So we know the pattern, the pressure to get back in shape gets bigger and bigger until eventually we dust the solidified mud from our old trainers that haven' been touched in well over a year and we take to the streets. 2 minutes in and yes our lungs our burning but that familiar knee pain we had last time starts to creep back in. This was exactly why you stopped last time wasn't it? You finally got to the point you could run a comfortable 5k and you tried to push for further or faster and a knee injury stopped you in your tracks literally . You thought rest would help but then after that problem it seems to come back much worse and for much longer until you decided to call it quits and let the half marathon dreams go. A year on the knee pain was a distant memory so then you took to the streets again and low and behold the knee pain comes back with a vengeance.
Sounds a bit too familiar and you are probably wondering how I know this story so well. Its because you are not alone in your quest to be a runner and to be a track star, and in fact this story is something I hear regularly from patients. why does this pattern happen so much? well the answer is simple its weakness. Now I am not talking about all knee pain however think of it this way, if you slightly tore a muscle is it as strong as it was before the tear or is it weaker?
you guessed correct its going to be weaker! So often I see clients who struggle with knee injuries because they injured their knee, it got weaker and instead of building strength back they rested and encouraged it to get weaker. There is so many other reasons why the knee may be having problems but so often it boils down to the need to build strength in an area, here is a short clip on anterior knee pain and I hope it helps you start getting those miles in.
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