain occur when jogging?
Knee pain when jogging can have numerous different causes. The knee joint is a complex joint with many different structures that can be affected and cause pain. There may be damage to ligaments, menisci, joint surfaces, tendons or muscles that lead to these problems.
But the most common cause of knee pain when jogging is so-called runner’s knee, also known as ITBS, Ilitotibial Tract Syndrome or Tractus Syndrome.
This injury is a typical sports injury suffered by runners and is caused by overuse. This causes the iliotibial tract, a thick band of fascia that runs along the outside of the thigh, to become inflamed. It originates from the pelvic bone and extends along the outer thigh to below the knee, where it attaches to the head of the calf.
The cause of such knee pain when jogging due to runner’s knee is usually due to increasing your running training too much. The following factors can contribute to this:
- Increased training frequency
- Larger barrel sizes
- Faster running speed
- Unusual surfaces
- New footwear
- Lack of regeneration, e.g. from practicing multiple sports, insufficient number of rest days, poor sleep, stress, etc.
Symptoms of runner’s knee
The symptoms of runner’s knee are not always clear. Most of the time the pain is located on the outside of your knee, but it can also be located directly in the knee joint. There is often tenderness at the affected area and there may be slight swelling.
In many cases the pain is stabbing, pressing or burning and occurs primarily when exertion is exerted. At first, this may only happen when jogging or doing one-legged squats. Later, the symptoms of runner’s knee can also occur when walking or even at rest.
If you run for a long time or run uphill or downhill, the symptoms usually worsen. Climbing stairs, squatting and squatting can also cause the typical knee pain that occurs when jogging.
Treat runner’s knee – exercises & training plan against knee pain when jogging
If you want to treat runner’s knee, your training plan can be divided into three phases:
- Pain relief
- Rehabilitation training
- Getting back into running
The transitions between these three phases are fluid and cannot be clearly distinguished from one another. But they offer you good guidance on how to properly treat your runner’s knee so that you can get your knee pain while jogging under control in the long term.
Treating Runner’s Knee Phase 1: Pain Relief
When knee pain occurs for the first time while jogging, the focus is on relieving the pain and inflammation. In this phase, the following behaviors will help you treat your runner’s knee:
- Reduce your stress to a pain-free area. Do not run at all or run less and avoid everyday activities that cause pain. This is not just about pain that occurs immediately, but also pain that appears within 24 hours of exertion.
- Avoid painkillers and excessive cooling.
- If you feel comfortable, you can gently massage or unroll your iliotibial band. However, this should not cause severe pain.
- Make sure you wear sturdy shoes that support you and prevent you from buckling inwards.
Treat runner’s knee Phase 2: Rehabilitation training and exercises for knee pain when jogging
As soon as your knee pain while jogging allows it, you can start with targeted exercises to treat runner’s knee. The focus in this phase is on the following behaviors:
- Progressive strength training of the torso, hips and ankles in pain-free to low-pain areas. You start with easier exercises and gradually increase them.
- Building strength in the area of injury.
Light stretching exercises and self-massage can be performed if they feel good to you. But since the IT band isn’t stretchy, that shouldn’t be your focus. There is no evidence that this type of exercise is enough to treat runner’s knee.
Treating runner’s knee Phase 3: Getting back into jogging
In the final phase, you can gradually start running again.
- Maintain your strength training and continue to progress in the exercises.
- When running, start with walking, then progress to alternating running and walking, and then gradually increase the duration of running.
- Give yourself about 4-12 weeks until you run 5km in a row again.
Exercises for knee pain while jogging
Loss of hip strength and control is thought to play a key role in the development of ITBS, particularly weakness in hip abduction and external rotation and increased hip adduction during exercise (e.g., running). In addition, a buckling in the ankle (pronation) can be another risk factor.
That’s why the exercises should aim to strengthen precisely these areas and build a resilient muscle corset in the long term.
In the first phase you start with a low load. This includes open chain exercises such as:
- lying abduction
- Clam shell
- Bridging with both legs
- Heel raises
- Internal rotation of the foot against resistance band
The exercises in the second phase of your treatment for runner’s knee include medium stress and integrate initial exercises in a closed chain:
- Mini squats
- Split squats
- Lunges
- Step Ups
- Single leg bridging
- Hip thrusts
Once you have reached the third phase of your jogging knee pain rehab, add higher impact exercises and impact preparation. This includes:
- Squats
- Increase all exercises from levels 1 and 2 with weights
- Drop jumps
- one-legged squats
- more plyometric exercises
Training plan for getting back into running
If you have now successfully completed the three stages and no longer have any symptoms, you can start running training again with a clear conscience. Now it gets exciting because you should definitely avoid overloading again.
To safely get back into running training, you can follow my training plan for 0 to 5km. If you only had to take a break for a short time, you can reduce the duration from 12 weeks to 4-8 weeks. However, if you are unsure, it is always better to give yourself more time than to overwhelm yourself.
Remember that you should continue to do strength training at least 1-2 times a week.
Conclusion – knee pain when jogging
Knee pain while jogging can have many different causes, but the most common is runner’s knee. This is an overload of the iliotibial band on the outside of your thigh.
In order to properly treat runner’s knee, we divide it into three phases:
- Pain relief
- Rehabilitation training with suitable exercises for knee pain when jogging
- Getting back into running
In this article you will receive a comprehensive overview of the right exercises for runner’s knee and the right way to return to running training.