Pain when jogging/cycling | Exercises with an existing runner’s knee

Pain when jogging/cycling

The runner’s knee is an irritation of the iliotibial ligament due to overloading or incorrect loading. At the beginning of running, there is usually no pain unless the ligament is in an acute inflammatory state.The pain occurs during loading when the ligament rubs against the thigh bone via the bony protrusions. Particularly when jogging, this strain is increased by the pull of the pelvis when the pelvic muscles are weak, thus promoting irritation.

It may be that other sports where the pelvis is stabilized and no additional traction is applied to the iliotibial ligament can be performed completely painlessly. Cycling or swimming may be completely painless. However, cycling can also cause discomfort if there is a strong irritation of the eyesight, since the iliotibial ligament also glides over the bony protrusion when the knee is bent, and in acute irritated states this load can already be sufficient to trigger pain.

If pain occurs under load, the movement should be interrupted in order to stop irritating the tendons and periosteum. Comprehensive information on this topic can be found in the article: ITBS symptoms/painThe tractus iliotibialis, which is irritated and may be inflamed in the runner’s knee, is a tendon plate. Tendons are much less well supplied with blood than the muscles.

They are surrounded by a layer of fascia that forms a kind of sliding bearing to allow the tendons to move against other structures in the body. The supply to the tendon is disturbed when it is irritated or overstrained. It loses elasticity and can stick to surrounding tissue and fascia.

This can be remedied very well by targeted fascial training. The therapy is often very painful but is often perceived as very effective. In physiotherapy for the runner’s knee, the therapist can perform fascial strokes or work out an exercise program with the patient.

At home, the use of a fascia roll (e.g. Blackroll) is recommended. In a lateral position, the tractus iliotibalis can be “rolled out”. The tissue is better supplied with blood and mobilized.

Adhesions can be loosened. However, this therapy is not suitable for acute inflammation. Regular use can improve mobility and alleviate the symptoms of the runner’s knee.

The hip muscles can also be treated to ensure the mobility of the hip and pelvis. More exercises can be found in the article Fascial Training. When treating the runner’s knee, it is not necessarily advisable to bandage the knee joint itself.

In the case of a severe inflammation, however, immobilization of the knee joint may be necessary and useful. The runner’s knee is not primarily a joint problem of the knee, but an irritation of the tendon of the tractus iliotibialis. A tape of the iliotibial ligament can improve the symptoms by fixing it.

There is a variety of tapes that are available. Pain points can be taped specifically to relieve the tendon. The fascia can also be loosened by tapes.

The tape layer of Kinesiotapes can also be worn during the load. When the knee joint is immobilized with a bandage, the knee should not be additionally strained by movement, unless the bandage is intended to prevent the knee joint from reaching an O-position under load. The therapist should select and apply the correct taping device with the help of the patient. Later, the patient can also tape his knee independently at home. You can find a taping device for the runner’s knee in the article ITBS-Iliotibial Band Syndrome.