I am 27 years old, female, and I have a passion for running. Unfortunately, I have been unable to run these past few months because my knee hurts on the inside.
One day, I just suddenly felt pain on the inside of my knee from running. I believe the problem resulted from my 10-month old shoes, which were way past their lifetime.
As an alternative, I have been running up and down the stairs and working out on the elliptical. To my surprise, my knee does not bother me at all even when I continuously run as much as 50 flights of stairs.
As soon as I got my hands on a new pair Asics Gel-Kinsei 2, I immediately took them out for a run.
The shoes have very comfortable cushioning and amazing stability that I didn't feel pain after a three-mile run.
However, my knee started to ache later that evening.
I haven't tried running for over a month after my knee incident.
Although the pain was very minimal, I still got bothered. My knee was a little stiff the next morning.
I decided to run a mile to see if my knee would loosen up.
I didn't feel any pain during my run and it feels better than it usually does, but it still feels stiff and a bit sore.
I have been researching about running injuries inside the knee but I didn't find a similar case. The ones I found online were about drastic injuries where the knee was bent or twisted.
Have you come across a running injury similar to mine? Or do you have any recommendations that would help me with my injury?
Thanks for your time.
Answer by Dominique:
Hi there,
Thanks for your question about running injuries inside the knee.
It is a fact that runners have to inevitably deal with – running does quite a bit of damage to our legs and knees due to the impact which is 2-3 times more than our body weight. Surely, running on a daily basis can give us issues.
Most knee injuries are associated with twists and bends. The kind of stuff you get in football, rugby etc. I understand that this is not the case for you.
Your problem sounds like an overuse injury caused by the impact of landing every time your feet hit the ground, which also has a stronger impact compared to running on stairs. Your worn-out running shoes also put additional stress on your knees.
Buying a new pair of running shoes is a good idea. After a month-long rest, you should expect your knee to be a bit stiff and sore. Just be sure to slowly build up your pace to give your knees time to adjust to the stress you are putting on them.
Do not immediately go back to the same routine you did a few months ago. You basically need to start again. Some cold therapy (icing) and anti-inflammatories may help as well as some self-massage of the muscles around the knee.
Also try to give your knees better support by building up those muscles around them. Are you someone with repetitive pain on the inside of the knee due to running?
Then maybe skip a running workout per week for a biking or swimming session. Or do prisoner squats, very good for the quads. The stronger your quads and calfs, the less pressure there is on your knees when you run.
I hope this helps and wish you a speedy recovery.
Of course, if the pain does not go away, do not hesitate to go to a doctor. When running injuries on the inside of the knee absolutely don't go away, then there is a chance you have got some cartillage damage.
There is a range of treatment methods available, from anti-inflammatories and icing initially, to cortisone injections and even surgery.
Let's hope it's not that, let's just build up that running slowly again and let's hope the pain does not return.
Kind regards, Dominique
Want more running gear advice?
Simply subscribe to my newsletter or to my site blog and you are ensured of keeping up-to-date with all the Best Running Gear!
