It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced runner or if you’re just getting started, chances are you’ve experienced some serious knee pain or maybe even an injury from all of your hard work. The pain might not even happen during the run itself, it could occur when you’re doing a warm up stretch or a cool-down after a good run. Inadequate stretching or stretching the wrong way can also cause you to get hurt if you aren’t careful. Just use these techniques to help alleviate your pain and get you back to running comfortably.
How to Heal Knee Pain from Running
Step 1: Apply a compression wrap to help protect your knee. If the pain starts to hurt even more, use a brace or cast to stabilize the joint. Try to stay off the injured knee and allow your leg muscles to rest for at least two days also – even something as simple as standing can make the pain worsen.
Step 2: Apply ice to the injury for 15 minutes every hour during the first day after you get hurt, then continue applying ice at least four times a day until you feel a significant decrease in pain and the swelling goes down.
Step 3: Elevate the leg that you injured to reduce any swelling. Placing your knee on a pillow will allow gravity to drain the fluids away from the injury, which should help ease the pain.
Step 4: You can use crutches or a knee brace to stabilize the leg and medicate for pain and swelling. Serious injuries, such as ligament sprains or a torn anterior cruciate ligament, require the use of a brace or crutches to stabilize and protect your joints. Ibuprofen is great for swelling and acetaminophen is best for pain relief.
Step 5: If you notice that your pain isn’t getting any better or is actually getting worse, you should definitely see your podiatrist – the problem may actually be worse then you originally thought!
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