Common Injuries for Triathletes – Runner’s Knee

Runner’s Knee also known as both patellofemoral pain syndrome and Chondromalacia Patella. While it is most common amongst runners, it can also affect cyclists and other athletes. For Triathletes it is a condition that often rears its ugly head and makes training and participating in events at best painful and at worst impossible.

What is Runner’s Knee?

Imagine your kneecap sitting comfortably on cartilage and sliding smoothly over the femur. If the cartilage becomes rough or worn, this smooth operation is disturbed and the result? Yes, you guessed it, pain and discomfort when moving the knee, swelling, pain whenever you bend the affected knee (especially when squatting down) and discomfort that increases going down steps or on steep ground. This can be caused by too much use, running on hilly ground, weakness in the leg muscles or foot problems.

How to avoid it?

Better to avoid runner’s knee altogether than try to cure it when it happens so follow these tips and you stand a better chance of escaping!

• Stretch well, strengthen well. Exercises that target the legs and thighs, strengthening them, are essential. Always stretch well before running or cycling and always stretch afterwards.
• Try arch supports. If you are flat-footed or have alignment problems, professional arch supports can help you avoid runner’s knee and a host of other nasty injuries.
• Deal with injuries quickly and effectively.

Treating Runner’s Knee

So, you think you have runner’s knee, what now? Firstly, you need a doctor’s diagnosis if you are concerned. Your doctor can carry out the right tests and give you the right advice for your particular injury. Don’t be tempted to carry on regardless as you risk doing yourself more damage. If it is runner’s knee, try the following techniques for dealing with the problem.

• Rest! You aren’t failing if you rest, you aren’t giving up, and you aren’t being a wuss!!! Sometimes the best thing for your training is to rest, and resting the damaged knee is crucial.
• Knee support bandages can compress the knee and allow it to heal itself by reducing strain.
• If you need painkillers, use an anti-inflammatory (NSAID) so that you deal with the cause of the pain rather than just masking the symptoms. Don’t do too much on the knee when using painkillers – remember the injury is not better; the pain is just relieved temporarily.
• Ice after exercise, heat before bed. This can often help with this type of injury, cool packs or frozen peas on the knee for 20 minutes or so when it is sore, warming packs before long periods of rest.
• Time – don’t expect an immediate improvement, have patience and use the rest time to plan out your return to training and identify areas you need to work on. No time needs to be wasted time!

Arlene
Fitness & Wellbeing Expert
PowerTri Contributor
Northern Ireland